Free‐weight resistance exercise on pulse wave reflection and arterial stiffness between sexes in young, resistance‐trained adults

Abstract

We sought to determine the sex-specific effects of an acute bout of free-weight resistance exercise (RE) on pulse wave reflection (aortic blood pressures, augmentation index (AIx), AIx at 75 bpm (AIx@75), augmentation pressure (AP), time of the reflected wave (Tr), subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR)), and aortic arterial stiffness in resistance-trained individuals. Resistance-trained men (n = 14) and women (n = 12) volunteered to participate in the study. Measurements were taken in the supine position at rest, and 10 minutes after 3 sets of 10 repetitions at 75% 1-repetition maximum on the squat, bench press, and deadlift. A 2 × 2 × 2 ANOVA was used to analyse the effects of sex (men, women) across condition (RE, control) and time (rest, recovery). There were no differences between sexes across conditions and time. There was no effect of the RE on brachial or aortic blood pressures. There were significant condition × time interactions for AIx (rest: 12.1 ± 7.9%; recovery: 19.9 ± 10.5%, p = .003), AIx@75 (rest: 5.3 ± 7.9%; recovery: 24.5 ± 14.3%, p = .0001), AP (rest: 4.9 ± 2.8 mmHg; recovery: 8.3 ± 6.0 mmHg, p = .004), and aortic arterial stiffness (rest: 5.3 ± 0.6 ms; recovery: 5.9 ± 0.7 ms, p = .02) with significant increases during recovery from the acute RE. There was also a significant condition × time for time of the reflected wave (rest: 150 ± 7 ms; recovery: 147 ± 9 ms, p = .02) and SEVR (rest: 147 ± 17%; recovery: 83 ± 24%, p = .0001) such that they were reduced during recovery from the acute RE compared to the control. These data suggest that an acute bout of RE increases AIx, AIx@75, and aortic arterial stiffness similarly between men and women without significantly altering aortic blood pressures.

Similar Effects of Acute Resistance Exercise on Carotid Stiffness in Males and Females

“…Shorter rest intervals might not allow blood pressure recovery to baseline, thereby causing a larger increase in blood pressure during subsequent exercise and thereby amplifying aortic stiffness responses post-exercise [24]. Our observations of transient increases in aortic stiffness, although not universal [1], are supported by other acute resistance exercise studies utilizing a variety of resistance exercise modalities, intensities, training status, and post-exercise measurement periods (10, 20 min post exercise) [3,6,[25][26][27]. Taken together, these data suggest PWV increases immediately post-resistance exercise and likely remain elevated until approximately 20-min post exercise.…”

“…Resistance exercise-mediated increases in aortic stiffness may stem from the pressure load incurred during exercise [5] which is different between young males and females [2]. Previous research suggests that females have an attenuated increase in aortic stiffness compared to males following acute resistance exercise [2], although these sex differences appear attenuated among resistance-trained individuals [6]. Whether sex differences exist in carotid stiffness following resistance exercise is unknown.…”

Effect of an Acute Resistance Training Bout and Long-Term Resistance Training Program on Arterial Stiffness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The immediate reaction to an acute RT bout, regardless of intensity, is an increase in the PWV, as demonstrated by all studies [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] (Table 1). This conclusion comprised healthy men and women without any medication.…”

Commentary: Acute Effects of Exercise Mode on Arterial Stiffness and Wave Reflection in Healthy Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…It is influenced by the timing and the amplitude of the forward traveling wave and the reflected wave (Wilkinson et al, 2000). Following resistance exercise there appears to be a significant impact on measures of pulse wave reflection (Fahs et al, 2009;Yoon et al, 2010;Kingsley et al, 2017;Tai et al, 2018). This is further supported by the meta-analysis of Pierce et al (2018).…”