Acute resistive exercise does not affect ambulatory blood pressure in young men and women

Purpose: Resistive exercise elicits a pressor response that results in a dramatic increase in blood pressure (BP) during the exercise. However, it is not known if the BP elevation persists after resistive exercise. Methods: This study examined the effects of an acute resistive exercise session on 24-h ambulatory BP in sedentary (5 men, 6 women), resistance-trained (6 men, 6 women), and endurance-trained (4 men, 6 women) young subjects (age 22 ± 3.2 yr) with normal BP. Two 24-h ambulatory BP recordings were made on each subject, one after two sets of resistive exercise on 12 weight machines and one after 48 h without prior exercise. Results: Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial BP and heart rate (HR) were not different in the hours after and for up to 24 h after the single resistive exercise session compared with the control day. There also was no difference in the ambulatory BP or HR response after the single session of resistive exercise based on the training status of the subjects. Conclusion: Thus, the elevated BP that occurs during resistive exercise does not persist in the 24 h after acute resistive exercise in sedentary, resistance-trained, or endurance-trained, young, normotensive men and women.