Influence of the muscle group in heart rate recovery after resistance exercise

Abstract

Introduction: Resistance exercise (RE) is a widely practiced type of exercise and is recommended for strength and muscle mass maintenance or improvement, being used for esthetic and health purposes. Despite this, little is known about the impact of this type of exercise on cardiac autonomic control, nor the influence of muscle group in this response. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of muscle group used during RE, on post-resistance exercise heart rate recovery (HRR). Methods: The study included 14 males (27.4 ± 6.1 years, 79.4 ± 10.4 kg, 1.77 ± 0.1 m) experienced in ER practice. The experimental protocol consisted in performing the 1-RM test and re-test on bench press and half squat to determine the maximum dynamic force; and execution of maximum number of repetitions at 80% 1RM with assessment of HRR for 1 minute post-exercise. Results: The results indicate lower HRR at 10, 20, 30 and 40 seconds after half squat compared to horizontal bench press (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings confirm the influence of muscle group on post-resistance exercise cardiac autonomic response.