| Purpose:Whether the combination of high intensity training and cessation of training with a muscle pump alleviates the extent of the post-exercise hypotensive drop has not been investigated.Therefore,this study sought to determine whether the muscle pump combined with 4 weeks of high intensity training and 4 weeks of cessation of training could alleviate the sudden drop in hypotension following exercise.Methods:Fourteen healthy men underwent 4 weeks of high intensity training(5consecutive days per week of 15 minutes each at an intensity of 40% of the difference between anaerobic threshold and maximal oxygen uptake(Δ40))and 4 weeks of stopping training after 4 weeks of training.Their testing consisted of three main phases-pre-training,post-training and post-stopping training,and the recovery period after each high-intensity exercise with and without muscle pump engagement.The pre-training,post-training and post-cessation exercise tests consisted of 15 minutes of cycling at an intensity of Δ40 with 1 hour of recovery.Results:(1)Heart rate,systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure were higher during recovery with and without backstroke exercise(all P <0.01)before,after and after cessation of training,and there were no significant differences in vascular elasticity,core temperature,skin temperature or hematocrit during recovery with and without backstroke exercise.(2)After 4 weeks of high-intensity training before compared to after training,all subjects had higher maximal oxygen uptake,skin temperature,cardiac ejection fraction and shortening rate than before training(all P < 0.01),4 weeks of highintensity training delayed the post-exercise decline in systolic,diastolic and mean arterial pressure compared to before training(all P < 0.01),and changes in core temperature and vascular elasticity amounts were significantly lower at the end of 4weeks of training compared to pre-training.(3)After cessation of training compared to after and before training,4 weeks of cessation reduced maximal oxygen uptake,heart rate,cardiac ejection fraction and shortening rate(all P < 0.01),maximal oxygen uptake was reduced to pre-test levels,heart rate,cardiac ejection fraction and shortening rate were higher than pre-test(all P< 0.05),and decreases in systolic,diastolic and mean arterial pressure were not significantly different from after training but lower than pre-training.The amount of change in vascular elasticity was greater in the post-training test than in the posttraining and less than in the pre-training,and skin temperature measured in the posttraining was not significantly different from the pre-and post-test(all > 0.1).Conclusions:4 weeks of intense exercise training combined with muscle pumping slowed the extent of post-exercise hypotension and continued for some time after 4 weeks of cessation of training. |
