[Effects of rest interval between exercise sets on blood pressure after resistance exercises].

BACKGROUND Although studies have demonstrated the occurrence of postexercise hypotension (PEH) in resistance exercises, there is still no consensus on an ideal protocol. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of different rest intervals (RI) between resistance exercise (RE) sets on postexercise blood pressure (BP). METHODS Sixteen sedentary non-hypertensive young men performed three RE protocols with RI of 1 (P1), 2 (2) and 3 (P3) minutes between the sets, as well as a control protocol (CON), in a counterbalanced manner. The RE protocols consisted of three sets of eight repetitions in six exercises. The loads used in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd exercise sets were 80%, 70% and 60% of one repetition maximum (1RM), respectively. Measurements were taken at rest (RES), 15 (T15), 30 (T30), 45 (T45), 60 (T60), 75 (T75), and 90 (T90) minutes after the session. Factorial analysis of variance (Anova) was carried out, followed by post hoc LSD. RESULTS No significant change was found in systolic BP after the protocols. A significant increase in diastolic BP was verified after CON at timepoints T45 and T90. Significant reduction in diastolic BP occurred after P1 and P3, with duration of 30 and 15 minutes, respectively. No significant differences were found in the systolic and diastolic BP responses between the protocols with different RI. CONCLUSION RI does not seem to influence systolic BP reduction after an RE session. However, reductions in diastolic BP (P1 and P3) lasting up to 30 minutes were observed.