Effects of the Intensity of Leg Isometric Training on the Vasculature of Trained and Untrained Limbs and Resting Blood Pressure in Middle-Aged Men

The purpose of this study was to establish whether changes in resting blood pressure and the vasculature of trained and untrained limbs are dependent on training intensity, following isometric-leg training. Thirty middle-aged males undertook an 8 week training programme (4 x 2 min bilateral-leg isometric contractions 3 times per week). Two groups trained at either high (HI; 14% MVC) or low (LO; 8% MVC) intensity a third group (CON) acted as controls. All parameters were measured at baseline, 4-weeks and post-training. Resting SBP (-10.8 +/- 7.9 mmHg), MAP (-4.7 +/- 6.8 mmHg) and HR (-4.8 +/- 5.9 b.min(-1)) fell significantly in the HI group post-training with concomitant significant increases in resting femoral mean artery diameter (FMAD; 1.0 +/- 0.4 mm), femoral mean blood velocity (FMBV; 0.68 +/- 0.83 cm.s(-1)), resting femoral artery blood flow (FABF; 82.06 +/- 31.92 ml.min(-1)) and resting femoral vascular conductance (FVC, 45%). No significant changes occurred in any brachial artery measure nor in any parameters measured in the LO or CON groups. These findings show that training-induced reductions in resting blood pressure after isometric-leg training in healthy middle-aged men are associated with concomitant adaptations in the local vasculature, that appear to be dependent on training intensity and take place in the later stages of training.