Impact of aerobic training on cardiovascular reactivity to and recovery from challenge.
OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that aerobic, but not strength, training would lead to attenuated reactivity to and more rapid recovery from cognitive and orthostatic challenge and that deconditioning would reverse this effect.


METHODS
We conducted a randomized controlled trial contrasting the effects of aerobic versus strength training on heart rate, four indices of RR interval variability, and blood pressure reactivity to and recovery from psychological and orthostatic challenge in 149 healthy, young, sedentary adults. Subjects were randomized to 12-week aerobic or strength training programs and studied before and after training and again after 4 weeks of sedentary deconditioning. The data were analyzed by performing a Group (aerobic versus strength) by Session (study entry, post training, and deconditioning), by Period (baseline, speech, Stroop, math, tilt) three-way analysis of variance with prespecified contrasts of the effect of group assignment on reactivity and recovery.


RESULTS
Aerobic capacity increased in response to conditioning and decreased after deconditioning in the aerobic, but not the strength, training group. However, the two groups did not differ on heart rate, RR interval variability, or blood pressure reactivity to or recovery from laboratory challenge.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings, from the largest randomized controlled trial to address this matter to date, raise doubts about attenuation of reactivity or enhancement of recovery as a putative mechanism underlying the cardioprotective effects of aerobic exercise.


BACKGROUND
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00365196.
Division of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, 1150 St Nicholas Avenue, Suite 121, New York, NY 10032, USA. rps7@columbia.edu
Richard P
RP
Sloan
Peter A
PA
Shapiro
Ronald E
RE
DeMeersman
Emilia
E
Bagiella
Elizabeth N
EN
Brondolo
Paula S
PS
McKinley
Olga
O
Crowley
Yihong
Y
Zhao
Joseph E
JE
Schwartz
Michael M
MM
Myers
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000517:prevention & control; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D055070:Resistance Training / Q000379:methods*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D057190:Stroop Test; D055815:Young Adult
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