Influence of the Menstrual Cycle on Blood Pressure Post Resistance Exercise in Young and Healthy Women

To determine if the menstrual cycle phase (menstruation versus late follicular phase) influences in the response of blood pressure (BP) after the resistance training (RT), nineteen university students, young and healthy women (age: 18,6±1,47 years old; weight: 55,8±8,0 kg; height: 157,9±6,4 cm) participated in six RT sessions. Low intensity was for the first three sessions for the subjects to be familiarized with breathing, speed and exercise techniques. In the fourth session, one maximum repetition (1RM) was applied in each resistance exercise. Once this value was determined (RM), the participants applied the RT protocol by 60% intensity of 1RM, one session during menstruation and another one close to ovulation. The RT protocol included three repetitions per set in 10 exercises. Previous, immediately after and during 24-hours after the RT, the BP was monitored using the ambulatory BP to determine if the RT varied based on the menstrual cycle. The ANOVA demonstrated no significant differences in neither the systolic blood pressure (sBP), diastolic, nor media during 24-hour considering waking or sleeping periods, but the heart rate (HR) values were higher when participants were close to ovulation compared when they were in their period. The observation by hours after the RT demonstrated that: (1) no matter the menstrual cycle period, the systolic BP was higher while the diastolic was lower immediately after the RT, (2) at the beginning of the day; the BP values were lower during the late follicular phase. In conclusion, the hypotension post-RT was not affected by the menstrual cycle although the HR was higher during the late follicular phase.