Autonomic and Haemodynamic Adaptation to Aerobic Versus Statodynamic Exercise in Previously Untrained Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The effect of various modes of muscular activity on the autonomic regulation of the cardiovascular system in previously untrained young people has not been sufficiently studied, and direct comparisons of aerobic and predominantly static loads of similar duration are few. We compared changes in heart rate variability (HRV), central haemodynamics, and cardiovascular response types to a standardised exercise test after ten-week aerobic cyclic and statodynamic exercise programmes. The randomized controlled trial included 58 apparently healthy individuals aged 20-30 years, allocated using gender-stratified randomization into the group of aerobic cyclic loads (n=29) and the group of statodynamic loads involving large muscle groups with a limited heart rate of 120-130 beats per minute (n=29). The duration of the interven- tion was 10 weeks (3 sessions per week). In the group of aerobic loads, there was an increase in RMSSD, SDNN, pNN50 and the power of the high-frequency component, a decrease in the LF/HF ratio, the stress index of regulatory systems and total peripheral vascular resistance, as well as an increase in the proportion of normotonic reactions to a functional test. There were no comparable changes in HRV parameters in the group of statodynamic loads. In previously untrained young people, ten-week aerobic cyclic loads are accompanied by a more pronounced favourable autonomic and hae- modynamic adaptation than statodynamic loads involving large muscle groups. The data obtained are preliminary and require confirmation in studies with a large sample size.