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Hemodynamic Responses
and Perceived Exertion
During Continuous and
Discontinuous Resistance
Exercise
DOI 10.1055/s-0035-1549957
Int J Sports Med
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IJSM/4616/16.5.2015/MPS

Training & Testing

Hemodynamic Responses and Perceived Exertion

During Continuous and Discontinuous Resistance
Exercise

Authors

R. Massaferri1, L. Matos-Santos2, P. Farinatti3, W. D. Monteiro2

Affiliations

Key words
muscle strength

strength training

photoplethysmography

blood pressure

borg scale

Abstract

Salgado de Oliveira University, PGCAF, Niteri, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro State University, IEFD, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
3
School of Physical Education, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2

This study compared acute responses of systolic

and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP), cardiac
output (Q), heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV),
total peripheral resistance (TPR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) during resistance exercise
performed continuously and discontinuously.
Hemodynamic responses and RPE were assessed
in the last of 4 sets of 12 repetitions of the knee
extension with load corresponding to 70% of 12
repetition maximum, performed continuously
(C) or discontinuously, with pauses of 5s (D5) or
10s (D10) interspersed in the middle of sets. The
increase in SBP was higher for D10 (34.08.4%)

Introduction

accepted after revision

April 15, 2015
Bibliography
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/
10.1055/s-0035-1549957
Published online: 2015
Int J Sports Med
Georg Thieme
Verlag KG Stuttgart New York
ISSN 0172-4622
Correspondence
Dr. Walace David Monteiro
Rio de Janeiro State University
IEFD
Rua So Francisco Xavier 524
sala 8133, Bloco F
Maracan Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Brazil 20550-013
Tel.:+55/21/2334 0775
Fax: +55/21/2334 0222
walacemonteiro@uol.com.br

The hemodynamic responses during resistance

exercises are influenced by mechanical compression on blood vessels, which may cause a marked
increase in blood pressure (BP), due to increased
total peripheral resistance (TPR). The increase in
BP and TPR might also elevate the cardiac output
(Q), although only for a short period of time
[7,12]. For instance, values of BP as high as
480/350mmHg have been reported during
resistance exercise performed with large muscle
mass and maximal intensity [12]. Hence it seems
important to adopt strategies to reduce the
potential increase of hemodynamic responses
during resistance training sessions.
One of the possible strategies that have been suggested to offset the increase in BP and heart rate
(HR) during resistance exercise is to perform discontinuous sets, by adding a brief interruption at
the middle of a given set of repetitions, instead of
performing it continuously [1,5]. Baum et al.
(2003) [1] suggested that the inclusion of pauses
while performing resistance exercises would
mitigate the hemodynamic responses by decreasing the mechanical compression on the blood

and D5 (34.113.2%) vs. C (19.810.3%; P<0.001),

while no difference was detected for DBP. Q
(P=0.03) and SV (P=0.02) were higher, but HR
was lower (P=0.04) in discontinuous vs. continuous. TPR remained stable during continuous,
but significant decreases occurred during the
pauses in the discontinuous protocols (P<0.001).
The BP was higher in discontinuous than in continuous protocols, but the RPE was attenuated in
discontinuous compared to continuous exercise.
In conclusion, hemodynamic responses were
exacerbated during resistance exercise performed discontinuously, but the perceived exertion was lowered.

vessels and favoring the removal of local metabolites. Consequently, there would be a reduction of
vascular resistance and afferent stimulus from
the exercise pressor reflex, producing lower values of BP at the end of a given set of repetitions
vs. continuous sets.
Based on this premise, different strategies to
apply discontinuous sets have been investigated,
such as splitting sets in 2 halves using pauses of
215s [4,5,15], or interspersing pauses after
each repetition [1]. While some studies have
shown that cardiovascular responses might
decrease at the end of discontinuous sets in comparison to continuous sets [1,4,5], at least one
study revealed that BP after multiple discontinuous sets could be even higher than continuous
sets, therefore suggesting that the BP response to
discontinuous or continuous sets might rely on
the type of exercise [15]. Other issues that are
still unclear and warrant additional research
include the optimal pause to induce an attenuation of hemodynamic stress in different resistance exercises and the possible mechanisms
underlying the hemodynamic responses in discontinuous vs. continuous sets.

Massaferri R et al. Hemodynamic Responses and Perceived Int J Sports Med

Training & Testing

Another potential effect of applying discontinuous instead of
continuous sets would be the delay of peripheral fatigue due to
metabolite removal, which could attenuate the rate of perceived
exertion (RPE) at the end of resistance exercise sessions [4]. This
effect would be evidently important in terms of exercise prescription, particularly in untrained or frail populations, but
additional research is necessary to confirm preliminary evidence
in this regard.
Since there is a lack of studies comparing the hemodynamic
responses and RPE in resistance exercises performed continuously or discontinuously, the present study aimed to compare
the responses of HR, BP, TPR, stroke volume (SV) and Q during
continuous and discontinuous sets of an isotonic resistance
exercise. Additionally, the RPE at the end of multiple sets performed continuously or discontinuously was assessed. It has
been hypothesized that the hemodynamic responses and RPE
would be attenuated in discontinuous vs. continuous resistance
exercise protocols.

Methods

Participants

11 healthy young men participated in the study [meanSD:

243years, 1755cm, 758kg, systolic and diastolic BP (SBP/
DBP) 1173 and 709mmHg, respectively]. All participants had
a minimum experience of 6 months in resistance training,
including the exercise applied in this study [21]. The following
exclusion criteria were adopted: a) participation in athletic competitive training; b) use of any medication or substances with
potential cardiovascular effect at rest and during exercise;
c) musculoskeletal problems that could preclude the exercise
performance; d) history or presence of cardiovascular disease or
hypertension; e) positive score on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q). The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards required by the journal [8], all
participants signed informed consent, and the study was
approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Salgado de
Oliveira University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (44/2012).

Study design

The subjects were recommended to avoid drinking coffee or

alcoholic beverages, or performing any kind of physical exercise
24h prior to the experimental sessions. Data collection was conducted over 5 visits separated by 48- to 72-h intervals and
always at the same time of day, from 10 to 11 a.m. On the first
visit, subjects signed the informed consent form, answered
questions related to the anamnesis and PAR-Q, performed the
anthropometric measurements and 12 repetition maximum
(RM) test-retest for the exercise included in the protocol.
On the third, fourth and fifth visits, the participants underwent
the resistance exercise sessions in a counterbalanced random
order as follows: 1) exercise performed continuously (C); 2) exercise performed discontinuously, with 5-s (D5) pause between the
sixth and seventh repetitions; 3) exercise performed discontinuously, with 10-s (D10) pause between the sixth and seventh repetitions. All protocols included 4 sets of 12 repetitions with 70%
of the load corresponding to12 RM, and 2-min intervals between
sets. In order to compare the hemodynamic responses and RPE,
and considering that the number of sets seem to have a cumulative effect upon BP [7], only the last set (fourth) was considered
in each situation. The bilateral knee extension was performed
Massaferri R et al. Hemodynamic Responses and Perceived Int J Sports Med

IJSM/4616/16.5.2015/MPS

using a TechnogymTM knee extension machine (Gambetolla,

Italy).

12 repetition maximum test (12 RM)

After receiving detailed and standardized instructions about the

test procedures, the volunteers performed a warm-up of 15 repetitions with a comfortable load. The exercise was performed as
follows: 1) start position (knees flexed at 90 degrees); 2) end
position (knees completely extended). The cadence of movement was set by a metronome in order to standardize the time
under muscle tension in all experimental situations (2s per repetition 1s for each concentric and eccentric phase). A maximum of 4 sets was allowed to obtain the 12 RM load, with a
5min interval between sets. In the event that the load corresponding to 12 RM was not determined within 4 trials, the test
was repeated on another visit at least 48h later. The test-retest
reproducibility of the 12 RM load was verified within 48 to 72h
after the first determination (ICC=0.92).

Hemodynamic assessment and rating of perceived

exertion (RPE)

The BP at rest was measured by an automatic sphygmomanometer (OnromTM, Matsusaka, Japan). Upon arrival at the laboratory, the subjects remained seated in a quiet environment for
10min. After this, 3 sequential measurements of BP were
obtained with 2min intervals and the average value was
recorded as BP at rest. Before each exercise session the BP at rest
was checked using the same device, to assure that pre-exercise
values were similar across conditions and consistent with the BP
at rest previously determined.
Beat-to-beat blood pressure during exercise was measured using
finger photoplethysmography (FinometerTM, Finapres Medical
Systems BV, Arnhem, the Netherlands) obtained from the middle finger of the left hand. The finger was supported at the level
of the right atrium by a sling, and the hip was stabilized through
a belt to prevent any unwanted movement that could jeopardize
the physiological sign. Subjects were instructed not to perform
any muscle contraction with the left lower limb and to avoid the
Valsalva maneuver, exhaling during the concentric phase and
inhaling in the eccentric phase of the movement. The stroke volume (SV) was calculated offline using a Modelflow offered by the
BeatScope software, version 1.0 (TNO Biomedical InstrumentationTM, Amsterdam, The Netherlands), which computed aortic
blood flow from arterial pressure wave by simulating a nonlinear, time-varying, 3-element model of aortic input impedance
[25]. This methodology has been shown to reliably estimate
rapid changes in CO during a variety of experimental protocols
[14,23], including both dynamic [23] and resistance exercise
[24]. In our lab, the operator reliability has been calculated and
was considered satisfactory (ICC=0.84). The Q was estimated by
the product between SV and HR, while the TPR was calculated as
the ratio between the mean arterial pressure (MAP) and Q.
Changes in mean arterial pressure measured by photoplethysmography are not different from direct arterial blood pressure
measurements both at rest and during exercise [10,22]. However, finger photoplethysmography may slightly overestimate
SBP and underestimate DBP vs. intrabrachial [9] and auscultation [16] methods. Therefore prior to data assessment the BP
values at rest provided by the Finometer were checked against
automatic sphygmomanometer (OnromTM, Matsusaka, Japan).
The tests were initiated only when the difference between BP
assessed by both methods was lower than 5%. Data assessed by

IJSM/4616/16.5.2015/MPS

Training & Testing

photoplethysmography were used to describe the relative

changes (%) of SBP, DBP, Q, HR, SV and TPR during exercise. It
was as described herein, considering the difference between
values obtained automatic sphygmomanometer 10s before
starting the exercise and the mean of each moment of data
acquired. At the first moment, the mean values between the first
and sixth repetitions were recorded. At the second moment, the
responses during the pauses within sets (5 or 10s) were recorded
for the discontinuous protocols, while in the continuous protocol values between the sixth and seventh repetitions were registered. The third moment corresponded to the mean values
recorded between the eighth and twelth repetitions in all proto Fig. 1). Although the analysis has been done by percentcols (
age of variation, the absolute hemodynamic values were shown
Table 1).
to allow comparisons with others studies (
The RPE was assessed using the 10-point Borg scale (CR-10) [2],
applied immediately at the end of each 12-repetition set performed continuously (C) or discontinuously (D5 and D10).

1st moment

2nd moment
(pause)

40

3rd moment

SBP (%)

30
20
C
D5
D10

10
0
10

6
7
Repetitions

10

11

12

Fig. 1 Variation (%) of systolic blood pressure (SBP) during the repetitions in the continuous (C) and discontinuous protocols performed with
pauses of 5s (D5) and 10s (D10).

Statistical analysis

The normality of data was confirmed by the KolmogorovSmirnov test, and therefore results are expressed as meanstandard deviation. Possible BP differences at rest across the visits
were tested by ANOVA for repeated measurements. Differences
with regard to the percentage of variation (%) between the
resistance exercise protocols (C, D5 and D10) along the fourth
set (1st to 6th repetitions vs. pause vs. 8th to 12th repetitions)
were tested by 2-way ANOVA for repeated measurements. To
compare the Borg score at the end of the fourth set of each protocol, an ANOVA for repeated measurements was applied. Fisher
post hoc verifications were used in the event of significant F
ratios. For all treatments, the significance level was set at P0.05
and calculations were made using the software Statistica 7.0
(StatsoftTM, Tulsa, OK, USA).

Results

A post hoc power analysis was performed, based on effect

size=0.5; err prob=0.05; total sample size=11; number of
groups=3; number of measurements, corr. among rep. measurements=0.5, and nonsphericity correction =1. The statistical
power obtained (1 err prob) was 0.813 (G*Power Version
3.1.3 University of Dsseldorf, Germany).
No differences were found between the resting BP previously
determined and the values measured before each exercise
condition (SBP: continuous=11812mmHg vs. disconti
nuous 5=11711mmHg vs. discontinuous 10=11711mmHg:
P=0.983 and DBP: continuous=807mmHg vs. disconti
nuous 5=766mmHg vs. discontinuous 10=785mmHg:
P=0.279).
Fig. 1 illustrates the percentage behavior of systolic blood

pressure (SBP) during the repetitions in the protocols and demonstrates every moment that was used for data analysis.
Fig. 2 illustrates data for the comparison of SBP and DBP per
centage of variation in the different protocols and moments.
Both SBP and DBP have shown similar response pattern across

Table 1 Absolute values of SBD (systolic blood pressure), DPB (diastolic blood pressure), Q (cardiac output), HR (heart rate), SV (systolic volume) and TPR
(total peripheral resistance) during each moment of exercise.
Variables
SBP (mmHg)

DBP (mmHg)

Q (l.min1)

HR (bpm)

SV (ml)
TPR (mmHg.
(l.min)1)

Protocol

Pre-exercise (10s)

1st to 6th repetition

Pause or 7th repetition**

8th to 12th repetition

C
D5
D10
C
D5
D10
C
D5
D10
C
D5
D10
C
D5
D10
C
D5
D10

143.9215.94
138.6310.98
137.4015.08
80.797.19
76.336.34
78.815.62
10.442.05
10.011.47
9.632.11
91.3813.38
88.0212.17
88.0813.95
114.8015.70
113.8814.72
110.5523.18
10.062.11
9.851.80
10.582.15

165.8616.73
158.0215.64
153.6715.64
100.6410.05
92.8110.27
93.058.7
10.042.08
10.311.65
10.381.79
95.2514.87
96.6514.79
98.0715.05
105.2611.15
107.7613.18
107.1916.89
12.762.33
11.451.88
11.221.88

163.9218.06*
134.5015.54
133.9918.01
101.4213.14*
69.668.78
72.668.58
10.812.35#
12.252.17
12.252.30
107.7018.59
107.0416.78
109.2815.77
101.2118.32#
115.5719.29
113.5221.44
11.962.52*
7.431.34
7.611.24

172.0619.98*
185.5418.48
183.5717.33
105.5213.20
107.5510.86
107.2511.17
11.352.26
10.932.08
10.421.99
115.9719.25#
105.6221.11
99.2718.21
98.7517.77
105.0014.86
106.2818.72
11.812.27
12.732.66
13.382.57

**Pause in discontinuous protocols and 7th repetition in the continuous protocol. Symbols indicate significant percentage differences between protocols at the same moments:*=P<0.001 (C vs. D5 and D10); #=P<0.05 (C vs. D10)

Massaferri R et al. Hemodynamic Responses and Perceived Int J Sports Med

IJSM/4616/16.5.2015/MPS

Training & Testing

40
30
SBP (%)

C
D5
D10

50

40

10
0

Fig. 2 Percentage of variation (%) in relation to

pre-exercise of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and
diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in the 3 analyzed
moments (1st to 6th, pause, and 8th to 12th repetitions) during continuous (C), and discontinuous
protocols performed with pauses of 5s (D5) and
10s (D10) within sets. *: P<0.001: C vs. D5 and
D10.

C
D5
D10

30
20
10
0

10
20

60
50

20

DBP (%)

10
1 to 6

pause
Repetitions

8 to 12

20

1 to 6

pause
Repetitions

the protocols. At the first moment (1st to 6th repetitions

Fig. 1) there was no difference between the 3 protocols.

At the second moment (pause in D5 and D10, or 7th repetition in

C
Fig. 1), SBP and DBP was lower in D5 and D10 vs. C
(SBP: C=14.07.0% vs. D5=3.910.3%; P=0.001 and vs.
D10=3.29.7%; P=0.001; and DBP: C=25.411.2% vs.
D5=10.38.7%; P<0.001 and vs. D10=9.410.7%; P<0.001).
At the third moment (8th to 12th repetitions), the SBP increase
was higher in D10 and D5 vs. C (C=19.810.3% vs. D5=34.113.2%;
P<0.001 and vs. D10=34.08.4%; P<0.001), while no difference
between protocols was detected for DBP (C=30.714.0% vs.
D5=41.110.7%; P=0.109 and vs. D10=36.09.5%; P=0.409).
Fig. 3 depicts data for the percentage of variation of Q, HR, SV,

and TPR in the different protocols. The Q was higher in discontinuous (during interspersed pauses) vs. continuous conditions
(P<0.05), which was probably due to a higher SV observed at the
same time (P<0.05). On the other hand, the HR tended to be
higher in continuous vs. discontinuous protocols (P<0.05) The
TPR remained stable during the continuous exercise, but varied
significantly along the discontinuous protocols, being lower during the pauses in comparison with values obtained during the
sets (P<0.05).
Table 1 contains the absolute values of SBD, DPB, Q, HR, SV, and

TPR during each moment of analysis.

Finally, the RPE was lower in D10 vs. C (4.11.0 vs. 5.81.2;
P=0.006). No difference was found between D5 (5.091.57) and
C (5.81.2; P=0.20) or between D5 and D10 (4.11.0; P=0.11).

Discussion

This study investigated the effect of performing multiple sets of

resistance exercise continuously or discontinuously upon hemodynamic responses and RPE. It has been demonstrated that
pauses lasting 5 or 10s in the middle of sets performed with 70%
of 12RM load induced higher hemodynamic responses than continuous protocols. On the other hand, the RPE at the end of these
sets was higher after continuous vs. discontinuous sets. These
data contradict our initial hypothesis claiming that the hemo
dynamic responses would be attenuated in discontinuous vs.
continuous resistance exercise protocols. However, findings
with regard to RPE support the premise that including a short
pause in the middle of each set during multiple sets of a resistance exercise may reduce the effort perception and therefore the
fatigue during resistance training sessions.
Few studies have compared the effects of continuous vs. discontinuous resistance exercise protocols on hemodynamic responses,
and their results are mixed and inconclusive. In 2 previous
studies, it has been suggested that hemodynamic responses
would be different higher in continuous vs. discontinuous protoMassaferri R et al. Hemodynamic Responses and Perceived Int J Sports Med

8 to 12

cols [1,5], but at least one previous study concurred with our
results [15]. Baum et al. [1] analyzed the BP and rate product
pressure during the leg press performed intermittently and continuously (1.5s for concentric and eccentric phases, with 3s
pauses between each repetition) in protocols including 3 sets of
12, 10 and 8 repetitions with 50, 70 and 80% of 1RM loads,
respectively. At all intensities, the hemodynamic responses were
higher when exercise was performed continuously. Silva et al.
[5] assessed the effects of discontinuous and continuous protocols during the leg press and bench press performed with 3 sets
of 10 repetitions with load corresponding to 10RM. Although
the pauses between sets in the discontinuous protocol (5 and
15s) have been quite similar to those adopted in the present
study, in contrast to their results our data suggested that discontinuous exercise would be related to lower hemodynamic
responses.
A previous study by our group [15] could not confirm these findings. Similar to the present data, it has been shown that both SBP
and DBP were higher at the end of discontinuous over continuous sets performed with 8RM load (4 sets of 8 repetitions and 2s
pauses between the fourth and fifth repetitions). The exercise
protocols applied by Polito et al. [15] were quite similar to the
protocols used in this study the hemodynamic responses were
assessed during the knee extension performed continuously and
with pauses applied at the middle of each set. However, the
pauses presently applied were longer (5 and 10s) than in the
study by Polito et al. [15] (only 2s). It can be therefore claimed
that, at least for the knee extension exercise, pauses from 2 to
10s do not minimize the hemodynamic responses in comparison with continuous protocols.
Considering the type of exercises investigated by the studies
reporting lower hemodynamic responses in discontinuous vs.
continuous protocols, and those that did not concur with those
findings, it can be speculated that the type of muscle contraction
applied at the beginning of the exercises might have a determinant role. For instance, Silva et al. (2010) and Baum et al. (2003)
[5] used exercises which started with eccentric muscle contraction, while in the present and in Politos [15] studies, the exercise began with the concentric phase. The rationale for such a
hypothesis relies on the fact that, at the beginning of exercises
performed with concentric contraction, it is necessary to move
the load against gravity to overcome inertia with additional
recruitment of motor units [11,13,17], which could probably
lead to an up-regulated and centrally mediated increase in BP
[26,27]. On the other hand, when beginning the exercise with
eccentric contraction, the movement is not performed against
gravity and the number of recruited motor units would not be
influenced by inertia [11,13,17]. This may help to explain why
the increased hemodynamic responses, particularly BP, would
be greater after the pauses in the middle of each set in exercises

IJSM/4616/16.5.2015/MPS

Training & Testing

40

30

HR (%)

Q (%)

30

10
0

10
0

20

10

1a6

pausa
Repetitions
C
D5

8 a 12

1a 6

D10

20

pausa
Repetitions
C
D5

60

Fig. 3 Percentage of variation (%) in relation to

pre-exercise of cardiac output (Q), heart rate (HR),
stroke volume (SV) and total peripheral resistance
(TPR) during continuous (C) and discontinuous
protocols, with 5-s (D5) and 10-s (D10) pauses
within sets. *: P<0.05 (C vs. D10) and #: P<0.05
(C vs. D5 and D10).

8 a12
D10

40

10
0

TPR (%)

SV (%)

20

10

10
20
30

40

20

50

pausa
Repetitions
C
D5

0
20
40

*
1a6

20

8 a 12
D10

60

1a6

pausa
Repetitions
C
D5

performed with concentric contraction [15] but not in exercises

Fig. 1). With regard to the
with eccentric contraction [5] (
observed BP variation pattern, firstly increasing and then
decreasing until the end of the exercise, we can speculate that in
the continuous protocol the increased values found near to the
end of the exercise could be (at least partially) explained by the
greater amount of accumulated metabolites. In D5 and D10 conditions, the short period of exercise (6+6 repetitions) combined
with the interspersed intervals might have helped to avoid the
continuous accumulation of metabolites. However, it seems that
this was not enough to offset the rapid increase of BP mediated
by central up-regulation due to the additional recruitment of
motor units. Evidently, further research is needed to confirm
this hypothesis. This research could include quantifying the
muscle activity and markers of muscle fatigue such as lactate
and BP in continuous and discontinuous exercises beginning
with concentric and eccentric contractions.
Another possible mechanism that might be related to the BP
increase after resuming the exercise in discontinuous sets would
be related to the arterial baroreflex adjustment of BP. As illustrated in
Fig. 2, during the discontinuous sets, the BP decreased
to a lower level than at rest, with significant reduction of TPR in
comparison with values assessed during the exercise performance. Nevertheless, a concomitant increase in Q was observed
Fig. 3). Its feasible to think that this speduring the pauses (
cific response occurred to offset the acute reduction in BP, with
increased sympathetic activity mediated by the baroreceptor
reflex [6,18,19]. This would help to explain the increase in SV
and Q presently observed. Apparently, additional research
focused on quantification of sympathetic and parasympathetic
activities is also needed to confirm this supposition.
With regard to effort perception, there is a relationship between
lower scores for RPE obtained at the end of discontinuous compared to continuous protocols and a more favorable condition
for removing metabolites influencing local fatigue [3,20]. The
results from a previous study measuring RPE and blood lactate
during continuous vs. discontinuous resistance exercise proto-

8 a12
D10

cols confirm this premise [4], since higher RPE scores in continuous vs. discontinuous protocols were associated with greater
lactate concentration. An additional speculation from the present
findings, which dissociated the hemodynamic responses and
RPE, is that BP might be influenced rather by feed-forward reflex
mechanisms from neural regulation than by peripheral stimulation mediated by metaboreceptors. These mechanisms should
be better elucidated by future research.
The present study has limitations. First, SV and TPR were estimated and not directly measured. Second, EMG activity during
exercise was not quantified, and therefore it was not possible to
confirm whether a greater number of motor units have indeed
been recruited when resuming the exercise after interruption in
the discontinuous protocols. This would be an important strategy to be considered in future studies for a better understanding
of potential mechanisms underlying the hemodynamic
responses to continuous and discontinuous resistance exercise
protocols.

Conclusion

Multiple sets of discontinuous resistance exercise protocols

with bilateral knee extension induced higher BP over continuous
protocols, regardless of the duration of pauses at the middle of
each set. Q was also greater during pauses in discontinuous vs.
continuous conditions, which was probably related to an
increase in SV that could not be offset by a simultaneous decrease
in TPR at the moment of interruption. On the other hand, the
RPE as quantified by scores in the Borg scale was attenuated in
continuous vs. discontinuous protocols. Hence the application of
relatively short pauses in the middle of maximum repetition
sets can reduce the overall fatigue related to resistance exercise
sessions. However, at least for the knee extension, the hemodynamic responses were exacerbated by this strategy. It is not yet
known whether equivalent responses would occur in multiple
sets of other exercises, but these findings should be taken into
Massaferri R et al. Hemodynamic Responses and Perceived Int J Sports Med

Training & Testing

account when prescribing resistance training sessions to populations with cardiovascular risk.

Acknowledgements

This study was partially supported by the Carlos Chagas Filho

Foundation for the Research Support in Rio de Janeiro and by the
Brazilian Council for the Research Development.

Conflict of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict

of interests.
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