The acute effects of the different Total Body Resistance Exercise (TRX) postures on flow-mediated dilatation in elderly subjects

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the acute effects of the different total body resistance exercise (TRX) postures on flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) in elderly subjects. The subjects consisted of 45 elderly women 60 to 80 yrs of age of which they were divided into 2 age groups: (a) 60 to 70 yrs of age; and (b) 71 to 80 yrs of age. Then, they were randomly divided into 3 groups with 15 people in each group. The first group trained with the TRX Mid Row workout, the second group did the TRX Squat workout, and the third group did the TRX Chest Press workout. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure, baseline brachial diameter, peak brachial diameter, shear rate, blood flow, and flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) were determined before the test and 5 min after the test. One-way analysis of variance, the Bonferroni method, and the pair t-test were used to analyze the data. Statistical significance was set at P=0.05. The findings indicate that: (a) the TRX Squat and the TRX Chest workouts significantly increased systolic blood pressure; (b) the TRX Mid Row and the TRX Chest Press workouts significantly increased diastolic blood pressure and blood flow; and (c) the TRX Mid Row, the TRX Squat, and the TRX Chest Press significantly increased mean blood pressure and shear rate (P < 0.05). Since FMD did not decrease, the three workouts can be used to train muscle strength in elderly women without any negative effects on the blood vessels.