Eight Week Strength Training Reduces Blood Pressure of Middle Age Women

Resistance training sessions were held 3 times a week, in which each session lasted 60 minutes and was performed for a period of 8 weeks. Each session consisted of 10-minute warm-up, shortly after, starting the exercises in the form of alternating circuit by segment, as: machine bench press, extension chair, high pull (front), flexor table, direct curl, leg press, triceps pulley, adductor, abdominal, abductor and calf. In all 10 exercises, 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions were performed, with an interval of 60 seconds between sets and intensity of 12 arbitrary units (a.u.) to 14 a.u., measured by the rate perception effort scale. In the first, fourth and eighth week, pre-exercise blood pressure (BP) was verified, in which the participants sat for a period of 10 minutes at rest, in a comfortable chair, with legs uncrossed, feet flat on the floor, back leaning on the chair, left arm at heart level and palm up to measure BP using a G \* Tech-branded automatic digital device (MASTER model).