Myocardial Oxygenation Response to Stress Performing a Single-set Compared to Volume-Matched Multiple-Set of Leg Press in Untrained Young Adults

Background Debates exist about the preference for single- or multiple-set resistance exercise (RE) on achieving similar training outcome, however, no study examined their effects on the heart, thus, this study was to examine the effect of volume-matched single- and multiple-set RE on the myocardial response through examining rate pressure product (RPP). Methods Fourteen healthy untrained college students performed two leg press exercises (4 × 10 and 1 × 40 at 150% body mass) on different days, and each was performed twice in a counterbalanced crossover order. Pre- and post-exercise SBP and HR were measured by auscultatory method, RPP was calculated as SBP × HR × 10 − 3 , RPP difference (RPP diff ) was calculated by post-exercise RPP subtracting pre-exercise RPP. Results Single-set post-exercise RPP (17.48 ± 3.16 mmHg·beats/min), HR (123.86 ± 20.25 beats/min) was significantly greater than multiple-set post-exercise RPP (13.66 ± 3.04 mmHg·beats/min), HR (101.61 ± 19.14 beats/min), respectively. There was no significant difference of SBP (141.07 ± 9.37 vs. 134.29 ± 15.16 mmHg) between exercise protocols ( P = 0.13). The RPP diff of single-set (6.74 ± 2.86 mmHg·beats/min) was significantly greater than that of multiple-set (3.62 ± 2.90 mmHg·beats/min) ( P < 0.001). Conclusions Single-set RE exerts a greater myocardial oxygenation response as compared to multiple-set, HR contributed more than SBP to the increase of RPP in RE. The results indicate that single-set RE can be warranted when wanting to train the heart, while multiple-set RE would appear best for those who should avoid heart stress.