Both exercise training and diet are recommended to prevent and control hypertension and overweight/obesity. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of different 16-week aerobic exercise programmes with hypocaloric diet on blood pressure, body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness and pharmacological treatment. Overweight/obese, sedentary participants (n = 175, aged 54.0 ± 8.2 years) with hypertension were randomly assigned into an attention control group (physical activity recommendations) or one of three supervised exercise groups (2 days/week: high-volume with 45 minutes of moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), high-volume and high-intensity interval training (HIIT), alternating high and moderate intensities, and low-volume HIIT (20 minutes)). All variables were assessed pre- and post-intervention. All participants received the same hypocaloric diet. Following the intervention, there was a significant reduction in blood pressure and body mass in all groups with no between-group differences for blood pressure. However, body mass was significantly less reduced in the attention control group compared with all exercise groups (attention control –6.6%, high-volume MICT –8.3%, high-volume HIIT –9.7%, low-volume HIIT –6.9%). HIIT groups had significantly higher cardiorespiratory fitness than high-volume MICT, but there were no significant between-HIIT differences (attention control 16.4%, high-volume MICT 23.6%, high-volume HIIT 36.7%, low-volume HIIT 30.5%). Medication was removed in 7.6% and reduced in 37.7% of the participants. The combination of hypocaloric diet with supervised aerobic exercise 2 days/week offers an optimal non-pharmacological tool in the management of blood pressure, cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition in overweight/obese and sedentary individuals with hypertension. High-volume HIIT seems to be better for reducing body mass compared with low-volume HIIT. The exercise-induced improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness is intensity dependent with low-volume HIIT as a time-efficient method in this population. ClinicalTrials.gov Registration: NCT02283047.

Previous studies about the influence of body dimensions on running economy have not compared athletes specialized in different competition events. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to assess the influence of body mass (m_b) and height (h) on the energy cost of running (Cr) in 38 highly trained male runners, specialized in either marathon (M, n = 12), long middle-distance (5000 - 10000 m, LMD, n = 14) or short middle-distance (800 - 1500 m, SMD, n = 12), and to assess possible differences in body dimensions for each event. Subjects performed a progressive maximal exercise on the treadmill to determine oxygen uptake (V˙O₂) at different submaximal velocities and maximal oxygen uptake (V˙O₂max). Cr was calculated from V˙O₂ measurements. LMD runners had significantly higher mean Cr (0.192 ± 0.007, 0.182 ± 0.009, and 0.180 ± 0.009 ml O₂ × kg^-1 × m^-1 for LMD, M and SMD, respectively) and V˙O₂max (74.1 ± 3.7, 68.5 ± 2.9 and 69.7 ± 3.4 ml × kg^-1 × min^-1). Cr correlated with h (r = -0.86, p < 0.001) and m_b (r = -0.77, p < 0.01) only in the SMD group. In conclusion, these data suggest that highly trained distance runners tend to show counterbalancing profiles of running economy and V˙O₂max (the higher Cr, the higher V˙O₂max and vice versa), and that anthropometric characteristics related with good performance are different in long-distance and middle-distance events.

The warm-up procedure in traditional rowing usually involves continuous low-intensity rowing and short bouts of intense exercise, lasting about 60 min. To compare the effects of a traditional and an experimental 30-min warm-up of lower intensity on indoor rowing time-trial performance. Fourteen highly trained male rowers (age 25.9 ± 5.3 y, height 1.86 ± 0.06 m, mass 80.4 ± 5.2 kg, peak aerobic power 352.0 ± 24.4 W; mean ± SD) performed 2 indoor rowing trials 12 d apart. Rowers were randomly assigned to either LONG or SHORT warm-ups using a crossover design, each followed by a 10-min all-out fixed-seat rowing-ergometer time trial. Mean power output during the time trial was substantially higher after SHORT (322 ± 18 vs 316 ± 17 W), with rowers generating substantially more power in the initial 7.5 min of the time trial after SHORT. LONG elicited substantially higher mean warm-up heart rate than SHORT (134 ± 11 vs 121 ± 13 beats/min), higher pre-time-trial rating of perceived exertion (10.2 ± 1.4 vs 7.6 ± 1.7) and blood lactate (1.7 ± 0.4 mM vs 1.2 ± 0.2 mM), but similar heart rate (100 ± 14 vs 102 ± 9 beats/min). No substantial differences were observed between LONG and SHORT in stroke rate (39.4 ± 2.0 vs 39.4 ± 2.2 strokes/min) or mean heart rate (171 ± 6 vs 171 ± 8 beats/min) during the time trial, nor in blood lactate after it (11.8 ± 2.5 vs 12.1 ± 2.0 mM). A warm-up characterized by lower intensity and shorter duration should elicit less physiological strain and promote substantially higher power production in the initial stages of a rowing time trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between a 6-min walk test (6-MWT) to peak oxygen consumption (V̇O_2peak) and ventilatory threshold (VT) in older heart failure (HF) patients, to validate the equation by Cahalin et al., and to develop a new equation to improve the prediction of V̇O_2peak from 6-MWT. Methods: Older patients (> 65 yr) with systolic or diastolic HF (N = 97) performed an exercise test to peak exertion on an upright bicycle ergometer using an incremental protocol. Gas exchange measures were collected along with continuous electrocardiograph monitoring. 6-MWT was performed on an indoor track at a self-selected pace under standardized conditions. The formula of Cahalin et al. was used to predict V̇O_2peak from 6-MWT, and a new equation was generated from the measured V̇O_2peak-6-MWT relationship from this investigation. Results: The correlation between 6-MWT and measured V̇O_2peak was moderate (r = 0.54) with a standard error of estimate (SEE) of 2.48 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹. The correlation between 6-MWT and VT was weak (r = 0.23), whereas the correlation between V̇O_2peak and VT was strong (r = 0.74). Correlations between the measured and predicted V̇O_2peak values were moderate (r = 0.54) for both prediction equations, and the SEE was 2.83 versus 1.34 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹ for the Cahalin et al. and the new equation, respectively. Conclusion: These results indicate that 6-MWT does not accurately predict functional capacity in older HF patients, and questions the validity of using this test to determine functional capacity in older HF patients. Predicting V̇O_2peak from equations using 6-MWT also results in substantial variability and, consequently, should not be used in older HF patients where an accurate determination of functional capacity is essential.