Purpose/Aim: The execution of strength exercises has demonstrated to increase the intraocular pressure (IOP) levels, and it may have a negative impact on the ocular health. We aimed to explore the influence of fitness level on the acute IOP response to strength exercises performed under different loading conditions, as well as to test whether the IOP responses differ between the bench press and jump squat when performed against the same relative loads. Materials and Methods: Forty military personnel males were divided in two subgroups (20 high-fit and 20 low-fit) based on their relative to body mass one-repetition maximum (1-RM). Participants performed an incremental loading test in the bench press and jump squat exercises, and IOP was assessed before and after each repetition by rebound tonometry. Results: IOP increased immediately after executing both exercises (p < 0.01 in both cases), being the magnitude of the IOP increment positively and linearly associated with the increment of the load in both groups (i.e., high-fit and low-fit) and in both exercises (R² range: 0.81–1.00). Higher fitness level attenuated the IOP rise produced by both exercises (p < 0.01 in both cases). The bench press induced higher IOP increments than the jump squat for both groups at relative loads of ~50%1-RM and ~60%1-RM (p < 0.01 in all cases). Conclusions: These data indicate that IOP increases as a consequence of performing strength exercises, being the increment accentuated with the increase of the load and in the bench press compared to the jump squat exercise. Of special importance would be that the IOP responses were significantly reduced in high-fit individuals. These findings should be addressed in glaucoma patients.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the influence of the level of effort during four basic resistance exercises leading to muscular failure on intraocular pressure (IOP) and ocular perfusion (OPP), as well as the role of exercise type and sex. Methods: Twenty‐five young adults (12 women) performed 10 repetitions against their 10‐RM (repetition maximum) load in the squat, military press, biceps curl and calf raise exercises. IOP was measured before, during and after exercise, whereas OPP was indirectly assessed before and after each exercise. Results: There was a progressive IOP rise during exercise (p < 0.001, η² = 0.531), which was dependent on exercise type (p = 0.020, η² = 0.125). The squat exercise induced higher IOP increments in comparison to the other exercises (corrected p‐values < 0.001), and higher IOP values were found for the military press and biceps curl than for the calf raise exercise (corrected p‐values = 0.012 and 0.002). OPP exhibited a significant reduction when leading to muscular failure (p = 0.001, η² = 0.364), being statistically significant for the squat and military press exercises (corrected p‐values = 0.037 and 0.047). No effect of sex was found for IOP and OPP (p > 0.05). Conclusions: A single set of resistance training leading to muscular failure causes an instantaneous and progressive IOP rise in healthy young individuals. These IOP rises depend on exercise type (squat > military press = biceps curl > calf raise), but not on participant´s sex. OPP diminished as a consequence of performing resistance training exercise, being statistically significant for the squat and military press exercises. Future studies should include glaucoma patients aiming to corroborate the generalizability of our findings.