Background/Objectives: Our study aimed to verify the effects of 6 weeks of concurrent training composed of resistance training (RT) and different modalities of aerobic exercise (moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) or high-intensity interval training (HIIT)) on body composition, blood pressure, vascular function, autonomic nervous system (ANS) function, blood lipid levels, cardiometabolic index (CMI), and health-related fitness in obese middle-aged women with prehypertension. Methods: We selected 26 middle-aged women with obesity and prehypertension and divided them equally into the RT + MICT (n = 13) and RT + HIIT (n = 13) groups. The concurrent training program consisted of warm-up, RT, aerobic exercise (MICT or HIIT), and cool-down, and was performed for 6 weeks, three times a week, 85–100 min per session. The measured dependent parameters were analyzed before and after training. Results: Concurrent training (RT + MICT and RT + HIIT) for 6 weeks showed significant improvements in body composition, blood pressure, vascular function, ANS function, CMI, and health-related fitness. However, the RT + HIIT group showed a relatively greater improvement in blood lipid levels compared to the RT + MICT group. Conclusions: Our study confirmed that both RT + MICT and RT + HIIT yielded similar positive effects on most health-related parameters in obese middle-aged women with prehypertension. Among them, RT + HIIT appeared to be relatively more effective in improving blood lipid profiles.

Beetroot juice (BRJ), a concentrated dietary source of nitrate alongside betalains and polyphenols, influences physiology through enhanced nitrate–nitrite–NO bioavailability, antioxidant activity, and interactions with oral and gut nitrate-reducing microbiota. The efficiency of these mechanisms depends on dose, timing, and preservation of oral bacteria, with antibacterial mouthwash or thiocyanate-rich foods potentially blunting NO₂⁻ generation. Acute BRJ ingestion consistently elevates circulating nitrate and nitrite, yet its impact on glucose, insulin, and lipid regulation is modest; chronic intake may reinforce nitrate-reduction capacity, improve redox balance, and shift microbial composition, though long-term metabolic outcomes remain variable. Cardiovascular adaptations appear more coherent, with acute reductions in systolic blood pressure and improved endothelial function complemented in some cases by microvascular enhancements during multi-week supplementation. Neuromuscular and cognitive effects are less uniform; BRJ does not reliably increase maximal strength or global cognition but may support electrophysiological recovery after muscle-damaging exercise and improve executive performance under fatigue. In exercise settings, dose and timing are critical, as BRJ most consistently benefits endurance performance by reducing oxygen cost, improving exercise economy, and enhancing time-trial or time-to-exhaustion outcomes, whereas effects on sprint, power, and team-sport tasks are more sensitive to contraction duration, recovery intervals, and athlete training status. Overall, available evidence supports a role for NO-mediated vascular and metabolic pathways in the physiological effects of BRJ, although marked inter-individual variability highlights the need for responder-focused dosing strategies and further mechanistic investigation integrating metabolic, microbial, and performance-related outcomes.

Background/Objectives: Exercise in hypoxic environments induces greater physiological stress than normoxic conditions, potentially limiting exercise performance through reduced skeletal muscle oxygenation and increased metabolic strain. Beetroot juice (BRJ), a dietary source of inorganic nitrate, may enhance nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and oxygen delivery under hypoxic conditions. This study examined the acute effects of BRJ supplementation on metabolic responses, skeletal muscle oxygenation, and cardiac function during submaximal exercise at a fixed heart rate under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Methods: Twelve healthy adult males completed four conditions in a randomized, crossover design, with double-blinding applied to the supplementation condition: normoxic condition + placebo (NPLA), normoxic condition + BRJ (NBRJ), hypoxic condition + placebo (HPLA), and hypoxic condition + BRJ (HBRJ). Participants ingested 70 mL of BRJ (400 mg NO₃⁻) or placebo 2.5 h before 30 min of submaximal exercise at 70% HRmax under normoxic (FiO₂ 20.9%) or hypoxic (FiO₂ 14.5%) conditions. A two-way repeated-measures ANOVA was used to test the main effects of environment and treatment and their interaction for each outcome. Results: Hypoxic conditions required a significantly lower mechanical load and induced greater physiological stress. However, a significant environment × treatment interaction was observed for Deoxy_Hb, with HBRJ statistically indistinguishable from normoxic conditions, indicating a clear attenuation of the hypoxia-induced increase in oxygen extraction. In addition, a significant main effect of treatment without a significant interaction was observed for RER, and HBRJ did not differ significantly from NBRJ. Conclusions: BRJ supplementation may help attenuate hypoxia-induced skeletal muscle deoxygenation, as reflected in Deoxy_Hb, potentially via NO-mediated mechanisms; however, as circulating nitrate/nitrite concentrations were not directly measured and interaction effects were not confirmed for most variables, these findings should be regarded as preliminary evidence for the potential use of BRJ as a nutritional strategy in hypoxic exercise settings.