Blood Pressure in Normotensive Young Adults Is Not Influenced by Resistance Training Rest Interval Duration

Introduction: We aimed to examine the effect of resistance training rest interval length on chronic changes of systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Methods: 27 normotensive young adults were randomly assigned to one of three rest interval length groups: 30-sec, 90-sec, or 150-sec. Baseline and post-training SBP and DBP measurements were obtained. Participants trained and logged their sessions in a smartphone application three times per week for 8 weeks. They also measured their blood pressure weekly with a home kit. Changes in SBP and DBP between the three groups were tested using a mixed model 3 x 2 ANOVA with follow-up post-hocs as necessary. Results: There was no significant interaction between rest interval group and time for SBP or DBP. For SBP, there was a significant main effect for time, p