Cardiac autonomic responses and adaptation to repeated bouts of eccentric exercise

PURPOSE: The current study was performed to examine the effects of acute eccentric resistance exercise (ERE) on heart rate variability (HRV) and to determine whether cardiac autonomic regulation adapts to the repeated bout effect. METHODS: Isokinetic eccentric exercise consisted of five sets of six maximal contractions of the knee extensor with an angular velocity of 90°/second. College-aged men (n=11) underwent two sessions of ERE with a 3-week interval. Muscle damage indicators such as the range of motion (ROM) and muscle echo intensity (EI) were measured. The post-exercise cardiac autonomic response was assessed by spectral analysis of HRV. Low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) bands, the normalized unit (nu) for each band power, and the LF-to-HF (LF/HF) ratio were determined. All variables were recorded at 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours post-exercise as well as before and immediately after ERE. RESULTS: The EI and ROM of the rectus femoris changed significantly after the maximal ERE. There was a significant interaction effect between the time and bout for EI. Significant changes in LF and HF nu were observed at 72 (1st ERE) and 96 hours (2nd ERE) after each ERE. The LF/HF ratio was also significantly increased at 24 (1st ERE) and 72 hours (2nd ERE) after each ERE. However, no interaction effects on changes in the HRV indices were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that acute ERE leads to cardiac autonomic imbalance for a sustained period and that repeated bouts of ERE cannot alleviate cardiac autonomic responses to exercise.