Men and women 70 to 79 yr of age (N = 49) were studied to assess the effect of 6 months of resistance or endurance exercise training on their blood pressure, hemodynamic parameters, and pressor hormone levels. Resistance training consisted of one set of 8 to 12 repetitions on ten Nautilus machines three times per week. The endurance training group progressed to training at 75 to 85% VO2max for 35 to 45 min three times per week for the last 2 months of training. No changes in body weight or estimated lean body mass occurred; however, the sum of seven skinfolds, as an index of percent body fat, decreased in both exercise groups. Upper and lower body strength increased with resistance training, while VO2max increased by 20% in the endurance training group. Blood pressure did not change with resistance training in individuals with normal or somewhat elevated blood pressures. Diastolic and mean blood pressure decreased significantly, by 5 and 4 mmHg, with endurance training. Subjects with blood pressure greater than 140/90 reduced their systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure by 8, 9, and 8 mmHg, respectively, with endurance exercise training. Cardiac output, peripheral vascular resistance, and plasma levels of angiotensin I and II and epinephrine and norepinephrine did not change in any of the groups. Thus, resistance exercise training does not adversely affect, or reduce, blood pressure, while endurance exercise training produces modest reductions in blood pressure in 70 to 79 yr-old individuals with somewhat elevated blood pressures.

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