Introduction: The impact of resistance training on heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption (V?O2) kinetics during post-exercise recovery, which informs on the physiological adaptation to training, is uncertain.

Method: We analyzed the HR and V?O2 kinetics during the recovery periods following six low load/high repetition resistance exercises (LLHR-RT) in 23 people with COPD (GOLD stage III/IV) before and after an 8-week LLHR-RT intervention. Baseline findings of 15 age- and sex-matched healthy participants served as controls.

Results: Recovery after 60s and 120s, and the shape (?) of the HR but not the V?O2 recuperation curve was different between COPD and controls (P<0.05) at baseline. After the 8-week LLHR-RT intervention, HR and V?O2 end-of-exercise and absolute values at 60s and 120s were significantly reduced in COPD for the same total workload (Fig 1).

Conclusion: These findings suggest that 60-120s recovery during LLHR-RT seems insufficient in COPD to?enable?an HR and V?O2 recovery comparable to matched healthy controls. However, an 8-week intervention can improve the recovery kinetics of both HR and V?O2 in COPD.