Heart Rate Response to a Training Session with Pilates Exercises in Overweight Pre-Diabetic Women

Physical activity and nutrition are major determinants of health and quality of life and exercise
enhances insulin sensitivity and opposes the progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes. Today,
researchers continue in their efforts to understand how new exercise techniques might impact body
composition in humans.
PURPOSE: To estimate the heart rate (HR) response during different phases of a training session
(TS) in a group of conditioned overweight pre-diabetic individuals.
METHODS. A sample of 9 overweight pre-diabetic women (47.3±12.7 years; Body Mass Index,
28.3±1.7 kg/m2) completed the acute training protocol (TP) as follows: 30 minutes (min) of
walking (W) activity (60-69%HRmax), 7 min of flexibility exercise (FE), 3 min of Interval Training
(IT) (running plus 15 sec of static exercise) and 12 min of Pilates Circuit Training (PCT) on mat.
The PCT was composed by 10 sets of Pilates exercises (3 static and 7 dynamic sets performed for
15 seconds) separated by 15 sec of passive recovery. The HR (bpm) and the intensity of PA (work
load) were estimated during the different phases using the Polar® Team2 Pro Heart Rate
Monitoring System.
RESULTS. The total work load was 69.6±12.4 and the HR during the TS ranged from 63.3±8.5
bpm to 197.6±12.4 bpm. The HR during the W phase was for the 54% of the time included in the
range of 60-69% of the HR max, with HR peak of 155±11.0 bpm and a mean work load of 35±5.4.
The HR during the IT phase was for the 70% of the time included in the range of 70-89% of the HR
max, with HR peak of 156±6.3 bpm and a mean work load of 7.6±1.4. Finally, the HR during the
PCT phase was for the 52% of the time included in the range of 60-69% of the HR max, with HR
peak of 128±8.0 bpm and a mean work load of 10.6±5.4
CONCLUSIONS. The adopted TP with Pilates exercises seems to be adequate to produce good
training load, in term of HR response, for overweight pre-diabetic women.