Resistive training effects on strength and cardiovascular endurance in cardiac and coronary prone patients.

Resistive training using heavy loads with few repetitions increases strength but does little to improve cardiovascular endurance. Circuit weight training, a form of resistive training using moderate loads with frequent repetitions, is used to improve both cardiovascular and strength fitness. Studies of circuit weight training in healthy adults and athletes have shown increases of 20-45% and cardiovascular improvement from 0 to 15%. An increasing number of exercise programs for cardiac and coronary prone populations have introduced circuit weight training. The few reported studies have shown that high risk patients can attain increases in fitness similar to those seen in healthy populations. Furthermore, the hemodynamic responses to circuit weight training suggest that it is a clinically safe and acceptable form of exercise.