Aim of this study was to characterize cardiovascular and metabolic changes during leg press dynamic resistance exercise in: 12 Young Males (YM; 22.6±1.3yy; 68.6±8.7kg; 175±10cm), and 12 Females (YF; 23.7±2.5yy; 55.9±5,7kg; 164±10cm), 12 Elderly Males (EM; 67.3±2.7yy; 83.8±8.5kg; 171±5cm), and 12 Females (EF; 67.1±7.1yy; 58.2±5.0kg; 157±1cm). We continuously recorded finger arterial pressure and calculated cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV) and heart rate (HR) during 3 series (10' recovery) of 12 leg-press repetitions at 70% of 1RM (previously estimated by the Brzycki method). The most evident age-related differences were found in SV adaptation to exercise; YM-YF slowly increased SV from baseline to peak (+11%; +8%) while EM-EF exhibited a decrease in SV during exercise (-11%; -3%) with a rebound at end exercise (+49%; +25%). As a consequence, since changes in HR (and in arterial pressure) were similar in all groups, CO increased during exercise by 30% in the young groups, while it was almost unchanged in the elderly, but with a delayed increase at recovery (EM +40%, EF +15%). Thus, at a difference with the young, elderly subjects were unable to manage the increased hindrance to the output of blood from the heart during muscle contractions with relevant isometric components and relied on delayed vasodilatation to overcome the metabolic unbalance accumulated during the exercise bouts; this was more prominent in the males.