The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an increase in intramuscular pressure on ventilatory response at the onset of exercise. Seven subjects participated in this study. We measured ventilatory responses to a 20-s single-arm extension-flexion exercise and passive movement. Each subject performed two kinds of exercise and passive movement in random order: in one, the exercising arm was encircled with a deflated cuff placed around the upper arm; in the other, the exercising arm was compressed by a cuff placed around the upper arm, which was inflated to 25 mmHg. We found that neither ventilatory response during exercise nor during passive movement was significantly changed even though the cuff compressed the arm. In conclusion, the increased intramuscular pressure caused by the 25-mmHg pressure of the cuff did not have a significant influence on ventilatory response at the onset of exercise.