Cited by 437Sports Performance and TrainingCardiovascular and exercise physiologyMuscle Physiology and Disorders

New fundamental resistance exercise determinants of molecular and cellular muscle adaptations

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Toigo, Marco, Boutellier, Urs·2006·European Journal of Applied Physiology

Abstract

Abstract Physical activity relies on muscular force. In adult skeletal muscle, force results from the contraction of postmitotic, multinucleated myofibres of different contractile and metabolic properties. Myofibres can adapt to (patho-)physiological conditions of altered functional demand by radial growth, longitudinal growth, and regulation of fibre type functional gene modules. The adaptation's specificity depends on the distinct molecular and cellular events triggered by unique combinations of conditional cues. In order to derive effective and tailored exercise prescriptions, it must be determined (1) which mechano-biological condition leads to what molecular/cellular response, and (2) how this molecular/cellular response relates to the structural, contractile, and metabolic adaptation. It follows that a thorough mechano-biological description of the loading condition is imperative. Unfortunately, the definition of (resistance) exercise conditions in the past and present literature is insufficient. It is classically limited to load magnitude, number of repetitions and sets, rest in-between sets, number of interventions/week, and training period. In this review, we show why the current description is insufficient, and identify new determinants of quantitative and/or qualitative effects on skeletal muscle with respect to resistance exercise in healthy, adult humans. These new mandatory determinants comprise the fractional and temporal distribution of the contraction modes per repetition, duration of one repetition, rest in-between repetitions, time under tension, muscular failure, range of motion, recovery time, and anatomical definition. We strongly recommend to standardise the design and description of all future resistance exercise investigations by using the herein proposed set of 13 mechano-biological determinants (classical and new ones).

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  • The active tension required to induce hypertrophy or prevent atrophy is very likely to vary and is subordinate to the complex "response matrix" of the respective subject.

    “This can also be said for muscle mass, as the active tension required to induce hypertrophy or prevent atrophy is very likely to vary as it is subordinate to the complex “response matrix” of the respective subject (Toigo and Boutellier, 2006).”

    From Human Biomechanical and Cardiopulmonary Responses to Partial Gravity – A Systematic Review (2017) · cites this paper as Toigo and Boutellier, 2006

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  1. Dupont Salter AC, Richmond FJ, Loeb GE (2003) EVects of muscle immobilization at diVerent lengths on tetrodotoxin-induced dis- use atrophy. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 11:209-217

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Authors
Toigo, M., & Boutellier, U.
Affiliations
University of Zurich (CH)
Corresponding author
Toigo, Marco
Venue
European Journal of Applied Physiology
Published
2006-07-15
Volume
97
Issue
6
Pages
643-663
ISSN
  • 0020-9376 (ISSN-L)
  • 1439-6319
  • 1439-6327
OpenAlex
W1981567469
Cited by
437
References
229
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 37 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 12
FWCI
0.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • European Journal of Applied Physiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
  • reroDoc Digital Library (submittedVersion)
  • Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • ETH Zürich Research Collection
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Muscle Physiology and Disorders
Keywords
resistance training, skeletal muscle adaptation, exercise prescription, time under tension, muscular failure, range of motion
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Physiological, Animals, Humans, Models, Biological, Signal Transduction, Exercise, Muscle, Skeletal, Muscle Cells, Satellite Cells, Skeletal Muscle, Cell Enlargement

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