Aerobic exercise does not compromise muscle hypertrophy response to short-term resistance training
Abstract
This study tested the hypothesis that chronic aerobic and resistance exercise (AE+RE) would elicit greater muscle hypertrophy than resistance exercise only (RE). Ten men (25 ± 4 yr) performed 5 wk unilateral knee extensor AE+RE. The opposing limb was subjected to RE. AE completed 6 hr prior to RE consisted of ~45 min one-legged cycle ergometry. RE comprised 4 × 7 maximal concentric-eccentric knee extensions. Various indexes of in vivo knee extensor function were measured before and after training. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessed m. quadricep femoris (QF) cross-sectional area (CSA), volume, and signal intensity (SI). Biopsies obtained from m. vastus lateralis determined fiber CSA, enzyme levels, and gene expression of myostatin, atrogin-1, MuRF-1, PGC-1α, and VEGF. Increases (P < 0.05) in isometric strength and peak power, respectively, were comparable in AE+RE (9 and 29%) and RE (11 and 24%). AE+RE showed greater increase (14%; P < 0.05) in QF volume than RE (8%). Muscle fiber CSA increased 17% after AE+RE (P < 0.05) and 9% after RE (P > 0.05). QF SI increased (12%; P < 0.05) after AE+RE, but not RE. Neither AE+RE nor RE showed altered mRNA levels. Citrate synthase activity increased (P < 0.05) after AE+RE. The results suggest that the increased aerobic capacity shown with AE+RE was accompanied by a more robust increase in muscle size compared with RE. Although this response was not carried over to greater improvement in muscle function, it remains that intense AE can be executed prior to RE without compromising performance outcome.
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Concurrent training imposes an important energetic limit on ribosome biogenesis.
“From a capacity bottleneck perspective, concurrent training imposes an important energetic limit on ribosome biogenesis [133].”
From Ribosome Biogenesis as a Putative Bottleneck to Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy: Mechanisms, Human Evidence, and Practical Modulators (2026) · cites this paper as [133]
Overcoming the interference effect requires practitioners to precisely manage metabolic stress to ensure that the nucleolar bottleneck remains open long enough to successfully assemble the ribosomal machinery.
“Overcoming the interference effect requires practitioners to precisely manage metabolic stress to ensure that the nucleolar bottleneck remains open long enough to successfully assemble the ribosomal machinery [133,139].”
From Ribosome Biogenesis as a Putative Bottleneck to Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy: Mechanisms, Human Evidence, and Practical Modulators (2026) · cites this paper as [133]
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References 54 · Cited by 168
- Authors
- Lundberg, T. R., Fernandez-Gonzalo, R., Gustafsson, T., & Tesch, P. A.
- Affiliations
- Mid Sweden University (SE)
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; and
- Karolinska University Hospital (SE)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Lundberg, Tommy R.
- Venue
- Journal of Applied Physiology
- Publisher
- American Physiological Society
- Published
- 2013-01-01
- Volume
- 114
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 81-89
- ISSN
- 0161-7567 (ISSN-L)
- 8750-7587
- 1522-1601
- OpenAlex
- W2061709606
- Cited by
- 168
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 10
- FWCI
- 30.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Applied Physiology (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Keywords
- aerobic exercise, resistance training, muscle hypertrophy, knee extensors, quadriceps cross-sectional area, myostatin, atrogin-1, MuRF1, PGC-1α, vascular endothelial growth factor, citrate synthase, muscle strength, exercise order
- MeSH terms
- Tripartite Motif Proteins, Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha, Adult, Glycogen, Heat-Shock Proteins, Humans, Hypertrophy, Isometric Contraction, Knee Joint, L-Lactate Dehydrogenase, Male, Muscle Proteins, RNA, Messenger, Transcription Factors, Water, Exercise, Gene Expression, Muscle Fibers, Skeletal, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A, Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases, SKP Cullin F-Box Protein Ligases, Resistance Training, Myostatin
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