CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 204Sports Performance and TrainingMuscle metabolism and nutritionCardiovascular and exercise physiology

The effect of training volume and intensity on improvements in muscular strength and size in resistance-trained men

Open access
Mangine, Gerald T., Hoffman, Jay R., Gonzalez, Adam M., Townsend, Jeremy R., Wells, Adam J., Jajtner, Adam R., Beyer, Kyle S., Boone, Carleigh H. +6 more·2015·Physiological Reports
DOI 10.14814/phy2.12472PMC PMC4562558
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

This investigation compared the effect of high-volume (VOL) versus high-intensity (INT) resistance training on stimulating changes in muscle size and strength in resistance-trained men. Following a 2-week preparatory phase, participants were randomly assigned to either a high-volume (VOL; n = 14, 4 × 10-12 repetitions with ~70% of one repetition maximum [1RM], 1-min rest intervals) or a high-intensity (INT; n = 15, 4 × 3-5 repetitions with ~90% of 1RM, 3-min rest intervals) training group for 8 weeks. Pre- and posttraining assessments included lean tissue mass via dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, muscle cross-sectional area and thickness of the vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), pectoralis major, and triceps brachii muscles via ultrasound images, and 1RM strength in the back squat and bench press (BP) exercises. Blood samples were collected at baseline, immediately post, 30 min post, and 60 min postexercise at week 3 (WK3) and week 10 (WK10) to assess the serum testosterone, growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1), cortisol, and insulin concentrations. Compared to VOL, greater improvements (P < 0.05) in lean arm mass (5.2 ± 2.9% vs. 2.2 ± 5.6%) and 1RM BP (14.8 ± 9.7% vs. 6.9 ± 9.0%) were observed for INT. Compared to INT, area under the curve analysis revealed greater (P < 0.05) GH and cortisol responses for VOL at WK3 and cortisol only at WK10. Compared to WK3, the GH and cortisol responses were attenuated (P < 0.05) for VOL at WK10, while the IGF1 response was reduced (P < 0.05) for INT. It appears that high-intensity resistance training stimulates greater improvements in some measures of strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men during a short-term training period.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.14814/phy2.12472

Cites

38 of 38 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Mangine et al. reported similar changes in muscle thickness between high- and moderate-load training in a cohort of resistance-trained men following 8 weeks of total body resistance training exercise; greater gains in dual x-ray absorptiometry-derived lean arm mass were noted for the heavier load group.

    “Conversely, Mangine et al. [22] reported similar changes in muscle thickness between high- and moderate-load training in a cohort of resistance-trained men following 8 weeks of total body RT exercise; interestingly, greater gains in dual x-ray absorptiometry-derived lean arm mass were noted for the heavier load group.”

    From Loading recommendations for muscle strength, hypertrophy, and local endurance: a re-examination of the repetition continuum. (2021) · cites this paper as [22]

  • Multiple studies have reported greater 1RM improvements when training in the strength zone (1 to 5 repetitions) vs. the hypertrophy zone (8 to 12 repetitions), although these findings are not universal.

    “Multiple studies have reported greater 1RM improvements when training in the so-called “strength zone” (1 to 5 repetitions) vs. the “hypertrophy zone” (8 to 12 repetitions) [19,20,21,22], although these findings are not universal [23,24].”

    From Loading recommendations for muscle strength, hypertrophy, and local endurance: a re-examination of the repetition continuum. (2021) · cites this paper as [22]

  • Given research showing a potential hypertrophic detriment to employing short rest intervals in resistance-trained individuals, differences in rest periods may have confounded the results of Mangine et al.

    “Given research showing a potential hypertrophic detriment to employing short rest intervals in resistance-trained individuals [50,51], it is conceivable that differences in rest periods may have confounded the results of Mangine et al. [22].”

    From Loading recommendations for muscle strength, hypertrophy, and local endurance: a re-examination of the repetition continuum. (2021) · cites this paper as [22]

  • Discrepancies in findings between studies may be attributed to the fact that the design in Mangine et al. had participants in the heavy load group rest 3 min between sets while those in the moderate load group rested just 1 min, whereas all participants in our group's study rested 2 min between sets.

    “Discrepancies in findings may be attributed to the fact that the design in Mangine et al. [22] had participants in the heavy load group rest 3 min between sets while those in the moderate load group rested just 1 min. In contrast, all participants in the study by our group [21] rested 2 min between sets.”

    From Loading recommendations for muscle strength, hypertrophy, and local endurance: a re-examination of the repetition continuum. (2021) · cites this paper as [22]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 44

  1. Abe T DeHoyos DV Pollock ML Garzarella L Time course for strength and muscle thickness changes following upper and lower body resistance training in men and women Eur. J. Appl. Physiol 2000 81 174 180 10638374
  2. Bamman MM Shipp JR Jiang J Gower BA Hunter GR Goodman A Mechanical load increases muscle IGF-I and androgen receptor mRNA concentrations in humans Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab 2001 280 E383 E390 11171591
  3. Bemben M Use of diagnostic ultrasound for assessing muscle size J. Strength Cond. Res 2002 16 103 108 11834114
  4. Berg H Tedner B Tesch P Changes in lower limb muscle cross-sectional area and tissue fluid volume after transition from standing to supine Acta Physiol. Scand 1993 148 379 385 8213193
  5. Brandenburg JE Docherty D The effects of accentuated eccentric loading on strength, muscle hypertrophy, and neural adaptations in trained individuals J. Strength Cond. Res 2002 16 25 32 11834103
  6. Buresh R Berg K French J The effect of resistive exercise rest interval on hormonal response, strength, and hypertrophy with training J. Strength Cond. Res 2009 23 62 71 19077743
  7. Burgomaster KA Moore DR Schofield LM Phillips SM Sale DG Gibala MJ Resistance training with vascular occlusion: metabolic adaptations in human muscle Med. Sci. Sports Exerc 2003 35 1203 1208 12840643
  8. Cadore EL Izquierdo M Conceição M Radaelli R Pinto RS Baroni BM Echo intensity is associated with skeletal muscle power and cardiovascular performance in elderly men Exp. Gerontol 2012 47 473 478 22525196
  9. Chapman DW Newton M McGuigan MR Nosaka K Comparison between old and young men for responses to fast velocity maximal lengthening contractions of the elbow flexors Eur. J. Appl. Physiol 2008 104 531 539 18584196
  10. Chen TC Lin K-Y Chen H-L Lin M-J Nosaka K Comparison in eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage among four limb muscles Eur. J. Appl. Physiol 2011 111 211 223 20852880
  11. Crewther B Cronin J Keogh J Cook C The salivary testosterone and cortisol response to three loading schemes J. Strength Cond. Res 2008 22 250 255 18296983
  12. Crowley MA Matt KS Hormonal regulation of skeletal muscle hypertrophy in rats: the testosterone to cortisol ratio Eur. J. Appl. Physiol 1996 73 66 72 8861671
  13. Goto K Nagasawa M Yanagisawa O Kizuka T Ishii N Takamatsu K Muscular adaptations to combinations of high-and low-intensity resistance exercises J. Strength Cond. Res 2004 18 730 737 15574075
  14. Gregory SM Spiering BA Alemany JA Tuckow AP Rarick KR Staab JS Exercise-induced insulin-like growth factor I system concentrations after training in women Med. Sci. Sports Exerc 2013 45 420 428 23034644
  15. Hackett DA Johnson NA Chow C-M Training practices and ergogenic aids used by male bodybuilders J. Strength Cond. Res 2013 27 1609 1617 22990567
  16. Hakkinen K Pakarinen A Acute hormonal responses to two different fatiguing heavy-resistance protocols in male athletes J. Appl. Physiol 1993 74 882 887 8458810
  17. Hameed M Lange K Andersen J Schjerling P Kjaer M Harridge S The effect of recombinant human growth hormone and resistance training on IGF-I mRNA expression in the muscles of elderly men J. Physiol 2004 555 231 240 14565994 PMC1664832
  18. Hasani-Ranjbar S Far ES Heshmat R Rajabi H Kosari H Time course responses of serum GH, insulin, IGF-1, IGFBP1, and IGFBP3 concentrations after heavy resistance exercise in trained and untrained men Endocrine 2012 41 144 151 21983797
  19. Henneman E Somjen G Carpenter DO Functional significance of cell size in spinal motoneurons J. Neurophysiol 1965 28 560 580 14328454
  20. Hoffman JR Ratamess NA Klatt M Faigenbaum AD Ross RE Tranchina NM Comparison between different off-season resistance training programs in Division III American college football players J. Strength Cond. Res 2009 23 11 19 19130636
  21. Ichinose Y Kanehisa H Ito M Kawakami Y Fukunaga T Morphological and functional differences in the elbow extensor muscle between highly trained male and female athletes Eur. J. Appl. Physiol 1998 78 109 114 9694308
  22. Iida K Itoh E Kim D-S Del Rincon JP Coschigano KT Kopchick JJ Muscle mechano growth factor is preferentially induced by growth hormone in growth hormone-deficient lit/lit mice J. Physiol 2004 560 341 349 15308683 PMC1665252
  23. Komi P Viitasalo J Rauramaa R Vihko V Effect of isometric strength training on mechanical, electrical, and metabolic aspects of muscle function Eur. J. Appl. Physiol 1978 40 45 55 569576
  24. Kraemer WJ Marchitelli L Gordon SE Harman E Dziados JE Mello R Hormonal and growth factor responses to heavy resistance exercise protocols J. Appl. Physiol 1990 69 1442 1450 2262468
  25. Kraemer WJ Ratamess N Fry AC Triplett-Mcbride T Koziris LP Bauer JA Influence of resistance training volume and periodization on physiological and performance adaptations in collegiate women tennis players Am. J. Sports Med 2000 28 626 633 11032216
  26. Marx J Ratamess N Nindl B Gotshalk L Volek J Dohi K The effects of single-set vs. periodized multiple-set resistance training on muscular performance and hormonal concentrations in women Med. Sci. Sports Exerc 2001 33 635 643 11283441
  27. McCaulley GO McBride JM Cormie P Hudson MB Nuzzo JL Quindry JC Acute hormonal and neuromuscular responses to hypertrophy, strength and power type resistance exercise Eur. J. Appl. Physiol 2009 105 695 704 19066934
  28. McKay BR O’Reilly CE Phillips SM Tarnopolsky MA Parise G Co-expression of IGF-1 family members with myogenic regulatory factors following acute damaging muscle-lengthening contractions in humans J. Physiol 2008 586 5549 5560 18818249 PMC2655389
  29. Mitchell CJ Churchward-Venne TA Bellamy L Parise G Baker SK Phillips SM Muscular and systemic correlates of resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy PLoS One 2013 8 e78636 24130904 PMC3793973
  30. Moller N Jorgensen JO Moller J Orskov L Ovesen P Schmitz O Metabolic effects of growth hormone in humans Metabolism 1995 44 33 36 7476309
  31. Moritani T Neuromuscular adaptations during the acquisition of muscle strength, power and motor tasks J. Biomech 1993 26 95 107 8505356
  32. Moritani T deVries HA Neural factors versus hypertrophy in the time course of muscle strength gain Am. J. Phys. Med. Rehabil 1979 58 115 130 453338
  33. Nindl BC Kraemer WJ Marx JO Arciero PJ Dohi K Kellogg MD Overnight responses of the circulating IGF-I system after acute, heavy-resistance exercise J. Appl. Physiol 2001 90 1319 1326 11247930
  34. Schoenfeld BJ Ratamess NA Peterson MD Contreras B Sonmez GT Alvar BA Effects of different volume-equated resistance training loading strategies on muscular adaptations in well-trained men J. Strength Cond Res 2014 28 2909 2918 24714538
  35. Schroeder ET Villanueva M West DD Phillips SM Are acute post-resistance exercise increases in testosterone, growth hormone, and IGF-1 necessary to stimulate skeletal muscle anabolism and hypertrophy? Med. Sci. Sports Exerc 2013 45 2044 2051 24136137
  36. Schwab R Johnson GO Housh TJ Kinder JE Weir J Acute effects of different intensities of weight lifting on serum testosterone Med. Sci. Sports Exerc 1993 25 1381 1385 8107546
  37. Spiering BA Kraemer WJ Anderson JM Armstrong LE Nindl BC Volek JS Effects of elevated circulating hormones on resistance exercise-induced Akt signaling Med. Sci. Sports Exerc 2008 40 1039 1048 18461003
  38. Thyfault JP Carper MJ Richmond SR Hulver MW Potteiger JA Effects of liquid carbohydrate ingestion on markers of anabolism following high-intensity resistance exercise J. Strength Cond. Res 2004 18 174 179 14971964
  39. Tipton KD Rasmussen BB Miller SL Wolf SE Owens-Stovall SK Petrini BE Timing of amino acid-carbohydrate ingestion alters anabolic response of muscle to resistance exercise Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab 2001 281 E197 E206 11440894
  40. Vanhelder WP Radomski MW Goode RC Growth hormone responses during intermittent weight lifting exercise in men Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. Occup. Physiol 1984 53 31 34 6542499
  41. deVries HA “Efficiency of electrical activity” as a physiological measure of the functional state of muscle tissue Am. J. Phys. Med. Rehabil 1968 47 10 22 5644315
  42. Weir JP Quantifying test-retest reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient and the SEM J. Strength Cond. Res 2005 19 231 240 15705040
  43. West DW Phillips SM Associations of exercise-induced hormone profiles and gains in strength and hypertrophy in a large cohort after weight training Eur. J. Appl. Physiol 2012 112 2693 2702 22105707 PMC3371329
  44. Wilkinson SB Tarnopolsky MA Grant EJ Correia CE Phillips SM Hypertrophy with unilateral resistance exercise occurs without increases in endogenous anabolic hormone concentration Eur. J. Appl. Physiol 2006 98 546 555 16972050

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Mangine, G. T., Hoffman, J. R., Gonzalez, A. M., Townsend, J. R., Wells, A. J., Jajtner, A. R., Beyer, K. S., Boone, C. H., Miramonti, A. A., Wang, R., LaMonica, M. B., Fukuda, D. H., Ratamess, N. A., & Stout, J. R.
Affiliations
  • University of Central Florida (US)
  • The College of New Jersey (US)
Corresponding author
Hoffman, Jay R.
ORCID
Venue
Physiological Reports
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2015-08
Volume
3
Issue
8
Pages
e12472
ISSN
2051-817X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.14814/phy2.12472
PMC
PMC4562558
OpenAlex
W2137912297
Cited by
204
References
38
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 2 · 2012: 1
FWCI
14.02
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Physiological Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • BearWorks (Missouri State University) (submittedVersion)
  • Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
Keywords
resistance training, training volume, exercise intensity, muscle strength, muscle hypertrophy, lean body mass, muscle cross-sectional area, testosterone, growth hormone, cortisol, insulin-like growth factor I, insulin, resistance-trained men, one-repetition maximum, back squat, bench press

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review