Trial reportEuropean journal of applied physiology2011
Strength and neuromuscular adaptation following one, four, and eight sets of high intensity resistance exercise in trained males.
Trial report in European journal of applied physiology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 105 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Pooled it
- Task Specificity of Dynamic Resistance Training and Its Transferability to Non-trained Isometric Muscle Strength: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of strength training on neuromuscular adaptations in the development of maximal strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Resistance Training Movement Pattern and Velocity on Isometric Muscular Rate of Force Development: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis and Meta-regression.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Pooled it
- The Minimum Effective Training Dose Required to Increase 1RM Strength in Resistance-Trained Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Pooled it
- The Effect of Weekly Set Volume on Strength Gain: A Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2017Pooled it
- Effect of Training Leading to Repetition Failure on Muscular Strength: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2016Pooled it
- Increasing set volume relative to baseline does not augment skeletal muscle adaptations when compared to maintenance of baseline training volume in recreationally trained individuals.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Trial
- Effects of 8 Weeks of Moderate- or High-Volume Strength Training on Sarcoplasmic Reticulum CaScandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2025Trial
- Acute effects of different set configurations during a strength-oriented resistance training session on barbell velocity and the force-velocity relationship in resistance-trained males and females.European journal of applied physiology · 2019Trial
- The short- and long-term effects of resistance training with different stability requirements.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Crescent pyramid and drop-set systems do not promote greater strength gains, muscle hypertrophy, and changes on muscle architecture compared with traditional resistance training in well-trained men.European journal of applied physiology · 2017Trial
- Resistance-training exercises with different stability requirements: time course of task specificity.European journal of applied physiology · 2016Trial
- Resistance training intensity and volume affect changes in rate of force development in resistance-trained men.European journal of applied physiology · 2016Trial
- Effects of single vs. multiple-set short-term strength training in elderly women.Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2014Trial
- Menstrual Cycle Phase Does Not Influence Training-Induced Muscle Hypertrophy or Strength: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2026Article
- Article
- Muscle activation and intermuscular coordination adaptations to early strength training during maximal force production.PloS one · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The optimal volume of resistance exercise to prescribe for trained individuals is unclear. The purpose of this study was to randomly assign resistance trained individuals to 6-weeks of squat exercise, prescribed at 80% of a 1 repetition-maximum (1-RM), using either one, four, or eight sets of repetitions to failure performed twice per week. Participants then performed the same peaking program for 4-weeks. Squat 1-RM, quadriceps muscle activation, and contractile rate of force development (RFD) were measured before, during, and after the training program. 32 resistance-trained male participants completed the 10-week program. Squat 1-RM was significantly increased for all groups after 6 and 10-weeks of training (P < 0.05). The 8-set group was significantly stronger than the 1-set group after 3-weeks of training (7.9% difference, P < 0.05), and remained stronger after 6 and 10-weeks of training (P < 0.05). Peak muscle activation did not change during the study. Early (30, 50 ms) and peak RFD was significantly decreased for all groups after 6 and 10-weeks of training (P < 0.05). Peak isometric force output did not change for any group. The results of this study support resistance exercise prescription in excess of 4-sets (i.e. 8-sets) for faster and greater strength gains as compared to 1-set training. Common neuromuscular changes are attributed to high intensity squats (80% 1-RM) combined with a repetition to failure prescription. This prescription may not be useful for sports application owing to decreased early and peak RFD. Individual responsiveness to 1-set of training should be evaluated in the first 3-weeks of training.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.