ArticleEuropean journal of applied physiology2020
Eight weeks of resistance training increases strength, muscle cross-sectional area and motor unit size, but does not alter firing rates in the vastus lateralis.
Article in European journal of applied physiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Effect of Resistance Training on Motor Unit Firing Properties: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- Differential motor unit firing rate and hypertrophic adaptations of the vastus lateralis despite similar strength increases following high-load versus combined high- and low-load resistance training interventions.Experimental brain research · 2026Article
- Biceps femoris long-head motor unit discharge rates and recruitment thresholds vary across 9 weeks of eccentric training.Journal of sport and health science · 2026Article
- Comparison of maximal strength, muscle morphology, and motor unit recruitment and firing rate patterns of the abductor digiti minimi in normal-fat and over-fat males.Sports medicine and health science · 2026Article
- The effects of 6 weeks of high load or low-load blood flow restriction resistance exercise training on motor unit firing rates in males and females.Journal of neurophysiology · 2026Article
- A question of rate? Girl-women differences in motor unit firing rate.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Relationship Between Quadriceps Neuromuscular Activity and Knee Extensor Strength at Four Months After ACL Reconstruction in High-Level Young Athletes.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- The influence of high-load and combined high- and low-load resistance training on electromyographic behavior during an absolute muscular endurance task.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Article
- Hamstring Injury Mechanisms and Eccentric Training-Induced Muscle Adaptations: Current Insights and Future Directions.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Review
- Neuromuscular control of a five-finger pinch task is influenced by training history.Experimental brain research · 2025Article
- Motor unit firing rates increase in prepubescent youth following linear periodization resistance exercise training.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Article
- Sex-related differences in corticospinal excitability outcome measures of the biceps brachii during a submaximal elbow flexor contraction.Physiological reports · 2024Article
- Association between physical fitness tests and neuromuscular properties.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Article
- Neural Drive and Motor Unit Characteristics of the Serratus Anterior in Individuals With Scapular Dyskinesis.Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions · 2024Article
- Enhanced skeletal muscle contractile function and corticospinal excitability precede strength and architectural adaptations during lower-limb resistance training.European journal of applied physiology · 2023Article
- Myofiber hypertrophy adaptations following 6 weeks of low-load resistance training with blood flow restriction in untrained males and females.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2023Article
- Longitudinal development of muscle strength and relationship with motor unit activity and muscle morphological characteristics in youth athletes.Experimental brain research · 2023Article
- Chronic training status affects muscle excitation of the vastus lateralis during repeated contractions.Sports medicine and health science · 2023Article
- Article
- Role of Thigh Muscle Changes in Knee Osteoarthritis Outcomes: Osteoarthritis Initiative Data.Radiology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposePrevious investigations analyzing resistance training's influence on motor unit (MU) firing rates have yielded mixed results. These mixed results may be clarified by concurrently measuring changes in MU size. Thus, this study analyzed whether post-training strength gains were due to increases in MU firing rates and/or sizes as measured indirectly via action potential amplitudes.
methodsSixteen males (age = 20.7 ± 1.9 years) completed 8 weeks of resistance training, while eight males (age = 19.4 ± 2.5 years) served as controls. Vastus lateralis surface electromyography signals collected during submaximal isometric knee extensions were decomposed to yield an action potential amplitude (MUAP
resultsResistance training increased isometric strength from 204.6 ± 34.9 to 239.8 ± 36.3 Nm and vastus lateralis CSA from 28.7 ± 4.7 to 34.0 ± 5.0 cm
conclusionResistance training induced MU and muscle hypertrophy, but did not alter firing rates. Greater MU twitch forces resulting from larger MUs firing at pre-training rates likely explain resistance training strength gains.
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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.