ReviewJournal of sport and health science2025
Load-induced human skeletal muscle hypertrophy: Mechanisms, myths, and misconceptions.
Review in Journal of sport and health science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of Resistance Training on Muscle Hypertrophy in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of calcium-regulating pulsed electromagnetic field combined with low-load blood flow restriction training on strength and performance adaptations in adolescent sprinters.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2026Article
- Resistance training performed under a partial range of motion elicits favorable hormonal responses in untrained young men.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Multiscale Modeling and Analysis of Muscle Tissue: A Finite Element Approach for 3D Braided Composite Structures.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Research into resistance training response heterogeneity: a summary of the 2025 conference at the University of Jyväskylä.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2026Review
- Review
- [Advances in the role of miR-378a in skeletal muscle development and diseases].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2026Review
- Muscle Hypertrophy, Strength, and Salivary Hormone Changes Following 9 Weeks of High- or Low-Load Resistance Training.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- Effects of exercise snacks on body composition in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis based on evidence from bioimpedance and DXA methods.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Mechanical tension is widely recognized as the primary stimulus underlying the molecular mechanisms that influence muscle hypertrophy induced by resistance training. Despite this, several outdated or overstated concepts continue to persist, both in the scientific literature and in the practical application of resistance training coaching and program design. Claims that acute hormonal responses, metabolic stress, cell swelling or "the pump" meaningfully contribute to hypertrophy are not supported by scientific evidence. Additionally, the concept of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy as a distinct and functionally meaningful contributor to hypertrophy lacks strong evidence. In this review, we critically evaluate several persistent misconceptions and contrast them with evidence-based mechanistic insights into load-induced hypertrophy. Specifically, we discuss the role (or lack thereof) of systemic hormones, metabolites, and cell swelling in promoting muscle hypertrophy. We also critically review the concept of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy and propose that it is not a meaningful contributor to muscle hypertrophy. Lastly, to translate knowledge for trainees and coaches, we discuss the upper limit of muscle hypertrophy and provide readers with evidence-based, reasonable expectations for muscle hypertrophy. We aimed, through this review, to use scientific evidence to enhance our understanding of what drives muscle hypertrophy and provide an evidence-based framework for resistance exercise training.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.