Training Adaptations

for Maximal Exercise

Performance
Physiology of Training
Session Objectives…
• Identify training approaches to enhance maximal exercise
performance

• Identify physiological adaptations that occur to enhance maximal

exercise performance

• Identify and evaluate the use of contemporary approaches to

training for maximal exercise performance
Training for Maximal Exercise Performance
What do you currently understand
• What training improves:
• Strength?
• Power?

• How does this training improve:

• Strength?
• Power?
Force – Velocity Relationship
Resistance training for strength and power
• Muscle increases in strength when it is placed under tension

• Intensity (i.e. resistance) is the main stimulus for changes in strength

• Typically when trained near to its current maximum force generating capacity

• Three main modes of training:

• Progressive-resistance weight training
• Isometric training
• Isokinetic training
 Resistance training for strength and power
Strength Power Hypertrophy Endurance
Load (% 1RM) 80-100 70-100 60-80 40-60
Repetitions per set 1-5 1-5 8-15 25-60
Set per exercise 4-7 3-5 4-8 2-4
Rest between sets (min) 2-6 2-6 2-5 1-2
Duration (sec/rep) 5-10 4-8 20-60 80-150
Speed per rep (% max) 60-100 90-100 60-90 6-80
Sessions/week 3-6 3-6 5-7 8-14
Resistance training for strength and power
H.I.T. for power
• Stress must be placed on the physiological systems for
adaptations to occur

• Focus on ATP  ADP degradation; PCr + ADP  ATP + Pi; Glycolysis

• High-intensity (≥ VO2MAX) and short duration:

• Altering the intensity, bout duration or recovery duration provide

different stresses on the body
• Longer bouts with shorter rest periods stress the glycolytic system and
handling of H+/Lactate
• Shorter bouts with long rest periods stress the PCr system
Training and Adaptation for Strength
Research
• Narici et al (1996) Acta Physiol Scand 157, 175-186
• 7 recreationally active males undertook 6 months of unilateral leg extension
resistance training with a session every other day
• 6 sets x 8 reps @ 80% 1RM 3 min rest between sets with resistance adjusted
weekly

• Aagard et al (2001) J Physiol 534, 613-623

• 11 recreationally active males undertook 14 weeks of lower body heavy
resistance training
• 4-5 sets x 3-12 RM with resistance adjusted weekly
Changes in Strength
Changes in Strength
• Changes in strength are evident over time but will plateau if absolute
intensity is not increased

*
Strength

*Increase in training intensity

Time (weeks)
Research – changes in strength
• It appears that strength training may result in different strength gains in different
body locations
• 20 studies investigating resistance training to increase bench press exercise
• 12 (sd 4) wks + 3.3 (sd 1) sessions per week
• 19.8 (sd 13.5) % increase

• 10 studies investigating leg press exercise

• 14.5 (sd 5.8) wks + 2.8 (sd 0.4) sessions per week
• 30.9 (sd 17.5) % increase

Fleck & Kraemer (1997) Designing Resistance Training Programs (2 nd ed), pg 21-24
What determines the maximal muscle force
1. Length of the sarcomeres during contraction
2. The velocity of the contraction
3. The number of muscle fibres recruited
4. The frequency of motor unit stimulation
5. The cross sectional area of the muscle (number of sarcomeres in series)
Mechanisms for increased strength
Number of fibres recruited Muscle CSA
• Fibre hypertrophy
Motor unit stimulation rate • Fibre hyperplesia

Neural Training Increases

Muscle
Strength
Pennation angle

Enhanced control of muscle Fibre types

contraction and reflexes
Muscle Hypertrophy
• Muscle hypertrophy = Increase in the
size of skeletal muscle

• Measured using
• Anthropometric measures
• Water displacement
• Ultrasound
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Types of Muscle Hypertrophy
Transient hypertrophy
• Oedema in the interstitial and intracellular spaces of the muscle
• Disappears within hours

• Chronic Hypertrophy
• Reflects structural changes in muscle
• Fibre hypertrophy
• Fibre hyperplasia
Training induced hypertrophy
However not all muscles within a muscle
group will respond the same
Training induces whole muscle hypertrophy
Increases in whole muscle hypertrophy are
• Greater in the upper body vs lower body
• Greater in males vs females
• Greater in young vs elderly
• Greater in untrained vs trained
Training induces muscle fibre hypertrophy
Increase in whole muscle fibre hypertrophy may be the result of
the increase in size of individual muscle fibres:

• More contractile proteins (actin & myosin)

• More myofibrils per muscle fibre
• More connective, tendinous and ligamentous tissue
• More sarcoplasms
What causes this change in muscle size?
• Net increase in protein synthesis
• Elevated for 24 h post exercise

• Muscle damage & associated inflammatory response

• Activation and proliferation of satellite cells

• Endocrine response
• Testosterone
• Growth Hormone (GH)
• Insulin Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1)
Muscle fibre hyperplesia
• Increase in whole muscle fibre hypertrophy may be the result of the
increase in the number of muscle fibres

• Evidence that muscle fibre hyperplesia occurs in animals

• Related to muscle stretch than “resistance training”

• Some evidence cross-sectionally that humans who are habitually strength

trained do have higher muscle fibre numbers but it is likely that this
adaptation is a very long process

• Hyperplesia has minimal explanation on human increases in strength

through resistance exercise
Training alters neural recruitment of muscles

• Change in strength doesn’t correspond to just change in CSA

• Compound strength increases more than simple and isometric

strength

• Contralateral training effects

• Imagery effects
Training alters neural recruitment of muscles

1.Greater efficiency in neural recruitment

2.Increased motor neuron excitability

3.Increased CNS activation

4.Improved motor unit synchronisation and improved firing rates

5.Lowering of neural inhibitory reflexes

6.Inhibition of Golgi-Tendon Organs

7.Reduces co-activation of antagonists

Other responses to strength training
• ↑ left ventricular mass

• ↑ VO2MAX

• Enhanced running economy

• ↑ bone mineral density

• ↓ cardiovascular disease risk

• ↑ glycaemic control

• ↑ endothelial function
Training and Power
Recap
Three factors determine the maximal muscle force a muscle produces:
1. Muscle strength
2. Muscle fibre type
3. Rate of ATP resynthesis
• ATP, PCr and Glycogen stores
• Enzyme activity to resynthesise ATP (myokinase)
• Enzyme activity in each pathway

The buffering and tolerance of H+ also may have a role

Strength / Power training induces muscle
fibre type changes
% fibre type I IIa IIx
Pre 48.2 28.4 23.4
Post 46.8 32.0 21.2

% fibre area I IIa IIx

Pre 42.6 32.6 24.8
Post 34.8 44.6 20.2

Costill et al (1979) J Appl Physiol 46, 96-99

Muscle fibre type and sprint training
• Responses depend on training characteristics
• Small changes

• High intensity, high recovery

• Type I  Type II a  Type II x

• High intensity, low recovery

• Type I  Type II a  Type II x
Ross & Leveritt (2001) Sports Med 31, 1063-1082
Sprint training and peak power and
metabolic changes
• Training 3 – 4 times per week for 8 weeks

• PPO increase 12%

• MPO increase 6%

• PCr concentration unchanged

• Aerobic contribution unchanged
• Increased peak lactate
Sprint training and
peak power and
metabolic changes
Methods
16 males (8 control, 8 training)
3 sprint sessions a week for 6 weeks
30 s sprint completed pre- and post
training

Results
Increased peak power
Increased glycolytic enzymes
MacDougall et al (1998) J Appl Physiol 84, 2138-2142.
Sprint training and peak power and
metabolic changes
Gibala et al (2006) J Physiol 575, 901-911.
• Methods
16 active males (8 endurance training, 8 sprint training)
6 sessions over 14 days
Sprint = 4 x 30 s sprints

• Results
Decreased time to spend 50 kJ by 4.1% (113 s vs 117 s)
Increased muscle glycogen stores by 28%
Increased buffering capacity by 7.6%
Training and Peak Power Summary
• Increase in total muscle force through increased CSA

• Increase percentage of muscle show characteristics of type II fibres

• Increase Vmax, |PCr| and |Glycogen|

• Increase glycolytic and oxidative enzyme activities

• Increase ability to buffer hydrogen ions

 Reading
Folland and Williams (2007) Sports Medicine 37, 145-168. (review)
A review on the physical and neural changes to high intensity resistance
exercise

Ross and Levitt (2001) Sports Medicine 31, 1063-1082. (review)

A review on the metabolic and muscular changes to sprint exercise

Schoenfield (2013) Sports Medicine 43, 1279-88. (review)

A review considering the optimum prescription of resistance training