Specificity of early motor unit adaptations with resistive exercise training

2024/04/30 by Alessandro Del Vecchio, Roger M. Enoka, Roger Maro Enoka +1 · 31 citations
Engineering · Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Hand muscles #Isometric exercise #Medicine #Motor Control and Adaptation #Motor learning #Motor unit #Muscle activation and electromyography studies #Neuroscience #Physical medicine and rehabilitation #Physical therapy #Psychology #Sports Performance and Training

paper · pdf · doi:10.1113/jp282560

published in The Journal of Physiology 602(12), 2679-2688 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2024/04/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

After exposure of the human body to resistive exercise, the force-generation capacity of the trained muscles increases significantly. Despite decades of research, the neural and muscular stimuli that initiate these changes in muscle force are not yet fully understood. The study of these adaptations is further complicated by the fact that the changes may be partly specific to the training task. For example, short-term strength training does not always influence the neural drive to muscles during the early phase (<100 ms) of force development in rapid isometric contractions. Here we discuss some of the studies that have investigated neuromuscular adaptations underlying changes in maximal force and rate of force development produced by different strength training interventions, with a focus on changes observed at the level of spinal motor neurons. We discuss the different motor unit adjustments needed to increase force or speed, and the specificity of some of the adaptations elicited by differences in the training tasks.

Citations

• Patterned ballistic movements triggered by a startle in healthy humans
• The increase in muscle force after 4 weeks of strength training is mediated by adaptations in motor unit recruitment and rate coding

Cited by

• Resistance training‐induced adaptations in the neuromuscular system: Physiological mechanisms and implications for human performance
• Enhancing muscle and brain resilience: The role of prehabilitative exercise in mitigating disuse effects
• Cross-education: motor unit adaptations mediate the strength increase in non-trained muscles following 8 weeks of unilateral resistance training. [europepmc]
• Influence of local temperature on motor unit behavior during rapid contractions in humans. [europepmc]
• Effects of Physical Training Programs on Healthy Athletes' Vertical Jump Height: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. [europepmc]
• Effects of sprint interval training compared to high intensity interval training on repeated sprint capacity and sport-specific performance in college-aged male tennis players. [europepmc]
• The effect of velocity-based resistance training (VBT) on lower-limb strength performance in male collegiate boxers: a randomized controlled trial. [europepmc]
• Corticospinal Excitability During Explosive Voluntary Contractions and Its Association With Rapid Torque Production. [europepmc]
• Effect of maximal mental effort during elastic band training on neuromuscular adaptations in older women. [europepmc]
• Eight weeks equivalent-volume RT and HIIT performed within same session or alternated weekly: comparative effects on physiological adaptations in young adult males. [europepmc]
• The modulation of human motoneuron discharge patterns with contraction force in resistance- and endurance-trained individuals. [europepmc]
• Early-Phase and Cross-Education Adaptations Following Very Short-Term Unilateral Isokinetic Forearm Extension and Flexion Training in Untrained Women. [europepmc]

Related

• Resistance training‐induced adaptations in the neuromuscular system: Physiological mechanisms and implications for human performance
• The increase in muscle force after 4 weeks of strength training is mediated by adaptations in motor unit recruitment and rate coding
• Motor unit adaptations contribute to the repeated bout effect following damaging resistance exercise
• Short‐term training adaptations in maximal motor unit firing rates and afterhyperpolarization duration
• Optimizing Resistance Training for Sprint and Endurance Athletes: Balancing Positive and Negative Adaptations