Evidence

Human performance research library

124 papers on how the body adapts to training, organised by what they examine. Every title, journal, year and publication type on this page was retrieved from PubMed rather than typed, and every row links to the record it came from.

Eight to twelve papers per category, deliberately. A hundred citations per topic would be a dump rather than a library — these are the ones that most change what a reader understands, and the rest of PubMed is one click away. 12 of the 124 are here because they contest what this section says elsewhere.

124 papers

Exercise metabolism and adaptation in skeletal muscle.
Smith · Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2023 · PMID 37225892
ReviewFree full text
A current account of how skeletal muscle senses a training stimulus and remodels its metabolism in response, written for readers who want the molecular picture rather than the training one.
Molecular responses to acute exercise and their relevance for adaptations in skeletal muscle to exercise training.
Egan · Physiological reviews · 2023 · PMID 36395350
ReviewHuman research
Separates the transient molecular response to a single session from the durable adaptation that repeated sessions accumulate — the distinction on which the idea of a training programme rests.
Exercise metabolism and the molecular regulation of skeletal muscle adaptation.
Egan · Cell metabolism · 2013 · PMID 23395166
ReviewHuman research
The signalling pathways through which contraction is translated into changes in gene expression and mitochondrial content.
Physiological adaptations to interval training and the role of exercise intensity.
MacInnis · The Journal of physiology · 2017 · PMID 27748956
ReviewHuman researchFree full text
Examines what intensity specifically contributes to adaptation, and why interval and continuous work do not produce identical outcomes.
Molecular Basis of Exercise-Induced Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Biogenesis: Historical Advances, Current Knowledge, and Future Challenges.
Perry · Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine · 2018 · PMID 28507194
ReviewHuman researchFree full text
Traces how exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis came to be understood, and states plainly which parts remain unresolved.
Effects of Exercise Training on Mitochondrial and Capillary Growth in Human Skeletal Muscle: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression.
Mølmen · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025 · PMID 39390310
Meta-analysisFree full text
Pools human training studies to estimate how much mitochondrial and capillary growth training produces, and how that scales with the training performed.
Progressive overload without progressing load? The effects of load or repetition progression on muscular adaptations.
Plotkin · PeerJ · 2022 · PMID 36199287
TrialHuman researchFree full text
A randomised comparison of progressing load against progressing repetitions, testing whether the classic overload principle depends on the load going up.
Compatibility of Concurrent Aerobic and Strength Training for Skeletal Muscle Size and Function: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Schumann · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022 · PMID 34757594
Meta-analysisFree full text
Pools the concurrent-training literature to examine whether adding aerobic work compromises gains in muscle size and function.
The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains.
Pelland · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026 · PMID 41343037
Meta-analysis
Meta-regressions across the resistance-training literature estimating how hypertrophy and strength change as weekly volume and frequency rise.
Resistance training prescription for muscle strength and hypertrophy in healthy adults: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.
Currier · British journal of sports medicine · 2023 · PMID 37414459
ReviewFree full text
A Bayesian network meta-analysis comparing resistance-training prescriptions against each other rather than each against a control, which is what allows them to be ranked.
An Evidence-Based Narrative Review of Mechanisms of Resistance Exercise-Induced Human Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy.
Lim · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2022 · PMID 35389932
ReviewHuman researchFree full text
Reviews the mechanisms proposed to drive hypertrophy in humans and weighs the evidence for each, including the ones the field has largely abandoned.
Influence of Resistance Training Proximity-to-Failure on Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.
Refalo · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023 · PMID 36334240
Meta-analysisFree full text
Examines how close a set is taken to failure and what that proximity does to hypertrophy across the pooled trials.
Exploring the Dose-Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Series of Meta-Regressions.
Robinson · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024 · PMID 38970765
Meta-analysis
Meta-regressions treating proximity to failure as a continuous variable, separating its effect on strength from its effect on muscle size.
Resistance Training Load Effects on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gain: Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.
Lopez · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2021 · PMID 33433148
ReviewFree full text
A network meta-analysis of training load, comparing heavy and light loading for hypertrophy and for strength as distinct outcomes.
How many times per week should a muscle be trained to maximize muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the effects of resistance training frequency.
Schoenfeld · Journal of sports sciences · 2019 · PMID 30558493
Meta-analysis
Pools the frequency literature to examine how often a muscle group is trained per week and what that does to hypertrophy once volume is accounted for.
Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations Between Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Schoenfeld · Journal of strength and conditioning research · 2017 · PMID 28834797
Meta-analysis
Compares low-load and high-load training for strength and for hypertrophy, and finds the two outcomes do not respond to load the same way.
Effects of Resistance Training Volume on Physical Function, Lean Body Mass and Lower-Body Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis of 151 Randomised Trials.
Radaelli · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025 · PMID 39405023
Review
A network meta-analysis of 151 randomised trials examining resistance-training volume in older adults against lean mass, strength and physical function.
The influence of resistance exercise training prescription variables on skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical function in healthy adults: An umbrella review.
Mcleod · Journal of sport and health science · 2024 · PMID 37385345
ReviewFree full text
An umbrella review across existing systematic reviews of resistance-training prescription variables, summarising where the reviews agree and where they do not.
Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the overtraining syndrome: joint consensus statement of the European College of Sport Science and the American College of Sports Medicine.
Meeusen · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2013 · PMID 23247672
StudyHuman research
The joint European College of Sport Science and American College of Sports Medicine consensus statement on overtraining syndrome — its prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Recovery and Performance in Sport: Consensus Statement.
Kellmann · International journal of sports physiology and performance · 2018 · PMID 29345524
StudyHuman research
A consensus statement on recovery in sport, defining the terminology the field had been using inconsistently.
Sleep and the athlete: narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations.
Walsh · British journal of sports medicine · 2020 · PMID 33144349
Study
A narrative review with expert consensus recommendations on sleep in athletes, covering assessment as well as the reported performance associations.
The effects of sleep extension on the athletic performance of collegiate basketball players.
Mah · Sleep · 2011 · PMID 21731144
StudyHuman researchFree full text
The collegiate-basketball sleep-extension study: players extended time in bed over several weeks, and sprint times and shooting accuracy were measured across the period.
Effects of Acute Sleep Loss on Physical Performance: A Systematic and Meta-Analytical Review.
Craven · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022 · PMID 35708888
Meta-analysisFree full text
Pools studies of acute sleep loss to estimate the size of its effect on physical performance, and how that effect varies by task.
How much does sleep deprivation impair endurance performance? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Lopes · European journal of sport science · 2023 · PMID 36472094
Meta-analysis
Quantifies specifically how much endurance performance falls after sleep deprivation across the pooled experimental literature.
The Impact of Sleep Interventions on Athletic Performance: A Systematic Review.
Cunha · Sports medicine - open · 2023 · PMID 37462808
ReviewFree full text
Reviews sleep interventions trialled in athletes and reports which produced measurable performance changes and which did not.
Sleep, circadian rhythms, and athletic performance.
Thun · Sleep medicine reviews · 2015 · PMID 25645125
ReviewHuman research
Covers circadian timing alongside sleep duration, including how time of day relates to measured performance.
Intramuscular mechanisms of overtraining.
Cheng · Redox biology · 2020 · PMID 32179050
ReviewHuman researchFree full text
The intramuscular side of overtraining — redox and mitochondrial changes proposed to underlie a state usually described only by its symptoms.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of foam rolling on range of motion, recovery and markers of athletic performance.
Skinner · Journal of bodywork and movement therapies · 2020 · PMID 32825976
Meta-analysisContests the consensus
Pools 32 studies across range of motion, recovery and performance markers. It reports a large and consistent effect on range of motion (d = 0.76, increasing it in every study analysed) and no evidence of harm, then declines to conclude any direct benefit to athletic performance beyond that — which is the claim the modality is actually sold on.
Cold applications for recovery in adolescent athletes: a systematic review and meta analysis.
Murray · Extreme physiology & medicine · 2015 · PMID 26464795
StudyFree full textContests the consensus
Argues that the adult rationale for cold-water immersion and icing after muscle-damaging exercise was transferred to adolescent athletes without being established in them, and raises whether cooling blunts the adaptation the training was done to produce. Indexed as a meta-analysis; it reads as a narrative review and reports no pooled estimate.
Cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong and consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality among adults: an overview of meta-analyses representing over 20.9 million observations from 199 unique cohort studies.
Lang · British journal of sports medicine · 2024 · PMID 38599681
Meta-analysisFree full text
An overview of meta-analyses covering more than 20.9 million observations across 199 cohorts, examining cardiorespiratory fitness against morbidity and mortality.
Cardiorespiratory fitness as a quantitative predictor of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events in healthy men and women: a meta-analysis.
Kodama · JAMA · 2009 · PMID 19454641
Meta-analysis
The JAMA meta-analysis that established cardiorespiratory fitness as a quantitative predictor of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events in healthy adults.
Objectively Assessed Cardiorespiratory Fitness and All-Cause Mortality Risk: An Updated Meta-analysis of 37 Cohort Studies Involving 2,258,029 Participants.
Laukkanen · Mayo Clinic proceedings · 2022 · PMID 35562197
Meta-analysis
An updated meta-analysis of 37 cohort studies and 2,258,029 participants using objectively assessed rather than estimated fitness.
Effectiveness of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIT) and Continuous Endurance Training for VO2max Improvements: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Controlled Trials.
Milanović · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2015 · PMID 26243014
Meta-analysis
Compares interval training against continuous endurance training for VO₂max improvement across controlled trials.
Effects of sprint interval training on VO2max and aerobic exercise performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Sloth · Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2013 · PMID 23889316
Meta-analysis
Pools sprint-interval training studies against VO₂max and aerobic performance outcomes.
Effects of high-intensity interval training on cardiometabolic health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies.
Batacan · British journal of sports medicine · 2017 · PMID 27797726
Meta-analysis
Examines high-intensity interval training against cardiometabolic outcomes rather than fitness alone.
Limiting factors for maximum oxygen uptake and determinants of endurance performance.
Bassett · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2000 · PMID 10647532
ReviewHuman research
The reference account of what physiologically limits maximal oxygen uptake, and how VO₂max relates to endurance performance rather than defining it.
Fitness vs. fatness on all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis.
Barry · Progress in cardiovascular diseases · 2014 · PMID 24438729
Meta-analysis
Examines fitness and fatness as competing predictors of all-cause mortality, addressing whether one accounts for the other.
The Influence of Change in Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Short-Term Exercise Training on Mortality Risk From The Ball State Adult Fitness Longitudinal Lifestyle Study.
Imboden · Mayo Clinic proceedings · 2019 · PMID 31303425
StudyHuman research
Follows the mortality risk associated with a measured change in cardiorespiratory fitness after short-term training, rather than a single baseline measurement.
Methods of prescribing relative exercise intensity: physiological and practical considerations.
Mann · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2013 · PMID 23620244
ReviewHuman research
Compares the methods used to prescribe exercise intensity and shows how much the same nominal intensity can differ between individuals.
VO2max trainability and high intensity interval training in humans: a meta-analysis.
Bacon · PloS one · 2013 · PMID 24066036
Meta-analysisFree full textContests the consensus
A meta-analysis of VO₂max trainability; included because it reports how widely individual responses vary around the group means that the other entries in this category report.
Effect of specific exercise-based football injury prevention programmes on the overall injury rate in football: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the FIFA 11 and 11+ programmes.
Thorborg · British journal of sports medicine · 2017 · PMID 28087568
Meta-analysis
Pools trials of the FIFA 11 and 11+ programmes against overall injury rate in football — among the most widely implemented prevention programmes in sport.
Neuromuscular training injury prevention strategies in youth sport: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Emery · British journal of sports medicine · 2015 · PMID 26084526
Meta-analysis
A meta-analysis of neuromuscular training as an injury-prevention strategy in youth sport.
Neuromuscular training for sports injury prevention: a systematic review.
Hübscher · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2010 · PMID 19952811
Review
An earlier systematic review of neuromuscular training for injury prevention, establishing the approach the later trials tested.
Making football safer for women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of injury prevention programmes in 11 773 female football (soccer) players.
Crossley · British journal of sports medicine · 2020 · PMID 32253193
Meta-analysisFree full text
A meta-analysis of injury-prevention programmes across 11,773 female football players, a population the earlier trial literature under-represented.
Evidence-Based Hamstring Injury Prevention and Risk Factor Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Rudisill · The American journal of sports medicine · 2023 · PMID 35384731
Meta-analysis
Pools randomised trials on hamstring injury prevention and risk-factor management, one of the few injury sites with trial evidence at this density.
The Relationship Between Training Load and Injury, Illness and Soreness: A Systematic and Literature Review.
Drew · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2016 · PMID 26822969
Review
Reviews the relationship between training load and injury, illness and soreness — the literature underneath the idea that load is itself a risk factor.
Optimising the Dose of Static Stretching to Improve Flexibility: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis and Multivariate Meta-regression.
Ingram · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025 · PMID 39614059
Meta-analysis
A meta-regression estimating how flexibility gains scale with the total amount of static stretching performed.
Resistance Training Induces Improvements in Range of Motion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Alizadeh · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023 · PMID 36622555
Meta-analysisFree full text
Pools trials showing resistance training through full range produces range-of-motion improvements, a finding that sits awkwardly beside stretching-specific practice.
Risk Assessment and Prevention of Falls in Older Community-Dwelling Adults: A Review.
Colón-Emeric · JAMA · 2024 · PMID 38536167
ReviewHuman researchFree full text
A JAMA review of falls risk assessment and prevention in older community-dwelling adults, where mobility ceases to be a performance question and becomes an independence one.
Chronic effects of stretching on range of motion with consideration of potential moderating variables: A systematic review with meta-analysis.
Konrad · Journal of sport and health science · 2024 · PMID 37301370
Meta-analysisFree full text
Examines chronic stretching against range of motion while testing which variables moderate the effect.
Strength Training versus Stretching for Improving Range of Motion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Afonso · Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021 · PMID 33917036
ReviewFree full textContests the consensus
Compares strength training directly against stretching for range of motion; included because it finds strength training at least comparable, contesting the assumption that flexibility requires stretching.
Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review.
Behm · Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme · 2016 · PMID 26642915
ReviewContests the consensus
Reviews the acute effects of stretching on performance, range of motion and injury incidence; included because it does not support the injury-prevention rationale conventionally given for warm-up stretching.
Associations of grip strength with cardiovascular, respiratory, and cancer outcomes and all cause mortality: prospective cohort study of half a million UK Biobank participants.
Celis-Morales · BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2018 · PMID 29739772
StudyHuman researchFree full text
The UK Biobank analysis of roughly half a million participants relating grip strength to cardiovascular, respiratory and cancer outcomes and to all-cause mortality.
Association of Grip Strength With Risk of All-Cause Mortality, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Cancer in Community-Dwelling Populations: A Meta-analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.
Wu · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2017 · PMID 28549705
Meta-analysis
Pools prospective cohorts on grip strength against mortality, cardiovascular disease and cancer in community-dwelling populations.
Thresholds of handgrip strength for all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality: A systematic review with dose-response meta-analysis.
López-Bueno · Ageing research reviews · 2022 · PMID 36332759
Meta-analysis
A dose-response meta-analysis examining whether identifiable handgrip-strength thresholds correspond to mortality risk.
Keeping Pace with Wearables: A Living Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews Evaluating the Accuracy of Consumer Wearable Technologies in Health Measurement.
Doherty · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024 · PMID 39080098
ReviewFree full text
A living umbrella review of systematic reviews on consumer wearable accuracy — the most current summary of which measurements the devices get right.
Reliability and Validity of Commercially Available Wearable Devices for Measuring Steps, Energy Expenditure, and Heart Rate: Systematic Review.
Fuller · JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020 · PMID 32897239
ReviewFree full text
A systematic review of commercially available wearables for steps, energy expenditure and heart rate, reporting accuracy separately for each because it differs sharply between them.
Systematic review of the validity and reliability of consumer-wearable activity trackers.
Evenson · The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2015 · PMID 26684758
ReviewFree full text
An earlier systematic review of consumer activity-tracker validity and reliability, useful as the baseline the newer device generations are measured against.
Training adaptation and heart rate variability in elite endurance athletes: opening the door to effective monitoring.
Plews · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2013 · PMID 23852425
ReviewHuman research
Examines heart-rate variability as a marker of training adaptation in elite endurance athletes, and the interpretation problems that come with it.
Monitoring Training Loads: The Past, the Present, and the Future.
Foster · International journal of sports physiology and performance · 2017 · PMID 28253038
ReviewHuman research
Reviews how training load has been monitored, what the measures actually capture, and where the field was heading.
Evaluation of measurement accuracy of wearable devices for heart rate variability.
Li · iScience · 2023 · PMID 37867933
StudyFree full text
A validation study of wearable heart-rate-variability measurement against reference instrumentation.
Wrist-worn devices for the measurement of heart rate and energy expenditure: A validation study for the Apple Watch 6, Polar Vantage V and Fitbit Sense.
Hajj-Boutros · European journal of sport science · 2023 · PMID 34957939
StudyHuman research
A validation study of the Apple Watch 6, Polar Vantage V and Fitbit Sense for heart rate and energy expenditure, reporting the two outcomes separately.
Apple watch accuracy in monitoring health metrics: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Choe · Physiological measurement · 2025 · PMID 40199339
Meta-analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis of Apple Watch accuracy across the health metrics it reports.
Muscle Power Versus Strength as a Predictor of Mortality in Middle-Aged and Older Men and Women.
Araújo · Mayo Clinic proceedings · 2025 · PMID 40304660
StudyHuman research
Compares muscle power against muscle strength as predictors of mortality in middle-aged and older adults, distinguishing two measurements often treated as one.
Concurrent Strength and Endurance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Impact of Sex and Training Status.
Huiberts · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024 · PMID 37847373
Meta-analysisFree full text
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 59 studies and 1346 adults reported that concurrent strength and endurance training blunted lower-body strength adaptation in males but not in females, with no sex differences detected for upper-body strength, power or VO2max.
The Role of Intra-Session Exercise Sequence in the Interference Effect: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.
Eddens · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2018 · PMID 28917030
Meta-analysisFree full text
A systematic review with meta-analysis of ten concurrent-training studies found that placing resistance work before endurance work within a session was associated with a 6.91% greater improvement in lower-body dynamic strength, while hypertrophy, static strength and aerobic capacity outcomes were unaffected by sequence.
Exercise and mitochondrial health.
Memme · The Journal of physiology · 2021 · PMID 31674658
ReviewHuman research
A Journal of Physiology review of mitochondrial plasticity in skeletal muscle, describing how the balance of biogenesis, fusion, fission and mitophagy maintains the mitochondrial reticulum and how exercise remains the most potent behavioural stimulus for improving mitochondrial health.
Maintenance of Skeletal Muscle Mitochondria in Health, Exercise, and Aging.
Hood · Annual review of physiology · 2019 · PMID 30216742
ReviewHuman research
An Annual Review of Physiology synthesis of how skeletal muscle mitochondria adapt to chronic exercise, disuse, ageing and disease, and how accelerated organelle turnover after exercise supports lipid metabolism, muscle mass maintenance and reduced apoptotic susceptibility.
AMPK and the Adaptation to Exercise.
Spaulding · Annual review of physiology · 2022 · PMID 35143330
ReviewHuman researchFree full text
A review of AMP-activated protein kinase as an energy-state sensor mediating exercise-induced adaptations including fibre-type transformation, angiogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis across metabolically active tissues.
The Diversity of Skeletal Muscle Fiber Types.
Schiaffino · Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology · 2025 · PMID 39134381
ReviewHuman researchFree full text
A review of skeletal muscle fibre-type diversity summarising multiomic characterisation down to single-fibre and single-nucleus level, and the transcription factors and signalling pathways that control fibre-type specification.
Exercise-induced skeletal muscle angiogenesis: impact of age, sex, angiocrines and cellular mediators.
Ross · European journal of applied physiology · 2023 · PMID 36715739
ReviewHuman researchFree full text
A mechanistic review of exercise-induced skeletal muscle angiogenesis, covering the biochemical, cellular and biomechanical signals for capillary growth and how age, sex, exercise intensity and duration modify the response.
Skeletal muscle memory.
Sharples · American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2023 · PMID 37154489
ReviewHuman research
A review of skeletal muscle memory examining the cellular (myonuclear) and epigenetic mechanisms by which prior training appears to prime muscle for enhanced adaptation on retraining after periods of detraining.
Cardiorespiratory and metabolic characteristics of detraining in humans.
Mujika · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2001 · PMID 11252068
ReviewHuman research
A review of detraining reporting that VO2max declines rapidly in highly trained athletes alongside reduced blood volume, stroke volume, maximal cardiac output and cardiac dimensions, and that reliance on carbohydrate metabolism rises within roughly ten days of training cessation.
True and false interindividual differences in the physiological response to an intervention.
Atkinson · Experimental physiology · 2015 · PMID 25823596
ReviewHuman researchContests the consensus
A methodological review showing that within-subject random variation and regression to the mean can generate the appearance of large individual differences in physiological response even when the true response is identical in everyone, and that true interindividual variation is only quantified by comparing the standard deviation of change between intervention and comparator arms.
Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Schoenfeld · Journal of sports sciences · 2017 · PMID 27433992
Meta-analysis
A meta-regression of 34 treatment groups from 15 studies found a graded dose-response between weekly resistance-training set volume and muscle size, with each additional weekly set associated with an effect-size increase of 0.023, equating to roughly 0.37% greater percentage gain.
Muscular adaptations in low- versus high-load resistance training: A meta-analysis.
Schoenfeld · European journal of sport science · 2016 · PMID 25530577
Meta-analysis
A meta-analysis of randomised trials comparing loads at or below 60% of one-repetition maximum against loads at or above 65% reported that both produced substantial strength and hypertrophy gains in untrained participants, with a non-significant trend favouring heavier loads for both outcomes.
Effects of Periodization on Strength and Muscle Hypertrophy in Volume-Equated Resistance Training Programs: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Moesgaard · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022 · PMID 35044672
Meta-analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 35 volume-equated studies found periodised programmes produced a small advantage over non-periodised programmes for one-repetition-maximum strength (ES 0.31) but no difference for hypertrophy, with undulating models slightly favoured over linear ones for strength.
Effect of Resistance Training Frequency on Gains in Muscular Strength: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Grgic · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2018 · PMID 29470825
Meta-analysis
A meta-analysis of 22 studies reported a significant effect of weekly resistance-training frequency on strength gains, with effect sizes rising progressively from 0.74 to 1.08 across one to four-plus sessions per week.
Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Schoenfeld · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2016 · PMID 27102172
Meta-analysis
A meta-analysis of ten studies found higher weekly training frequency per muscle group was associated with a larger hypertrophy effect size (0.49 versus 0.30) on a volume-equated basis.
Magnitude of Muscle Strength and Mass Adaptations Between High-Load Resistance Training Versus Low-Load Resistance Training Associated with Blood-Flow Restriction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Lixandrão · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2018 · PMID 29043659
Meta-analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing high-load resistance training with low-load blood-flow-restricted training reported larger strength increases with high loads but statistically similar hypertrophy between the two approaches.
Effect of repetition duration during resistance training on muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Schoenfeld · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2015 · PMID 25601394
Meta-analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis of eight studies found hypertrophic outcomes were similar across repetition durations from 0.5 to 8 seconds, with evidence suggesting durations beyond 10 seconds per repetition were inferior.
Comparison Between Eccentric vs. Concentric Muscle Actions On Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
da · Journal of strength and conditioning research · 2025 · PMID 39652733
Meta-analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 26 randomised trials with 682 participants found no statistically significant overall difference in hypertrophy between eccentric and concentric muscle actions, with subgroup signals favouring eccentric work for upper-limb muscles and shorter interventions.
Load-induced human skeletal muscle hypertrophy: Mechanisms, myths, and misconceptions.
Van · Journal of sport and health science · 2025 · PMID 41276164
ReviewFree full text
A critical review arguing that mechanical tension is the primary driver of load-induced hypertrophy, and that acute hormonal responses, metabolic stress, cell swelling and a functionally distinct sarcoplasmic hypertrophy are not supported by the available evidence.
Vitamin C and E supplementation blunts increases in total lean body mass in elderly men after strength training.
Bjørnsen · Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2016 · PMID 26129928
TrialHuman researchContests the consensus
A randomised trial in 34 men aged 60 to 81 found that high-dose vitamin C and E supplementation during 12 weeks of strength training produced smaller gains in total lean mass (1.4% versus 3.9%) and rectus femoris thickness than placebo, indicating a supplement can blunt training adaptation.
Effects of Cold-Water Immersion Compared with Other Recovery Modalities on Athletic Performance Following Acute Strenuous Exercise in Physically Active Participants: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression.
Moore · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023 · PMID 36527593
Meta-analysis
A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of 28 studies found cold-water immersion superior to other modalities for recovery from muscle soreness and similar for power and flexibility, while air cryotherapy outperformed it for strength and immediate power recovery.
The effect of cold water immersion on the recovery of physical performance revisited: A systematic review with meta-analysis.
Choo · Journal of sports sciences · 2022 · PMID 36862831
Meta-analysis
A systematic review with meta-analysis of 68 studies mapped the time course of cold-water immersion, finding improved short-term endurance recovery but impaired sprint and jump performance in the first hours, alongside improved strength and jump recovery at 24 hours and beyond.
A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Foam Rolling on Performance and Recovery.
Wiewelhove · Frontiers in physiology · 2019 · PMID 31024339
ReviewFree full text
A meta-analysis of 21 studies reported small effects of foam rolling, with pre-rolling slightly improving sprint performance (+0.7%) and flexibility (+4.0%) and post-rolling slightly attenuating decrements in sprint (+3.1%) and strength (+3.9%) and reducing muscle pain perception (+6.0%).
Compression Garments and Recovery from Exercise: A Meta-Analysis.
Brown · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2017 · PMID 28434152
Meta-analysis
A meta-analysis of 23 studies found compression garments produced small overall benefits for recovery (ES 0.38), with the largest effects for strength recovery at 2 to 8 hours and beyond 24 hours following resistance exercise; garment pressure and training status did not moderate the effect.
Effect of sports massage on performance and recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Davis · BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2020 · PMID 32426160
ReviewFree full text
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 29 randomised studies with 1012 participants found no evidence that sports massage improved strength, jump, sprint, endurance or fatigue, with small statistically significant improvements only in flexibility and delayed-onset muscle soreness.
The Association Between Poor Sleep and the Incidence of Sport and Physical Training-Related Injuries in Adult Athletic Populations: A Systematic Review.
Dobrosielski · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021 · PMID 33560506
ReviewContests the consensus
A systematic review of 12 prospective cohort studies concluded the current evidence does not support poor sleep as an independent risk factor for sport or training-related injury in adult athletes, finding only limited and methodologically heterogeneous support for the association.
Benefits of Daytime Napping Opportunity on Physical and Cognitive Performances in Physically Active Participants: A Systematic Review.
Souabni · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021 · PMID 34043185
Review
A systematic review of 18 studies in 326 physically active participants and athletes found daytime napping opportunities improved short-term physical, endurance and skill performance in 15 of the studies, alongside gains in reaction time, attention and short-term memory.
How much is too much? (Part 2) International Olympic Committee consensus statement on load in sport and risk of illness.
Schwellnus · British journal of sports medicine · 2016 · PMID 27535991
StudyHuman researchFree full text
The second part of the International Olympic Committee consensus statement on load in sport, reviewing the evidence linking rapid load changes, congested calendars, psychological load and travel to risk of illness and overtraining, and identifying research priorities.
2023 International Olympic Committee's (IOC) consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs).
Mountjoy · British journal of sports medicine · 2023 · PMID 37752011
StudyHuman research
The 2023 International Olympic Committee consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, updating the health and performance conceptual models, introducing a physiological model of low energy availability and releasing version 2 of the clinical assessment tool.
Does Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) Syndrome Exist?
Jeukendrup · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024 · PMID 39287777
ReviewHuman researchFree full textContests the consensus
A critical review challenging the Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport construct, arguing that energy availability cannot be measured accurately in the field, that the symptoms are generic and likely multifactorial, and that the diagnostic process is circular because it seeks to confirm a predetermined cause.
Cardiorespiratory fitness and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease and cancer: dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies.
Han · British journal of sports medicine · 2022 · PMID 35022163
Meta-analysis
A dose-response meta-analysis of 34 cohort studies reported that each one-MET increase in cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with relative risks of 0.88 for all-cause, 0.87 for cardiovascular and 0.93 for cancer mortality, with the highest fitness category at roughly half the all-cause mortality risk of the lowest.
Cardiorespiratory fitness, body mass index and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Weeldreyer · British journal of sports medicine · 2025 · PMID 39537313
Meta-analysisFree full text
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 studies and 398,716 observations found that fit individuals classified as overweight or obese had no statistically different mortality risk from fit normal-weight individuals, whereas unfit individuals at every BMI carried two- to threefold higher risk.
Exercise training and resting blood pressure: a large-scale pairwise and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Edwards · British journal of sports medicine · 2023 · PMID 37491419
Review
A pairwise and network meta-analysis of 270 randomised controlled trials with 15,827 participants found all exercise modes lowered resting blood pressure, with isometric training producing the largest systolic reduction (-8.24 mmHg) and ranking highest in the network.
How does exercise treatment compare with antihypertensive medications? A network meta-analysis of 391 randomised controlled trials assessing exercise and medication effects on systolic blood pressure.
Naci · British journal of sports medicine · 2019 · PMID 30563873
Review
A network meta-analysis of 391 randomised trials found that across all populations antihypertensive medications lowered systolic blood pressure more than exercise (mean difference -3.96 mmHg), but among hypertensive participants no detectable difference between exercise and medication was found.
Daily steps and health outcomes in adults: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.
Ding · The Lancet. Public health · 2025 · PMID 40713949
Meta-analysis
A dose-response meta-analysis of 57 studies from 35 cohorts using device-measured steps found inverse non-linear associations with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, dementia and falls that inflected around 5000 to 7000 steps per day, with 7000 steps associated with 47% lower all-cause mortality than 2000.
Prospective Association of Daily Steps With Cardiovascular Disease: A Harmonized Meta-Analysis.
Paluch · Circulation · 2023 · PMID 36537288
Meta-analysisFree full text
A harmonised meta-analysis of eight prospective cohorts with 20,152 device-monitored adults found a progressive reduction in cardiovascular disease risk with higher daily step counts in adults aged 60 and over, but no significant association in younger adults.
Effects of different protocols of high intensity interval training for VO(2)max improvements in adults: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Wen · Journal of science and medicine in sport · 2019 · PMID 30733142
Meta-analysis
A meta-analysis of 53 randomised trials found that even short-interval, low-volume and short-duration high-intensity interval training improved VO2max relative to control, whereas longer intervals, higher session volumes and longer programmes were needed to exceed moderate continuous training.
Which Training Intensity Distribution Intervention will Produce the Greatest Improvements in Maximal Oxygen Uptake and Time-Trial Performance in Endurance Athletes? A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis of Individual Participant Data.
Rosenblat · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025 · PMID 39888556
Review
An individual-participant-data network meta-analysis of 13 studies and 348 endurance athletes found no statistically significant difference in VO2max or time-trial performance between polarised and pyramidal training intensity distributions, though competitive and recreational athletes responded differently.
Exercise-Induced Cardiovascular Adaptations and Approach to Exercise and Cardiovascular Disease: JACC State-of-the-Art Review.
Martinez · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2021 · PMID 34593128
ReviewHuman research
A JACC state-of-the-art review of exercise-induced cardiac remodelling, covering how sports cardiologists distinguish physiological athletic adaptation from pathological change and assess participation risk in athletes with known cardiovascular conditions.
Risk of atrial fibrillation in athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Newman · British journal of sports medicine · 2021 · PMID 34253538
Meta-analysis
A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression found athletes had roughly 2.5 times the odds of atrial fibrillation compared with non-athlete controls, with the highest risk in younger athletes and those in mixed rather than pure endurance sports.
The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Lauersen · British journal of sports medicine · 2014 · PMID 24100287
Meta-analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 25 randomised trials covering 26,610 participants and 3464 injuries found strength training reduced sports injuries to under a third of control rates and proprioception training roughly halved them, while stretching showed no protective effect.
The Efficacy of Injury Prevention Programs in Adolescent Team Sports: A Meta-analysis.
Soomro · The American journal of sports medicine · 2016 · PMID 26673035
Meta-analysis
A meta-analysis of ten studies in adolescent team sport found multifaceted injury prevention programmes combining warm-up, neuromuscular strength and proprioception work reduced injury rates by 40% per hour of exposure, with the estimate attenuating to 32% after adjustment for publication bias.
What exercise programme is the most appropriate to mitigate anterior cruciate ligament injury risk in football (soccer) players? A systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Magaña-Ramírez · Journal of science and medicine in sport · 2024 · PMID 38395699
Review
A network meta-analysis of 11 randomised trials in footballers ranked FIFA 11+ as the most effective programme for reducing anterior cruciate ligament injury risk overall, with Knäkontroll the only programme reaching significance when analysis was restricted to female players.
Injury prevention programs that include plyometric exercises reduce the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injury: a systematic review of cluster randomised trials.
Al · Journal of physiotherapy · 2022 · PMID 36244964
Meta-analysis
A systematic review of nine cluster-randomised trials with 14,394 participants found injury prevention programmes containing plyometric exercises reduced anterior cruciate ligament injury risk by 60% per 1000 hours of exposure, with the strongest effect on non-contact injuries.
Hip and core exercise programme prevents running-related overuse injuries in adult novice recreational runners: a three-arm randomised controlled trial (Run RCT).
Leppänen · British journal of sports medicine · 2024 · PMID 38724071
TrialHuman research
A three-arm randomised controlled trial in 325 novice recreational runners found a hip and core exercise programme lowered lower-extremity injury incidence (HR 0.66) and substantial overuse injury prevalence by 52%, whereas an ankle and foot programme showed no protective effect and more acute injuries.
Preventive effect of eccentric training on acute hamstring injuries in men's soccer: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.
Petersen · The American journal of sports medicine · 2011 · PMID 21825112
TrialHuman research
A cluster-randomised trial across 50 Danish football teams and 942 players reported acute hamstring injury rates of 3.8 versus 13.1 per 100 player-seasons in the eccentric-training and control arms, with the largest reduction seen for recurrent injuries.
Exercise to prevent falls in older adults: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.
Sherrington · British journal of sports medicine · 2017 · PMID 27707740
Meta-analysis
An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of 88 trials with 19,478 participants found exercise reduced the rate of falls in community-dwelling older people by 21%, with balance-challenging programmes of higher weekly dose reducing falls by 39%, and no detectable effect in residential care or after stroke.
Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community.
Sherrington · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019 · PMID 30703272
Meta-analysisFree full text
A Cochrane review of 108 randomised trials with 23,407 community-dwelling older people found exercise reduced the rate of falls by 23% with high-certainty evidence.
Long-term static stretching can decrease muscle stiffness: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Takeuchi · Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2023 · PMID 37231582
Meta-analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis of ten studies found a moderate decrease in muscle stiffness (ES -0.749) after three to twelve weeks of static stretch training, with no moderating effect of sex, assessment method or total stretching duration.
Why methods matter in a meta-analysis: a reappraisal showed inconclusive injury preventive effect of Nordic hamstring exercise.
Impellizzeri · Journal of clinical epidemiology · 2021 · PMID 34520846
ReviewHuman researchContests the consensus
A methodological reappraisal found that only five of the 15 studies in an influential Nordic hamstring exercise meta-analysis were actually randomised to that exercise; re-analysing the true randomised trials produced a non-significant risk ratio of 0.59 with wide prediction intervals, leaving the protective effect inconclusive.
Association of Muscle Strength With All-Cause Mortality in the Oldest Old: Prospective Cohort Study From 28 Countries.
Andersen · Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024 · PMID 39439054
StudyHuman researchFree full text
A prospective cohort of 1890 adults aged 90 and over across 28 countries found handgrip strength associated with all-cause mortality in a gradual curvilinear fashion, with hazard ratios of 1.27 at the tenth percentile and 0.69 at the ninetieth relative to the median.
Handgrip Strength Asymmetry Predicts Mortality Risk: A Prospective Cohort Study From the UK Biobank.
Li · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2026 · PMID 41241383
StudyHuman research
A UK Biobank cohort of 308,810 adults followed for a median 13.6 years found that handgrip strength asymmetry exceeding 10%, particularly on the dominant side, was associated with higher frailty odds and a 13% elevated mortality risk relative to symmetrical grip.
Guidelines for wrist-worn consumer wearable assessment of heart rate in biobehavioral research.
Nelson · NPJ digital medicine · 2020 · PMID 32613085
ReviewFree full text
A methods paper reviewing the accuracy of consumer wrist-worn heart-rate devices and setting reporting guidelines, identifying device type, firmware, sampling rate, wrist circumference, body mass index and skin tone as factors that affect measurement and are inconsistently reported.
Monitoring the athlete training response: subjective self-reported measures trump commonly used objective measures: a systematic review.
Saw · British journal of sports medicine · 2016 · PMID 26423706
ReviewFree full text
A systematic review of 56 studies reporting concurrent subjective and objective athlete monitoring found the two generally did not correlate, and that subjective well-being measures tracked acute and chronic training load with greater sensitivity and consistency than objective markers.
Single-Item Self-Report Measures of Team-Sport Athlete Wellbeing and Their Relationship With Training Load: A Systematic Review.
Duignan · Journal of athletic training · 2020 · PMID 32991706
ReviewFree full text
A systematic review of 21 studies on single-item athlete self-report measures found relationships with training load ranging from none to very large, and predominantly trivial to moderate in the studies with the most observations, raising questions about their clinical utility.
HRV-Based Training for Improving VO(2max) in Endurance Athletes. A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.
Granero-Gallegos · International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020 · PMID 33143175
Meta-analysisFree full text
A systematic review with meta-analysis found heart-rate-variability-guided training produced a small but significant advantage over control training for VO2max in endurance athletes (ES 0.402), with larger effects among amateur and female subgroups.
Performance and Physiological Effects of Race Pace-Based Versus Heart Rate Variability-Guided Training Prescription in Runners.
Ranieri · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2025 · PMID 39935030
TrialHuman research
A randomised six-week trial in 28 recreational runners comparing heart-rate, race-pace and heart-rate-variability-guided prescription found no group-by-time interaction; race-pace prescription improved time-trial performance while the variability-guided approach raised second ventilatory threshold speed and VO2max.
Critical power: implications for determination of V˙O2max and exercise tolerance.
Jones · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2010 · PMID 20195180
ReviewHuman research
A review of the critical power concept, describing the hyperbolic power-duration relationship defined by an asymptote (critical power) and a curvature constant, and its use as a framework for interpreting VO2max, fatigue mechanisms and exercise tolerance.
Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio: Conceptual Issues and Fundamental Pitfalls.
Impellizzeri · International journal of sports physiology and performance · 2020 · PMID 32502973
StudyContests the consensus
A critical analysis concluding there is no evidence supporting the acute:chronic workload ratio in training-load management, because its causal relation to injury has never been properly estimated and the statistical properties of the ratio make it an inaccurate, ambiguous metric that adds noise and creates artefacts.
Mathematical coupling causes spurious correlation within the conventional acute-to-chronic workload ratio calculations.
Lolli · British journal of sports medicine · 2019 · PMID 29101104
StudyHuman researchContests the consensus
A British Journal of Sports Medicine editorial arguing that because acute workload appears in both the numerator and the denominator of the conventional acute:chronic workload ratio, mathematical coupling generates spurious correlation in the reported ratio-to-injury relationships.

Retrieved from the US National Library of Medicine on 2026-08-04

Educational reference material about the physiology of training, recovery and performance. It describes what the cited studies examined and reported; it is not medical advice, it prescribes no training programme or protocol, it is not tailored to anyone’s circumstances, and no training outcome is guaranteed. Anyone with a medical condition should consult a qualified professional in their own jurisdiction.