Study of the Week! Strength training benefits- Expression of genes related to muscle plasticity after strength and power training regimens

Squats by Michael Gonzalez-Wallace from Body Smart-Nomad Editions. Photo by Beth Bischoff

Expression of genes related to muscle plasticity after
strength and power training regimens.

Source School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2010 Apr;20(2):216-25. Epub 2009 Apr 14.

Welcome to my Weekly Column, The Study of the Week!

This week an absolutely exciting study that shows the incredible benefits of strength training and how increases muscle strength, in other words how when following strength training we see gains in  hypertrophy  and muscle fiber plasticity.  From a physiological point of view plasticity  is used to describe long-term changes in how a cell/tissue functions.  Muscle Fiber Plasticity refers to changes in the composition of specific cells composition in different muscle tissue.

This phenomenal study monitored these changes so they tested individuals practicing strength training (squat like in the figure), Power training and control group. From the researchers: Twenty-nine physically active subjects were divided into three groups: strength training (ST), power training (PT) and control (C).  According to the researchers: "Or data indicate that the strength training regimens produce similar performance improvements; however, there was click here to keep reading