Lower and Higher Load Resistance Exercise Protocols: Acute Muscle Activation and Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy

June 18, 2019 updated by: Stuart Phillips, McMaster University

Muscle Fibre Activation is Unaffected by Load and Repetition Duration When Resistance Exercise is Performed to Task Failure

How much weight an individual lifts per workout does not dictate the relative increase in muscle size the individual gains following weeks of training, which is contrary to current strength training dogma. Specifically, researchers have concluded that so long as an individual performs resistance exercise with maximum effort, it is not necessary to lift with relatively heavy loads. However, other laboratories, on the basis of surface electromyography measurements, have challenged the thesis that lighter loads can result in the hypertrophy of larger, type II muscle fibres. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to combine surface electromyography measurements with direct measurements of muscle fibre activation to see if muscle fibre activation was truly dependent on load. The investigators hypothesized that all muscle fibres would be activated when the resistance exercise was performed with maximal effort.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

PROCEDURES INVOLVED IN THE RESEARCH

The total time commitment of this study will be ~7 hours. Each participant's first visit (familiarization) will include an interview through where the researchers will determine if there are any reasons that the participant cannot take part in the study. The researchers will explain the study protocol and, upon the participant's consent, the investigators will obtain the participant's knee extension maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) on a dynamometer (Biodex, Shirley, USA) and a 1 repetition-maximum (RM) test on a knee extension machine. Following that, the investigators will determine the next two dates (trial days) in which the participant will come in.

The participant will be asked to come in fasted on two separate trial days, each separated by two weeks, after the participant's familiarization visit. The participant will be required to avoid physical activity 48 hours before each of the three visits. There are four conditions in this study, each varying in relative load and speed of contraction. The participant will complete two conditions on each trial day, one with each leg. The conditions include: 80%RM Normal (80N; 1 eccentric: 1 pause: 1 concentric), 80% Slow (80S; 3:1:3), 30% Normal (30N; 1:1:1) and 30% Slow (30S; 3:1:3). Each condition will include three sets to voluntary failure on a knee extension machine. Before and after each set the participant will perform three MVCs on the dynamometer identical to what the participant did on the familiarization day. The investigators will record the participant's rating of perceived exertion and effort via the Borg scale and electromyography (EMG), respectively. The participant will have one biopsy taken pre-training and two, one per condition/leg, one hour post-training.

The REB Project Number for this study is: 802

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
10

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 30 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • healthy
  • male
  • 18-30 years of age

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Have any acute or chronic illness such as cardiac, pulmonary, liver, or kidney abnormalities, uncontrolled hypertension, insulin- or non-insulin dependent diabetes or other metabolic disorders-all ascertained through a medical history screening questionnaire
  • Experience arthritic conditions
  • Smoke tobacco products
  • Consume any analgesic or anti-inflammatory drug(s), prescription or non-prescription, chronically
  • Have a history of neuromuscular complications
  • Are on any medications known to affect protein metabolism (i.e. corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, or prescription strength acne medications).
  • Have an extensive history of RE training in the year prior to study entry.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: 80 %1RM, Regular Tempo
Participants performed three sets of unilateral knee extension with a load that was 80 % of their one-repetition maximum (1RM) at a tempo of three seconds per repetition.
Behavioral: resistance exercise
unilateral knee extensions until fatigue with varying load and speeds of contraction
Experimental: 80 %1RM, Slow Tempo
Participants performed three sets of unilateral knee extension with a load that was 80 % of their one-repetition maximum (1RM) at a tempo of seven seconds per repetition.
Behavioral: resistance exercise
unilateral knee extensions until fatigue with varying load and speeds of contraction
Experimental: 30 %1RM, Regular Tempo
Participants performed three sets of unilateral knee extension with a load that was 30 % of their one-repetition maximum (1RM) at a tempo of three seconds per repetition.
Behavioral: resistance exercise
unilateral knee extensions until fatigue with varying load and speeds of contraction
Experimental: 30 %1RM, Slow Tempo
Participants performed three sets of unilateral knee extension with a load that was 30 % of their one-repetition maximum (1RM) at a tempo of seven seconds per repetition.
Behavioral: resistance exercise
unilateral knee extensions until fatigue with varying load and speeds of contraction

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Concentration of glycogen in muscle fibres
Time Frame: three weeks
Histochemical assessment of muscle glycogen via muscle biopsies
three weeks
Amplitude of electrical activity above the quadriceps muscles
Time Frame: three weeks
Surface electromyography assessment via electrodes during the unilateral resistance exercise
three weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
McMaster University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Stuart Phillips, PhD, McMaster University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 4, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 17, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 18, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 19, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 19, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 18, 2019

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • HIREB 0802

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

IPD Plan Description

No individual participant data will be made available to other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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