Glycolytic Phenotype (vLapeak) and Magnitude of Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy After Resistance Training (HyperLa)

HyperLa: Glycolytic Phenotype (vLapeak) and Magnitude of Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy After Resistance Training: A Multi-centre Study by the HyperLa Study Group

The HyperLa study investigates whether a person's "glycolyticness"-the efficiency with which their body uses glycolysis for energy-can predict how much their muscles will grow (hypertrophy) in response to resistance training. Participants will undergo a specialized "vLapeak" test, which measures the maximal rate of lactate accumulation during a 10-second all-out cycling sprint, to determine their individual glycolytic power. Following this initial assessment, participants will complete eight weeks of standardized, twice-weekly resistance training focused on the lower body. The study aims to determine if individuals with higher initial vLapeak values experience greater increases in muscle size compared to those with lower values. This research may help explain why people respond differently to exercise and support the development of personalized training programs.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Healthy Volunteers; Muscle Hypertrophy; Glycolysis; Moderately Trainend
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Hypertrophy-focused Resistance Training

Detailed Description

This multicentre, prospective, single-arm interventional cohort study aims to link metabolic phenotypes with physical adaptations.

• Primary Assessment: Glycolytic power is quantified via the vLapeak test, defined as the peak rate of blood lactate accumulation during a 10-second isokinetic or sprint-configured cycle ergometry test.
• Intervention: The 8-week resistance training program consists of two supervised sessions per week. Exercises include the leg press (or Smith-machine squat) and leg extensions, performed for 4 sets of 8-12 repetitions. Intensity progresses from an RPE of 6 to voluntary muscular failure by the third week.
• Measurements: Muscle hypertrophy is primarily assessed via ultrasound measurement of muscle thickness and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the thigh muscles before and after the intervention.
• Secondary Objectives: The study also evaluates changes in the plasma metabolome via venous blood samples and, at select sites, analyzes muscle biopsies for glycolytic enzyme activity and fiber type composition to further validate the vLapeak results.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 120
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Henning Wackerhage, Prof. Dr.; Phone Number: +49 89 289 24480; Email: henning.wackerhage@tum.de
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Lara Becker; Email: lara.becker@tum.de

Study Locations

• Finland
  • Central Finland
    • Jyväskylä, Central Finland, Finland, 40014
      • Recruiting
      • University of Jyväskylä, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences
      • Contact: Juha Ahtiainen, Prof. Dr.; Phone Number: +358408053740; Email: juha.ahtiainen@jyu.fi
• Germany
  • Bavaria
    • München, Bavaria, Germany, 80809
      • Recruiting
      • Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Medicine and Health
      • Contact: Henning Wackerhage, Prof. Dr.; Phone Number: +49 89 289 24480; Email: henning.wackerhage@tum.de
      • Contact: Lara Becker; Email: lara.becker@tum.de
  • North Rhine-Westphalia
    • Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 51147
      • Recruiting
      • DLR Cologne, Department of Metabolism and Human Performance
      • Contact: Dominik Pesta, Prof. Dr.; Phone Number: +49 2203 601 2028; Email: dominik.pesta@dlr.de
    • Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 40233
      • Recruiting
      • iST University of Applied Sciences
      • Contact: Stephan Geisler, Prof.Dr.; Phone Number: +49 211 86668 6104; Email: sgeisler@ist-hochschule.de
      • Contact: Tim Havers; Email: thavers@ist-hochschule.de
  • Saxony
    • Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany, 09126
      • Recruiting
      • TU Chemnitz, Sports Medicine and Exercise Therapy
      • Contact: Nico Nitzsche, PD Dr. Dr.; Phone Number: +49 371 531-37326; Email: nico.nitzsche@hsw.tu-chemnitz.de
    • Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, 04109
      • Recruiting
      • Institute for Applied Training Science (IAT) Leipzig
      • Contact: Katharina Dunst, Dr.; Phone Number: +49 341 4945-184; Email: AnnaKatharina.Dunst@sport-iat.de
• Ireland
  • Limerick
    • Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, V94 T9PX
      • Recruiting
      • University of Limerick, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences (PESS)
      • Contact: Brian Carson, Prof.; Phone Number: +353 (0)61 20 2896; Email: Brian.Carson@ul.ie
• Spain
  • Madrid
    • Madrid, Madrid, Spain, 28040
      • Recruiting
      • Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte (INEF)
      • Contact: Pedro José Benito, Prof. Dr.; Phone Number: +34 91 336 40 12; Email: pedroj.benito@upm.es

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Body Mass Index (BMI) between 20-29 kg/m2
• No structured resistance training performed in the last twelve months.
• Maximum of four sessions per week of recreational or low-to-moderate aerobic endurance activity.
• No history of competitive strength or physique sports.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosed cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, neuromuscular, or orthopaedic disease that contraindicates exercise.
• Positive response to any question on the PAR-Q 2025 questionnaire.
• Current use of anabolic steroids, creatine, or other substances known to strongly influence muscle hypertrophy.
• Regular engagement in shift work.
• Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Resistance Training Group; Participants in this single-arm cohort will undergo an 8-week standardized, hypertrophy-focused lower-body resistance training program.	Behavioral: Hypertrophy-focused Resistance Training; Standardized training consisting of twice-weekly supervised sessions for 8 weeks. Each session includes 4 sets of 8-12 repetitions of leg press (or Smith-machine squat) and leg extensions. Training intensity progresses from an RPE of 6 to voluntary muscular failure starting from week three.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in mid-thigh Muscle Thickness	Change in mid-thigh muscle thickness (combination of rectus femoris and vastus intermedius) as measured by ultrasound.	Baseline and Week 8 (completion of training intervention)
Change in lateral-thigh Muscle Thickness	Change in lateral thigh muscle thickness (combination of vastus lateralis and vastus intermedius) as measured by ultrasound.	Baseline and Week 8 (completion of training intervention)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Peak Rate of Blood Lactate Accumulation (vLapeak)	Peak rate of blood lactate accumulation before and after a 10-second all-out seated cycle ergometry test. Blood lactate will be sampled every minute for 10 minutes post-test to capture the peak value.	Baseline and Week 8 (completion of training intervention)
Change in Vastus Lateralis Muscle Cross-Sectional Area (CSA)	Change in cross-sectional area of the vastus lateralis at 50% of muscle length measured via ultrasound.	Baseline and Week 8 (completion of training intervention)
Maximal Strength (3RM) for Leg Press	Change in 3-Repetition Maximum (3RM) for the leg press exercise to assess lower-body multi-joint maximal strength.	Baseline and Week 8 (completion of training intervention)
Maximal Strength (3RM) for Leg Exentsion	Change in 3-Repetition Maximum (3RM) for the leg extension exercise to assess single-joint quadriceps strength.	Baseline and Week 8 (completion of training intervention)
Change in Relative Abundance of Selected Plasma Metabolites	Change in the relative concentration of targeted plasma metabolites from baseline to Week 8, as analyzed via mass spectrometry.	Baseline and Week 8 (completion of training intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Technical University of Munich
• Collaborators: DLR German Aerospace Center; University of Limerick; University of Jyvaskyla; Chemnitz University of Technology; IST University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf; Institute for Applied Training Science (IAT/FES e.V.)

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Ahtiainen JP, Walker S, Peltonen H, Holviala J, Sillanpaa E, Karavirta L, Sallinen J, Mikkola J, Valkeinen H, Mero A, Hulmi JJ, Hakkinen K. Heterogeneity in resistance training-induced muscle strength and mass responses in men and women of different ages. Age (Dordr). 2016 Feb;38(1):10. doi: 10.1007/s11357-015-9870-1. Epub 2016 Jan 15.
• Warburg O, Wind F, Negelein E. THE METABOLISM OF TUMORS IN THE BODY. J Gen Physiol. 1927 Mar 7;8(6):519-30. doi: 10.1085/jgp.8.6.519. No abstract available.
• Wackerhage H, Kabasakalis A, Seiler S, Heck H. Is the vLamax for Glycolysis What the V O 2 max is for Oxidative Phosphorylation? Sports Med. 2025 Aug;55(8):1853-1866. doi: 10.1007/s40279-025-02259-6. Epub 2025 Jul 17.
• Wackerhage H, Vechetti IJ, Baumert P, Gehlert S, Becker L, Jaspers RT, de Angelis MH. Does a Hypertrophying Muscle Fibre Reprogramme its Metabolism Similar to a Cancer Cell? Sports Med. 2022 Nov;52(11):2569-2578. doi: 10.1007/s40279-022-01676-1. Epub 2022 Apr 23.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 4, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 25, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 20, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 23, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 20, 2026
• Last Verified: June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Resistance Training; Exercise Physiology; Metabolic Phenotyping; vLapeak; Skeletal Muscle Adaptation
• Other Study ID Numbers: HyperLa

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: A formal plan for sharing individual participant data (IPD) with external researchers has not yet been finalized. The study involves a multicentric international consortium with strict data protection requirements under GDPR. Data is currently managed centrally via REDCap at the Technical University of Munich. Requests for data sharing will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the HyperLa Study Group after the primary publication of results, and would require a formal proposal and a signed Data Access or Material Transfer Agreement (MTA)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No