Arm and leg substrate utilization and muscle adaptation after prolonged low-intensity training

This review will focus on current data where substrate metabolism in arm and leg muscle is investigated and discuss the presence of higher carbohydrate oxidation and lactate release observed during arm compared with leg exercise. Furthermore, a basis for a possible difference in substrate partitioning between endogenous and exogenous substrate during arm and leg exercise will be debated. Moreover the review will probe if differences between arm and leg muscle are merely a result of different training status rather than a qualitative difference in limb substrate regulation. Along this line the review will address the available studies on low-intensity training performed separately with arm or legs or as whole-body training to evaluate if this leads to different adaptations in arm and leg muscle resulting in different substrate utilization patterns during separate arm or leg exercise at comparable workloads. Finally, the influence and capacity of low-intensity training to influence metabolic fitness in the face of a limited effect on aerobic fitness will be challenged.