Muscle strength and damage following two modes of variable resistance training
Saied Jalal Aboodarda1, John George, Abdul Halim Mokhtar
1Sports Center.
Journal of Sports Science & Medicine
|October 24, 2013
Summary
Elastic resistance (ER) and Nautilus Machine (NM) training cause similar muscle damage indicators, despite NM generating higher forces. Both methods offer comparable training stress for muscle hypertrophy.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Exercise Physiology
- Muscle Physiology
Background:
- Nautilus Machine (NM) and Elastic Resistance (ER) are popular for strength training.
- Controversy exists regarding ER's effectiveness for muscle hypertrophy and strength in trained individuals.
Purpose of the Study:
- Compare the effects of ER and NM on muscle damage indicators.
- Evaluate muscle damage markers including maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), plasma creatine kinase (CK), and MRI T2 signal.
Main Methods:
- Nine healthy males performed 5 sets × 10RM of ER and NM in a crossover design.
- Measured MVIC, DOMS, serum CK, and T2 relaxation time via MRI.
- Wash-out period of three weeks between exercise modalities.
Main Results:
- NM generated significantly higher forces than ER.
- Muscle damage indicators (T2 relaxation time, DOMS, MVIC, serum CK) showed similar responses for both ER and NM.
- Plasma CK and DOMS peaked on days 3 and 2, respectively.
- T2 relaxation time increased significantly after both exercise types.
Conclusions:
- Both ER and NM provide similar training stress, despite differences in external force generation.
- Exercise-induced muscle damage is a key mechanism for muscle hypertrophy.
- Elastic resistance training is a viable exercise mode for stimulating muscle adaptation.
