Cyclic movement frequency is associated with muscle typology in athletes

Bex, Tine; Baguet, Audrey; Achten, Eric; Aerts, Peter; Clercq, Dirk De; Derave, Wim

doi:10.1111/sms.12648

Cited by 22 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(48 reference statements)

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“…Additional research is needed to better understand the physiological mechanisms and finer-scale anthropometric variables underlying the sprint/endurance performance trade-off in human swimmers. In a confirmation of earlier findings in runners [30], one recent study showed, for example, that the muscle fibre-type composition of athletes varied based on the length of their event in swimmers, in addition to runners and other athletes [31]. Notably, within each swimming and running event, the mean difference between men and women competitors' BMI corresponded nearly exactly with the mean difference in race speed (both are 11% different; electronic supplementary material, table S1).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Elite swimmers do not exhibit a body mass index trade-off across a wide range of event distances

2018

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There is a trade-off reflected in the contrasting phenotypes of elite long-distance runners, who are typically leaner, and elite sprinters, who are usually more heavily muscled. It is unclear, however, whether and how swimmers' bodies vary across event distances from the 50 m swim, which is about a 20-30 s event, to the 10 000 m marathon swim, which is about a 2 h event. We examined data from the 2012 Olympics to test whether swimmers' phenotypes differed across event distances. We show that across all swimming event distances, from the 50 m sprint to the 10 000 m marathon, swimmers converge on a single optimal body mass index (BMI) in men's and women's events, in marked contrast with the strong inverse relationship between BMI and event distance found in runners. The absence of a speed-endurance trade-off in the body proportions of swimmers indicates a fundamental difference in design pressures and performance capability in terrestrial versus aquatic environments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Elite swimmers do not exhibit a body mass index trade-off across a wide range of event distances

2018

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“…Given the fact that high proportions of type-I fibers are suggested to display greater mechanical efficiency at common movement frequencies (i.e., 1–2Hz, e.g., cycling between 60 and 120 rpm) that are close to the type-I fiber's peak efficiency velocity (He et al, 2000 ; Joyner and Coyle, 2008 ), a higher percentage of type-I fibers would relate to a higher gross efficiency (Coyle et al, 1992 ; Horowitz et al, 1994 ), and therefore contributes to a higher endurance performance (Horowitz et al, 1994 ). Nowadays, non-invasive techniques such as 1 H-MRS measurements of muscle carnosine content are also used to estimate type-I and II muscle typology, thereby confirming prior muscle biopsy-based findings across athletes (Baguet et al, 2011 ; Bex et al, 2017 ; Lievens et al, 2020 , 2021 ).…”

Section: The Overlooked Underlying Physiology: Skeletal Muscle Determinants Of Endurance Performancementioning

confidence: 77%

Under the Hood: Skeletal Muscle Determinants of Endurance Performance

Zwaard¹,

Brocherie²,

Jaspers³

2021

Front. Sports Act. Living

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In the past decades, researchers have extensively studied (elite) athletes' physiological responses to understand how to maximize their endurance performance. In endurance sports, whole-body measurements such as the maximal oxygen consumption, lactate threshold, and efficiency/economy play a key role in performance. Although these determinants are known to interact, it has also been demonstrated that athletes rarely excel in all three. The leading question is how athletes reach exceptional values in one or all of these determinants to optimize their endurance performance, and how such performance can be explained by (combinations of) underlying physiological determinants. In this review, we advance on Joyner and Coyle's conceptual framework of endurance performance, by integrating a meta-analysis of the interrelationships, and corresponding effect sizes between endurance performance and its key physiological determinants at the macroscopic (whole-body) and the microscopic level (muscle tissue, i.e., muscle fiber oxidative capacity, oxygen supply, muscle fiber size, and fiber type). Moreover, we discuss how these physiological determinants can be improved by training and what potential physiological challenges endurance athletes may face when trying to maximize their performance. This review highlights that integrative assessment of skeletal muscle determinants points toward efficient type-I fibers with a high mitochondrial oxidative capacity and strongly encourages well-adjusted capillarization and myoglobin concentrations to accommodate the required oxygen flux during endurance performance, especially in large muscle fibers. Optimisation of endurance performance requires careful design of training interventions that fine tune modulation of exercise intensity, frequency and duration, and particularly periodisation with respect to the skeletal muscle determinants.

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“…MHC II also has a superior ability to hypertrophy (Billeter et al, 2003). Further characteristics of MHC II muscle include larger baseline muscle carnosine content (Parkhouse et al, 1985;Baguet et al, 2011) that have been related to frequency of movement (i.e., more MHC II, higher frequency of movement) (Bex et al, 2017); and enhanced muscle buffering. In addition, greater creatine content is also found at rest in MHC II muscle, which supports more anaerobic based exercise (Tesch et al, 1989).…”

Section: Selection Of Appropriate Intervention-are All Stimulus Created Equal?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“Question Your Categories”: the Misunderstood Complexity of Middle-Distance Running Profiles With Implications for Research Methods and Application

Sandford

Stellingwerff

2019

Front. Sports Act. Living

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Middle-distance running provides unique complexity where very different physiological and structural/mechanical profiles may achieve similar elite performances. Training and improving the key determinants of performance and applying interventions to athletes within the middle-distance event group are probably much more divergent than many practitioners and researchers appreciate. The addition of maximal sprint speed and other anaerobic and biomechanical based parameters, alongside more commonly captured aerobic characteristics, shows promise to enhance our understanding and analysis within the complexities of middle-distance sport science. For coaches, athlete diversity presents daily training programming challenges in order to best individualize a given stimulus according to the athletes profile and avoid “non-responder” outcomes. It is from this decision making part of the coaching process, that we target this mini-review. First we ask researchers to “question their categories” concerning middle-distance event groupings. Historically broad classifications have been used [from 800 m (~1.5 min) all the way to 5,000 m (~13–15 min)]. Here within we show compelling rationale from physiological and event demand perspectives for narrowing middle-distance to 800 and 1,500 m alone (1.5–5 min duration), considering the diversity of bioenergetics and mechanical constraints within these events. Additionally, we provide elite athlete data showing the large diversity of 800 and 1,500 m athlete profiles, a critical element that is often overlooked in middle-distance research design. Finally, we offer practical recommendations on how researchers, practitioners, and coaches can advance training study designs, scientific interventions, and analysis on middle-distance athletes/participants to provide information for individualized decision making trackside and more favorable and informative study outcomes.

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Cyclic movement frequency is associated with muscle typology in athletes

Cited by 22 publications

References 30 publications

Elite swimmers do not exhibit a body mass index trade-off across a wide range of event distances

Elite swimmers do not exhibit a body mass index trade-off across a wide range of event distances

Under the Hood: Skeletal Muscle Determinants of Endurance Performance

“Question Your Categories”: the Misunderstood Complexity of Middle-Distance Running Profiles With Implications for Research Methods and Application

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