Effect of movement velocity during resistance training on muscle‐specific hypertrophy: A systematic review

Abstract

Currently, it is unclear whether manipulation of movement velocity during resistance exercise has an effect on hypertrophy of specific muscles. The purpose of this systematic review of literature was to investigate the effect of movement velocity during resistance training on muscle hypertrophy. Five electronic databases were searched using terms related to movement velocity and resistance training. Inclusion criteria were randomised and non-randomised comparative studies; published in English; included healthy adults; used dynamic resistance exercise interventions directly comparing fast training to slower movement velocity training; matched in prescribed intensity and volume; duration ≥4 weeks; and measured muscle hypertrophy. A total of six studies were included involving 119 untrained participants. Hypertrophy of the quadriceps was examined in five studies and of the biceps brachii in two studies. Three studies found significantly greater increases in hypertrophy of the quadriceps for moderate-slow compared to fast training. For the remaining studies examining the quadriceps, significant within-group increase in hypertrophy was found for only moderate-slow training in one study and for only fast training in the other study. The two studies that examined hypertrophy of the biceps brachii found greater increases for fast compared to moderate-slow training. Caution is required when interpreting the findings from this review due to the low number of studies, hence insufficient data. Future longitudinal randomised controlled studies in cohorts of healthy adults are required to confirm and extend our findings.

Effect of Resistance Training Under Normobaric Hypoxia on Physical Performance, Hematological Parameters, and Body Composition in Young and Older People

“…However, with regard to the investigation by Scott et al (2018), not only the load is important for RTH to be effective. Among other exercise variables, also (i) the inter-set pause (Scott et al, 2015a;Lockhart et al, 2018), (ii) type of resistance exercise (e.g., singe-joint vs. multi-joint resistance exercises; discussed by Lockhart et al, 2018, or whole-body vibration, Camacho-Cardenosa et al, 2019a, (iii) the length of the intervention period (known from resistance training under normoxia; Silva et al, 2014), and/or (iv) the movement velocity (known from resistance training under normoxia; Davies et al, 2017;Hackett et al, 2018) all seem to be crucial factors in improving the effectiveness of RTH. While in the current study the interset pause as well as the type of resistance exercise were designed in a way that a high efficiency could be expected, the intervention period could have lasted longer and the movement velocity could have been increased (i.e., instead to 2 s for the concentric and eccentric phase, just 1 s) to improve the effect of the used low-to moderate-load RTH design.…”

Concurrent Validity of Instruments for Measuring Speed of Movement in Leg Press Exercises

“…1 The manipulation of the movement velocity results in different neural, morphological and metabolic responses to resistance exercise and has been shown to be useful when the objective is to alter the training stimulus. [2][3][4] In addition, the analysis of movement velocity behavior during isoinertial laboratory evaluation allows the individual to explore the relationship between movement velocity and load (i.e., different percentages of a maximal repetition), to discriminate individuals with different levels of performance, besides being an indicator of neuromuscular fatigue when analyzed in series performed until concentric muscular failure. 2,[5][6][7] In this context, measuring and analyzing the movement velocity in laboratory conditions and during training routines has great relevance for exercise professionals and practitioners.…”

The Role of Velocity Based Training in the Strength Periodization for Modern Athletes

“…However, this method is still debated [5]. Differences in the utilization of one method over the other depend on the number and level of the athletes, and training environment.…”

“…It is still not clear which method between percentage based and movement velocity based is more appropriate and if fast concentric and eccentric movements determine greater cross-sectional areas of the muscle compared with the normal tempo or slow movement strength training [5].…”

“…The prescription of resistance training based on the movement velocity is widely used by recreational populations [5], but elite athletes in high performance environment integrate the aforementioned method in different ways.…”