Summary
When exposed to exercise training, the physiological adaptive responses of human skeletal muscle are unpredictable. A confounding issue within previous research is the standardized exercise prescription used to train research subjects, which by the diverse nature of baseline genotype, produces ‘high responders’ and ‘low responders’ to training. We use conceptual and mathematical models of the exercise training process to experimentally study how an individualized training prescription creates more consistent and optimized, physiological and molecular responses to a period of training. The results will advance our understanding of the individual response to exercise training and methods to optimize human adaptation and maximize endurance performance.
Objectives
- Identify the early response to divergent training stimuli in trained and untrained populations.
- Develop methods to individualize exercise training volume and intensity in order to maximize physiological adaptation and exercise performance.
- Develop methods to individualize the prescription of recovery from training in order to maximize physiological adaptation and exercise performance.
- Establish the utility of novel methods of exercise training prescription to improve endurance exercise performance following prolonged periods of training.
- Explore the potential for exercise training data to be used to inform subsequent training prescription.
People
Dr James Hopker, Principal investigator, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent.
Prof. Louis Passfield, Co-investigator, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent.
Dr Glen Davison, Co-investigator, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent.
Ciaran O’Grady, PhD student, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent.
Arthur Bossi, PhD student, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent.
Richard Ebreo, PhD student, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent.
Hannah Sangan, PhD student, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent.
About
It is generally acknowledged that regular exercise is beneficial for a wide variety of systems with impacts on overall morbidity and mortality. The ability to organise regular exercise into an optimal training regime affording maximal benefit to the individual is the ‘holy grail’ for exercise practitioners. As a result of this project, we will develop a new and novel approach towards doing so. Existing research demonstrates that physiological responses to standardized training programmes can be remarkably variable and diverse. These types of observations have led some to examine these training ‘responders’ and ‘non-responders’ and their genetic origin. However, the wider issue is not just whether an individual is a ‘responder’ or ‘non-responder’, but also what is his or her optimal training intensity. This raises the question: is there a need for an individualized training prescription to enable optimal long-term training adaptation? If it were possible to individually optimize training we might be closer to maximizing the benefits from that training. This is important in that lack of improvement in parameters is likely related to poor adherence to exercise regimes, and failure to reduce overall cardiovascular risk, due to lack of aerobic fitness. As a result of this work, we will aim to develop a new ‘personalized’ method of prescribing exercise training that will provide maximum physiological benefit for the individual, or desired outcome, as opposed to the current broad training guidelines. Our work will, therefore, aim to change the way that exercise capacity is assessed and training is prescribed. These changes will affect a wide range of different exercising populations, from elite athletes to clinical patients.