Exercise training involves repeated exposure to increases in metabolic, thermal, mechanical, and oxidative stress. This exposure stimulates physiological adaptations that improve tolerance to similar stressors.  Achieving such adaptations is the purpose of exercising regularly, and underpins the protective nature of exercise against the development of several diseases.  Our current understanding of the signal integration and coordination of the cellular mechanisms that govern skeletal muscle plasticity is incomplete. This Special Issue will provide novel insights into the molecular, cellular, tissue, and overall body adjustments to intense exercise demands. We will gather contributions from scientific experts to provide readers with state-of-the-art contributions in the field of skeletal muscle and exercise.

Discussing the special issue 'Unlocking Athletic Potential: Exploring Exercise Physiology from Mechanisms to Performance' published in the 2024 issue of the journal.

Speakers:
Prof. Maria Carmen Gomez-Cabrera, University of Valencia, Spain
Prof. Christoph Handschin, University of Basel, Switzerland

0:52 Introduction of the special issue
3:36 Discussing the differences between the acute perturbations induced by a single endurance or resistance exercise bout vs the long-term training adaptations
16:05 Commenting on the mechanism involved in muscle damage and the repeated bout effect
33:11 Five contributions dealing with skeletal muscle redox aspects in this special issue
43:38 Discussing a contribution in the special issue connecting the respiratory capacity of skeletal muscle mitochondria and athletic performance
57:19 Circadian rhythms influence exercise adaptations of skeletal muscle. Is the time to train very important for top-level athletes? What about the general population?

Podcast
Sciencedirect

What are the key physiological adaptations attained in exercise regimens used by elite athletes to achieve peak performance? In our latest episode of The Physiological Reviews Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sadis Matalon (University of Alabama at Birmingham) interviews author and Physiological Reviews Associate Editor Dr. Christoph Handschin (University of Basel, Switzerland) about the new Review by Furrer et al. As Dr. Handschin explains, the basis of all types of muscle adaptations is repeated contractions, but how this is done in terms of training intensity, volume, form, and frequency can dramatically affect training outcomes. Athletes and coaches try to develop the best strategies for training periodization for performance to peak at the time of competition. What roles do sleep, diet, and environment, such as altitude, play in enhancing (or diminishing) exercise performance? Listen as Dr. Matalon and Dr. Handschin discuss experimental and natural product-based performance enhancing substances, wearable devices for tracking exercise performance, and the genetic makeup of individuals that ultimately differentiates athletes from Olympic athletes.

Regula Furrer, John A. Hawley, and Christoph Handschin The molecular athlete: exercise physiology from mechanisms to medals Physiological Reviews, published April 23, 2023. DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00017.2022

Podcast
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