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Nutritional Interventions for the Improvement of Muscle Strength, Muscle Hypertrophy and Muscle Endurance

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Behavior, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 20252

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Raul Domínguez Herrera

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Guest Editor

1. Departamento de Motricidad Humana y Rendimiento Deportivo, Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
2. Studies Research Group in Neuromuscular Responses (GEPREN), University of Lavras, 37200-000 Lavras, Brazil
Interests: sports nutrition; muscle function; cardiorespiratory responses; ergogenic aids; diet
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Ángel Lago Rodríguez

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Health Sciences, University Isabel I, Burgos, Spain
Interests: sports nutrition; Sports performance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Muscle function is crucial for athletic performance, and so athletes aim at increasing maximal muscular strength, muscular power, muscular hypertrophy, and muscular endurance. Accordingly, resistance training is common practice among the majority of athletic training programs designed for the enhancement of performance in almost all sport modalities. Resistance training may be conducted through weightlifting (using machines, free weights, and Olympic movements), working with elastic bands and medicine balls, as well as plyometric training methodology, or using different devices that allow eccentric overload or isokinetic contractions. The heterogeneous type of training targeted at influencing muscular contraction, velocity, load, volume, and recovery aims at increasing muscular function in order to enhance performance.

A correct use of different training variables (i.e., volume, intensity, frequency) is crucial for the achievement of positive muscular adaptations, although not sufficient. Well-designed resistance training programs should include a correct nutrition protocol, which would optimize muscular adaptations to training. In this way, daily energetic dietary intake and total amount of macronutrients daily ingested, as well as their distribution along the day and especially around the training sessions, have shown to determine responses and adaptions to the training session. Thus, different dietary manipulations could be used for optimizing muscular adaptations to resistance training, including the selection of different sport supplements with a specific posology.

This Special Issue seeks to provide evidence regarding dietary interventions that could enhance athletes’ muscular performance. As Chief Editors of this Special Issue entitled “Nutritional Interventions for the Improvement of Muscle Strength, Muscle Hypertrophy, and Muscle Endurance”, we would like to make a call for original research articles, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses focused on the effect of dietary interventions on muscular performance.

Dr. Raul Domínguez Herrera
Dr. Ángel Lago Rodríguez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

diet
dietary supplements
ergogenic aids
isokinetic strength
muscular endurance
muscular strength
nutrition
plyometric training
resistance training
resistance exercise
sport performance
sport supplements
supplement

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

9 pages, 477 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gender-Specific Risk Factors and Prevalence for Sarcopenia among Community-Dwelling Young-Old Adults

by Jongseok Hwang and Soonjee Park

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(12), 7232; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19127232 - 13 Jun 2022

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 2357

Abstract

Sarcopenia in the elderly is a serious global public health problem. Numerous sarcopenia studies classified their subjects into a single group, but health conditions and body composition vary according to age. This study examined the prevalence of sarcopenia according to gender and assessed the gender-specific risk factors in young-old adults. In this study, 2697 participants in Korea aged from 65 to 74 years were analyzed from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. The prevalence of sarcopenia in males and females was 19.2% (CI 95%: 16.4–22.3) and 26.4% (23.7–29.4), respectively. The risk factors in men were age, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), skeletal muscle index (SMI), fasting glucose (FG), triglyceride, and systolic blood pressure (SBP). Their odd ratios were 1.447, 0.102, 1.494, 0.211, 0.877, 1.012, and 1.347. The risk factors in women were age, height, weight, BMI, WC, SMI, and fasting glucose with values of 1.489, 0.096, 0.079, 0.158, 0.042, and 1.071, respectively. The prevalence of sarcopenia was higher in females than in males. Overall, the clinical risk factors in males were age, height, BMI, WC, SMI, FG, triglyceride, and SBP. Age, height, weight, BMI, WC, SMI, and FG were the risk factors for women. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Interventions for the Improvement of Muscle Strength, Muscle Hypertrophy and Muscle Endurance)

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11 pages, 1639 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Capacitive and Resistive Electric Transfer Intervention on Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness Induced by Eccentric Exercise

by Masatoshi Nakamura, Shigeru Sato, Ryosuke Kiyono, Kaoru Yahata, Riku Yoshida, Kazuki Kasahara and Andreas Konrad

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5723; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19095723 - 08 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2067

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the acute effect of capacitive and resistive electric transfer (CRet) intervention on eccentrically damaged muscle. A total of 28 healthy and sedentary male volunteers were randomly allocated to either CRet intervention or control groups. The participants performed a bout of eccentric exercise of the knee extensors with the dominant leg and received 30 min of CRet intervention of the quadriceps 48 h after the exercise. The dependent variables for the analysis were knee flexion range of motion (ROM), muscle soreness and maximum voluntary isometric (MVC-ISO), and concentric contraction (MVC-CON) torque of the knee extensors. These were measured prior to exercise (baseline) and before and after CRet intervention (48 h after the exercise). The results showed that knee flexion ROM, muscle strength (MVC-ISO and MVC-CON), and muscle soreness significantly improved after CRet intervention. CRet intervention may improve muscle soreness and loss of muscle function in an eccentrically damaged muscle. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Interventions for the Improvement of Muscle Strength, Muscle Hypertrophy and Muscle Endurance)

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17 pages, 2050 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Beetroot Juice Supplementation on Cognitive Function, Aerobic and Anaerobic Performances of Trained Male Taekwondo Athletes: A Pilot Study

by Hossein Miraftabi, Zahra Avazpoor, Erfan Berjisian, Amir Sarshin, Sajjad Rezaei, Raúl Domínguez, Reid Reale, Emerson Franchini, Mohammad Hossein Samanipour, Majid S. Koozehchian, Mark E. T. Willems, Ramin Rafiei and Alireza Naderi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(19), 10202; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph181910202 - 28 Sep 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4374

Abstract

Studies have shown that nitrate (NO₃⁻)-rich beetroot juice (BJ) supplementation improves endurance and high-intensity intermittent exercise. The dose–response effects on taekwondo following BJ supplementation are yet to be determined. This study aimed to investigate two acute doses of 400 mg of NO₃⁻ (BJ-400) and 800 mg of NO₃⁻ (BJ-800) on taekwondo-specific performance and cognitive function tests compared with a placebo (PL) and control (CON) conditions. Eight trained male taekwondo athletes (age: 20 ± 4 years, height: 180 ± 2 cm, body mass: 64.8 ± 4.0 kg) completed four experimental trials using a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled design: BJ-400, BJ-800, PL, and CON. Participants consumed two doses of BJ-400 and BJ-800 or nitrate-depleted PL at 2.5 h prior to performing the Multiple Frequency Speed of Kick Test (FSKT). Countermovement jump (CMJ) was performed before the (FSKT) and PSTT, whereas cognitive function was assessed (via the Stroop test) before and after supplementation and 10 min following PSTT. Blood lactate was collected before the CMJ tests immediately and 3 min after the FSKT and PSST; rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was recorded during and after both specific taekwondo tests. No significant differences (p > 0.05), with moderate and large effect sizes, between conditions were observed for PSTT and FSKT performances. In addition, blood lactate, RPE, heart rate, and CMJ height were not significantly different among conditions (p > 0.05). However, after the PSTT test, cognitive function was higher in BJ-400 compared to other treatments (p < 0.05). It was concluded that acute intake of 400 and 800 mg of NO₃⁻ rich BJ reported a moderate to large effect size in anaerobic and aerobic; however, no statistical differences were found in taekwondo-specific performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Interventions for the Improvement of Muscle Strength, Muscle Hypertrophy and Muscle Endurance)

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10 pages, 1131 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Acute Effects of Caffeine Intake on Psychological Responses and High-Intensity Exercise Performance

by Raúl Domínguez, Pablo Veiga-Herreros, Antonio Jesús Sánchez-Oliver, Juan José Montoya, Juan José Ramos-Álvarez, Francisco Miguel-Tobal, Ángel Lago-Rodríguez and Pablo Jodra

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(2), 584; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18020584 - 12 Jan 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5427

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of caffeine supplementation on: (i) psychological responses of subjective vitality and mood; (ii) performance through a Wingate test; and (iii) rate of perceived exertion (RPE) reported after a Wingate test. Methods: Fifteen male participants (22.60 ± 2.16 years) ingested 6 mg·kg-1 of caffeine or placebo (sucrose) supplementation in two experimental sessions. After 60 min from supplement intake, participants fulfilled two questionnaires, which measured subjective vitality and mood state, respectively. Subsequently, participants’ performance was assessed through a Wingate test, which was followed by measurements of RPE at general, muscular, or cardiovascular level. Results: Caffeine supplementation increased some components of mood, as assessed by profile of mood states (POMS) (tension and vigor dimensions) and subjective vitality profiles, which were followed by a greater maximum power, average power, and lower time needed to reach maximum power during the Wingate test. Moreover, lower RPE, both at muscular and general levels were reported by participants after the Wingate test. Conclusions: These results suggest that caffeine supplementation exerts positive effects both in psychological and physical domains in trained subjects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Interventions for the Improvement of Muscle Strength, Muscle Hypertrophy and Muscle Endurance)

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Review

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20 pages, 1163 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Effects of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on Explosive Exercise Performance: A Systematic Review

by Rachel Tan, Leire Cano, Ángel Lago-Rodríguez and Raúl Domínguez

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(2), 762; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19020762 - 11 Jan 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4722

Abstract

Dietary nitrate supplementation is evidenced to induce physiological effects on skeletal muscle function in fast-twitch muscle fibers and may enhance high-intensity exercise performance. An important component of sport-specific skills is the ability to perform explosive movements; however, it is unclear if nitrate supplementation can impact explosive efforts. We examined the existing evidence to determine whether nitrate supplementation improves explosive efforts lasting ≤ 6 s. PubMed, Scopus and Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) were searched for articles using the following search strategy: (nitrate OR nitrite OR beetroot) AND (supplement OR supplementation) AND (explosive OR power OR high intensity OR high-intensity OR sprint* OR “athletic performance”). Out of 810 studies, 18 were eligible according to inclusion criteria. Results showed that 4 of the 10 sprint-type studies observed improved sprint time, power output, and total work in cycling or running, whereas 4 of the 10 resistance-based exercise studies observed improvements to power and velocity of free-weight bench press as well as isokinetic knee extension and flexion at certain angular velocities. These results suggest that nitrate potentially improves explosive exercise performance, but further work is required to clarify the factors influencing the efficacy of nitrate in different exercise modalities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Interventions for the Improvement of Muscle Strength, Muscle Hypertrophy and Muscle Endurance)

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