The results indicate that the ACTN3 R577X polymorphism influences the response of quadriceps muscle power to ST in older adults.

Effects of moderate-velocity strength training on peak muscle power and movement velocity: do women respond differently than men? J Appl Physiol 99: [1712][1713][1714][1715][1716][1717][1718] 2005. First published July 7, 2005; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01204.2004.-The effects of a 10-wk unilateral knee extension strength training (ST) program on peak power (PP) and peak movement velocity (PV), at given absolute (force load) and relative (same % of 1 repetition maximum) resistances (loads), were examined in 30 older men [64 yr (7 SD)] and 32 older women [62 yr (6 SD)]. PP increased significantly in both men and women at the same absolute (P Ͻ 0.001) and relative loads (P Ͻ 0.01) with ST. Men had a significantly greater increase in relative PP than women with ST at 60% (P Ͻ 0.01) and 70% (P Ͻ 0.001) of 1 repetition maximum when covarying for baseline differences and age. However, when each subject was tested at the same absolute load and when PP was normalized for the muscle volume of the trained knee extensors (i.e., absolute muscle power quality), women increased by 9% (P Ͻ 0.05), whereas men did not change. Both men and women increased their absolute PV (P Ͻ 0.001) but decreased their relative PV significantly with ST (P Ͻ 0.05). However, when baseline values and age were covaried, women had significantly less of a decrease in relative PV quality with ST than men (P Ͻ 0.01), although the difference was small. These normalized data suggest that ST-induced increases in PP depend on muscular hypertrophy in men, but not in women, providing further support for the hypothesis developed from our previous report (Ivey FM, Tracy BL, Lemmer JT, NessAiver M, Metter EJ, Fozard JL and Hurley BF. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 55: B152-B157, 2000) that improvements in muscle function with ST result from nonmuscle mass adaptations to a greater extent in women than men. resistance training; aging SARCOPENIA IS THE LOSS of muscle mass with advanced age and is associated with dysfunction, poor health status, and the loss of muscle strength and power in older adults (17, 18). Muscle power accounts for a greater amount of the variance in physical performance than strength in older adults (3, 9) and deteriorates at a faster rate than strength with advanced age (2,16,21). Previous cross-sectional data suggest that this decline in peak muscle power with age is associated with muscle structure and function, tendon characteristics, and sarcopenia in specific muscle groups (20).Previous reports on the effects of strength training (ST) on muscle power did not report how the training affected power per unit of the muscle involvement [muscle power quality (MPQ)], or peak velocity (PV) (5,8,12,13,15), the latter possibly being an important component of power and possibly functional abilities in the elderly. The expression of peak power (PP) and movement velocity normalized for muscle volume (MV) allows better understanding of potential mechanisms (e.g., hypertrophy and neuromuscular adaptations) for training-induced adaptations. It is also ...

To examine the influence of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway gene polymorphisms on muscle mass and strength responses to strength training (ST), we studied 128 White and Black men and women before and after a 10-wk single-leg knee extension ST program. One-repetition maximum strength, muscle volume (MV) via computed tomography, and muscle quality (MQ) were assessed at baseline and after 10 wk of ST. There was a significant combined IGF1 cytosine adenine (CA) repeat gene effect, which included both the IGF1 CA repeat main effect and IGF1 CA repeat x PPP3R1 insertion-deletion (I/D) gene x gene interaction effect, on the changes in strength (P < 0.01) and MQ (P < 0.05) with ST. There was a trend for a significant gene x gene interaction between IGF1 CA repeat and PPP3R1 I/D for changes in strength (P = 0.07) and MQ (P = 0.06) with ST. The influence of the PPP3R1 A-202C gene polymorphism on change in MV with ST approached significance (P = 0.06). The IGF1 CA repeat polymorphism had a significant influence on the change in strength and MV combined with ST (P < 0.05), whereas the influence of the PPP3R1 I/D polymorphism approached significance (P = 0.08). There were no associations between the IGFBP3 A-202C gene polymorphism and the muscle phenotypic responses to ST. These data suggest that two of the three IGF pathway gene polymorphisms identified in this study influence muscle phenotypic responses to ST in both black and white older men and women.

We tested whether the G894T and T-786C NOS3 polymorphisms were associated with exercise cardiovascular (CV) hemodynamics in sedentary, physically active, and endurance-trained postmenopausal women. CV hemodynamic parameters including heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressures and cardiac output (Q), as determined by acetylene rebreathing, stroke volume (SV), arteriovenous oxygen difference (a-vO2 diff), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were measured during submaximal (40, 60, 80 %) and maximal (approximately 100 % VO2max) exercise. NOS3 G894T genotype was not significantly associated, either independently or interactively with habitual physical activity (PA) level, with SBP, Q, TPR, or a-vO2 diff during submaximal or maximal exercise. However, NOS3 894T non-carriers had a higher submaximal exercise HR than NOS3 894T allele carriers (120 +/- 2 vs. 112 +/- 2 beats/min, p = 0.007). NOS3 894T allele carriers had a higher SV than 894T non-carriers (78 +/- 2 vs. 72 +/- 2 ml/beat, p = 0.03) during submaximal exercise. NOS3 894T non-carriers also had a higher maximal exercise HR averaged across habitual PA groups than T allele carrier women (165 +/- 2 vs. 158 +/- 2 beats/min, p = 0.04). NOS3 894T allele carriers also tended to have a higher SV during maximal exercise than 894T non-carriers (70 +/- 2 vs. 64 +/- 2 ml/beat, p = 0.08). NOS3 T-786C genotype was not significantly associated, either independently or interactively, with any of the CV hemodynamic measures during submaximal or maximal exercise. These results suggest an association of NOS3 G894T genotype with submaximal and maximal exercise CV hemodynamic responses, especially HR, in postmenopausal women.

ADR genotype influences IMF response to strength training.

The ACE I/D polymorphism has been shown to interact with habitual physical activity levels in postmenopausal women to associate with submaximal and with maximal exercise hemodynamics. This investigation was designed to assess the potential relationships between ACE genotype and oxygen consumption (VO2), cardiac output (Q), stroke volume (SV), heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), total peripheral resistance (TPR), and arteriovenous oxygen difference ([a-v]O2 diff) during submaximal and maximal exercise in young sedentary and endurance-trained women. Seventy-seven 18-35-yr-old women underwent a maximal exercise test and a number of cardiac output tests on a treadmill using the acetylene rebreathing technique. ACE genotype was not significantly associated with VO2max (II 41.4+/-1.2, ID 39.8+/-0.9, DD 39.8+/-1.1 ml/kg/min, p=ns) or maximal HR (II 191+/-2, ID 191+/-1, DD 193+/-2 bpm, p=ns). In addition, systolic and diastolic BP, (a-v)O2 diff, TPR, SV, and Q during maximal exercise were not significantly associated with ACE genotype. During submaximal exercise, SBP, Q, SV, HR, TPR, and (a-v)O2 diff were not significantly associated with ACE genotype. However, the association between diastolic BP during submaximal exercise and ACE genotype approached significance (p=0.08). In addition, there were no statistically significant interactions between ACE genotype and habitual physical activity (PA) levels for any of the submaximal or the maximal exercise hemodynamic variables. We conclude that the ACE I/D polymorphism was not associated, independently or interacting with habitual PA levels, submaximal, or maximal cardiovascular hemodynamics in young women.

These results of the interactive effects suggest that young females possessing a C allele may reduce their resting FVR by improving their cardiovascular fitness level, but TT homozygotes, who may have normal eNOS gene function, may not improve their resting FVR with improvements in cardiovascular fitness. Furthermore, regardless of physical activity level, the TT genotype showed a favorable hemodynamic response during reactive hyperemia compared with the C allele carriers.

To determine sex and race differences in muscle power per unit of muscle contraction, knee-extensor muscle power normalized for knee-extensor muscle volume was measured in 79 middle-aged and older adults (30 men and 49 women, age range 50–85 years). Results revealed that women displayed a 38% faster peak movement velocity than men and African Americans had a 14% lower peak movement velocity than Whites of a similar age when expressed per unit of involved muscle (p< .001). As expected, men exhibited greater knee-extensor strength and peak power per unit of muscle than women, but women had a faster knee-extension movement velocity per unit of muscle than men at the same relative strength level. Moreover, African Americans had greater knee-extensor muscle volume than Whites but exhibited lower knee-extensor strength and lower movement velocity per unit of muscle when tested at the same relative strength levels.