An hour on the bike reveals differences in muscle response to exercise

The study included 12 men, including 7 who regularly practice endurance sports and 5 who are untrained, who underwent a one-hour stationary cycling session at a high intensity commensurate with their physical capabilities.

Researchers collected muscle and blood samples before and three hours after the exercise, with the aim of monitoring changes in two proteins associated with the autophagy process.

The results showed changes in the two indicators in the untrained group, consistent with the potential activation of this process, while the same changes did not appear in participants accustomed to training.

The researchers noted that the similarity in the direction of changes recorded in blood and muscle samples may pave the way for studying the possibility of using blood tests to monitor certain muscular responses, given the ease of collection compared to muscle samples.

However, using blood tests as an alternative to muscle samples requires further research to ensure their accuracy and reliability.

The study emphasized that its results do not mean that untrained individuals receive greater benefits from exercise, or that muscles accustomed to training stop responding to it, as the results remain limited due to the small sample size, its restriction to men, and only one type of exercise during a single session.

The results indicate a need for further studies that include women and different types of physical activities to understand how regular training affects muscle response at the cellular level.