Can High-Intensity Interval Training Promote Skeletal Muscle Anabolism?
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing mechanisms and existing literature without systematic review methodology
PubMed 33512698 · doi:10.1007/s40279-020-01397-3
What was done
This narrative review synthesized literature examining the capacity of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to stimulate skeletal muscle anabolism, focusing on molecular signaling pathways and muscle growth responses in populations susceptible to muscle wasting (such as middle-aged/older adults or surgical patients).
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical findings or statistical effect sizes. It qualitatively reports that HIIT exerts high tensile stress on skeletal muscle resembling resistance exercise and suggests it holds potential to promote concurrent improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle mass.
Why it matters
Resistance training is the standard method for muscle hypertrophy; establishing whether HIIT also provides anabolic stimulus could help design time-efficient protocols for aging or clinical populations needing both cardiovascular and muscular preservation.
Limits
As a narrative review, it lacks a systematic search protocol, risk of bias assessment, or quantitative meta-analysis. No sample sizes or direct effect estimates are provided in the abstract, and clinical efficacy relative to gold-standard resistance training remains to be systematically verified.
Cited by
- supports In fit and healthy individuals, intensive sprint interval training does not produce substantial changes in muscle protein synthesis or muscle fiber size.