Acute effects of resistance exercise on skeletal muscle glycogen depletion: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 experimental studies
PubMed 41420384 · doi:10.14814/phy2.70683
What was done
Systematic search across PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus up to July 28, 2024, evaluating acute resistance exercise effects on vastus lateralis muscle glycogen concentration. A multilevel, random-effects meta-analysis was performed on 20 eligible studies comprising 28 effect sizes across 180 participants (168 males, 12 females). Meta-regressions and subgroup analyses evaluated moderating variables including number of sets, session duration, intensity, and training status.
What was found
A single resistance training session significantly reduced muscle glycogen concentration (mean difference [MD] = -104.3; 95% CI: -137.6 to -71.0; prediction interval: -244.4 to 35.7; p < 0.001). Meta-regression revealed: - Greater depletion with more sets (Estimate = -11.2; 95% CI: -18.0 to -4.3; p = 0.001). - Greater depletion with longer duration (Estimate = -1.3; 95% CI: -2.3 to -0.3; p = 0.009). - Less depletion with higher intensity (Estimate = 2.88; 95% CI: 1.2 to 4.5; p = 0.0006). Subgroup comparisons showed greater depletion with varied intensity (MD = -162.9) versus fixed intensity (MD = -82.5), and in untrained (MD = -113.0) versus trained individuals (MD = -101.3).
Why it matters
This review establishes that total resistance training volume and session duration drive muscle glycogen depletion to a greater extent than load intensity.
Limits
The evidence base is heavily skewed toward males (93.3% male, 12 females total). The prediction interval crosses zero (-244.4 to 35.7), indicating substantial heterogeneity in expected outcomes across individual settings. Measurements were limited to the vastus lateralis, and measurement units or nutritional standardization are not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Most resistance training sessions are not extremely glycogen depleting.