Ultrastructural muscle damage in young vs. older men after high-volume, heavy-resistance strength training

Abstract

This study assessed ultrastructural muscle damage in young (20–30 yr old) vs. older (65–75 yr old) men after heavy-resistance strength training (HRST). Seven young and eight older subjects completed 9 wk of unilateral leg extension HRST. Five sets of 5–20 repetitions were performed 3 days/wk with variable resistance designed to subject the muscle to near-maximal loads during every repetition. Biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis of both legs, and muscle damage was quantified via electron microscopy. Training resulted in a 27% strength increase in both groups ( P < 0.05). In biopsies before training in the trained leg and in all biopsies from untrained leg, 0–3% of muscle fibers exhibited muscle damage in both groups ( P = not significant). After HRST, 7 and 6% of fibers in the trained leg exhibited damage in the young and older men, respectively ( P < 0.05, no significant group differences). Myofibrillar damage was primarily focal, confined to one to two sarcomeres. Young and older men appear to exhibit similar levels of muscle damage at baseline and after chronic HRST.