Neural adaptations to resistance training - Implications for movement control

It has long been believed that resistance training is accompanied by change s within the nervous system that play an important role in the development of strength. Many elements of the nervous system exhibit the potential for adaptation in response to resistance training, including supraspinal centre s, descending neural tracts, spinal circuitry and the motor end plate conne ctions between motoneurons and muscle fibres. Yet the specific sites of ada ptation along the neuraxis have seldom been identified experimentally, and much of the evidence for neural adaptations following resistance training r emains indirect. As a consequence of this current lack of knowledge, there exists uncertainty regarding the manner in which resistance training impact s upon the control and execution of functional movements. We aim to demonst rate that resistance training is likely to cause adaptations to many neural elements that are involved in the control of movement, and is therefore li kely to affect movement execution during a wide range of tasks. We review a small number of experiments that provide evidence that resistan ce training affects the way in which muscles that have been engaged during training are recruited during related movement tasks. The concepts addresse d in this article represent an important new approach to research on the ef fects of resistance training. They are also of considerable practical impor tance, since most individuals perform resistance training in the expectatio n that it will enhance their performance in-related functional tasks.