Changes in agonist neural drive, hypertrophy and pre-training strength all contribute to the individual strength gains after resistance training.

Purpose: Whilst neural and morphological adaptations following resistance training (RT) have been investigated extensively at a group level, relatively little is known about the contribution of specific physiological mechanisms, or pre-training strength, to the individual changes in strength following training. This study investigated the contribution of multiple underpinning neural [agonist EMG (QEMG), antagonist EMG (HEMG)] and morphological variables [total quadriceps volume (QUADS), and muscle fascicle pennation angle (QUADSθ )], as well as pre-training strength, to the individual changes in strength after 12 weeks of knee extensor RT.

Methods: Twenty-eight healthy young men completed 12 weeks of isometric knee extensor RT (3/week).