Science
The research the BLOCKS assistant answers from: 1,148 studies and 82 guides, each graded for how strong the evidence is and who it was measured on, with a link to the original paper.
1,148 entries
BAerobic performance declines LINEARLY with altitudeAbout −6.3% VO₂max per 1000 m — and the loss is already statistically significant at 800 m: there is no threshold below which altitude is freeWehrlin & Hallén 2006B+Easy sessions run AT the first threshold (the top of the moderate domain) gave the same 6-week gains as running 10-15% below itWith a somewhat higher psychophysiological load that stayed within acceptable limitsGuimarães 2026B+Muscle damage from eccentric exercise: mechanism, mechanical signs, adaptation and clinical applicationsProske & Morgan 2001BCreatine kinase and myoglobin 1 h after a race in mountain-bike vs road cyclistsDamage markers relate to performance in opposite directions by disciplineHebisz 2022BMyofibrillar disruption after identical resistance exercise: strength-trained 45% of fibres vs untrained 82%Damage resistance is trainableGibala 2000AThe impact of exercise-induced muscle damage on various cycling performance metrics: a systematic review and meta-analysisDevantier-Thomas 2024BFast-start/decreasing-speed (DEC) and varied-intensity (VAR) long intervals both accumulate more time ≥90% VO₂peak than speed- and duration-matched constant-speed intervals (CON) in well-trained XC skiersAnd are equivalent to each otherRønnestad BR 2022BSpeed-endurance training improves performance in trained athletes across 20 s–60 min events, even with markedly reduced training volume and without a change in VO₂maxBangsbo 2025A-Low-volume sprint interval training improves aerobic capacity as much as moderate continuous endurance training, with far less exercise volumeGist 2014BSpeed-endurance training keeps oxidative capacity and improves 30 s–4 min performance in trained athletes, even when total training volume is reducedIaia & Bangsbo 2010B+HIIT and small-sided games improve fitness comparably in youth soccerSport-specific games are an effective conditioning alternative to running intervalsKunz 2019B+Repeated-sprint training yields small-to-large gains in field fitnessJump, sprint, repeated-sprint ability and intermittent running all improveTaylor 2015B+HIIT can be steered to a target adaptation by manipulating up to nine session variablesThe canonical framework for prescribing interval conditioning (Part I: cardiopulmonary emphasis)Buchheit & Laursen 2013B+Training individualised to each athlete's force–velocity imbalance improved jumping more consistently than a generic programJiménez-Reyes 2017A-In team-sport athletes, both complex (heavy and light sets alternated set-for-set) and contrast (all heavy first, then all light) training improved 1RM, jump, sprint and change of directionComplex training potentially slightly moreCormier 2020AThe load that maximises power is exercise-specific≤30% 1RM for jump squats, 30–70% 1RM for the squat, ≥70% 1RM for the power clean and hang power cleanSoriano 2015AA conditioning activity gives a small post-activation potentiation boost to jump, throw and upper-body ballistic performance and a moderate one to sprintingLarger in stronger, more experienced lifters and modulated by rest, sets, load and exercise typeSeitz & Haff 2016APlyometric training produces a real, moderate improvement in vertical jump height (~5–9%)Markovic 2007C+Early strength gains carry an important neural componentMore neural drive, motor-unit firing changes and a strong practice effect — before noticeable hypertrophyGabriel 2006B+Autoregulated load prescription (APRE, RPE, velocity) ranked above fixed percentage-based loading for maximal strength in a network meta-analysisAPRE ranked first for squat and benchHuang 2025A-Linear and undulating periodization showed no difference in upper- or lower-body strength gains across 17 head-to-head studiesChoose on preference and practicalityHarries 2015APeriodized resistance training produces greater maximal-strength gains than non-periodized training (ES 0.43, 18 studies)Williams 2017CMechanical signals are the prime candidate stimuli for resistance-exercise hypertrophyDamage is probably not essential, and the metabolite case rests on indirect evidenceWackerhage 2019BMuscle growth is non-uniform: 13 of 14 studies found some regions of a muscle grew more than others (quadriceps, triceps, biceps)Zabaleta-Korta 2020A-Training at longer muscle lengthsFull ROM or partials in the stretched (initial) part of the range — tends to give more hypertrophy than partials in the shortened range; the triceps was the exceptionKassiano 2023B+Resting 3 minutes between sets built more strength (squat and bench 1RM) and more anterior-thigh muscle than 1 minute in 21 resistance-trained men over 8 weeksSchoenfeld 2016A-Training to momentary failure is not superior to stopping short for hypertrophyOnly a trivial advantage for "set failure" under any definition, and no advantage for higher velocity-loss thresholdsRefalo 2023AHypertrophy is similar across light (≤60% 1RM) and heavy (>60% 1RM) loads taken to failureBut maximal (1RM) strength favours heavy loadsSchoenfeld 2017A-Calisthenics-based Tabata HIIT improved endurance, strength and power as much as running-based Tabata in 334 cadetsAn equipment-free stimulus, not a superior oneCin & Cabuk 2025BSuspension (ring/TRX-style) push-ups raise pectoralis, anterior deltoid and triceps activation versus standard push-upsA way to overload the pattern without external loadSnarr & Esco 2013BPull-ups and chin-ups both load the lats and biceps heavily; the chin-up (supinated) adds biceps and pec, the pull-up (pronated) adds lower trapeziusA rotating-handle device changed nothingYoudas 2010B+Four weeks of progressive calisthenic push-up training raised bench-press 1RM like bench-press training didNeither changed muscle thicknessKotarsky 2018BPush-ups loaded to match a 40%-1RM bench press produced similar triceps/pectoral hypertrophy and 1RM gains to 40%-1RM bench pressing over 8 weeksKikuchi & Nakazato 2017B+6RM elastic-band push-ups and 6RM bench press, matched for EMG activity, produced similar 1RM and 6RM bench-press gains in 5 weeksWhen effort/activation is matched, loaded push-ups substitute for the barbellCalatayud 2015BOver 38 years (10 Olympiads), successful Olympic speed skaters shifted their training toward more time in the lowest lactate zone and less in the middle and high zonesTotal hours did not riseOrie 2014BShort-track time trials left talented skaters more tired 2 and 4 h later than long-track, with lower right-leg quadriceps resaturationShort-track looks more demanding and needs longer recoveryHettinga 2016BMeasuring 8 elite skaters in 1,500 m race simulations corrected the power-balance model: anaerobic power does not follow an "all-out" pattern, aerobic power rises faster than assumed, and skating position changes through the race (knee angle opens, trunk angle decreases)de Koning 2005BThe low skating position restricts working-muscle blood flow: in the low crouch VO2peak and VO2 at 4 mmol/L lactate fell well below cycling, and maximal cardiac output fell in both skating positions through a smaller stroke volumeFoster 1999BElite speed skaters differ from well-trained ones in position as much as engine: a smaller pre-extension knee angle with more work per stroke, higher stroke frequency and "efficiency"Plus higher aerobic powervan Ingen Schenau 1983BAt UTMB (168 km, 27-44 h), runners rested about 12 minutes on average, and sleep loss plus the effort impaired cognitionFrom slower reaction times to visual hallucinations, regardless of how long they restedHurdiel 2014