Science
The research the BLOCKS assistant answers from: 1,118 studies and 81 guides, each graded for how strong the evidence is and who it was measured on, with a link to the original paper.
39 entries in Masters, youth & para
BDoes lifelong endurance training keep fast-twitch muscle?In 31 men over 65, lifelong lifters had young-like type II fibres, 1RM and RFD; lifelong runners resembled active peers. Cross-sectional, 8-13 per group: selection not excluded.Tøien 2023C+Can 30 years of endurance training make one identical twin very different?In one pair aged 52, the trained twin had 12.4 ml/kg/min more VO2max and 8.6% lower body-fat % but smaller, weaker muscle. One pair: what is possible, not typical.Bathgate 2018BDoes elite-level running shorten life?Not in the first 200 sub-4 milers: they lived 4.7 years longer than men of their age, era and country. No control for wealth, smoking, health or genes, so "not shorter", not "running added years".Foulkes 2024C+Does lifelong hard training stop VO2max falling?Not for a marathon world-record holder: 68.1 at 49 → 43.6 at 77 (−36%) on 10-15 h/wk; he stayed high by starting high. Enlarged atria, then AF (link unproven). n = 1.Foulkes 2024C+What does a 76-year-old marathon world-record holder look like?VO2max 47.9 (best known for a woman >75), HRmax 180 vs 155 predicted, marathon at 88% of VO2max, ordinary economy; ~90% easy running. n = 1: possible, not typical.Van Hooren 2025C+Can an 80-year-old have a 35-year-old's VO2max?One Norwegian man did: 50 mL/kg/min, ~90 min/wk structured training, ~3 h/day active. Decline from a recalled ~75 at 25 was ordinary; he started high. n = 1: possible, not typical.Karlsen 2015B+Does slow, no-relaxation lifting at 50% 1RM build muscle after 60?In 35 adults aged 59-76, 12 weeks twice weekly raised thigh muscle thickness and knee strength; normal speed at that load added little size. Abstract only.Watanabe 2013A-Effectiveness and safety of isometric resistance training in adults with high blood pressureAcross 24 RCTs (mostly handgrip, 4 × 2 min at 30% of maximum) office BP fell 6.97/3.86 mmHg against controls with no rise in adverse events (7 minor vs 1, about one per 38,444 bouts), but every trial…Hansford 2021A-Exercise training and resting blood pressure, a network meta-analysis of 270 RCTs (15,827 adults)Isometric exercise training lowered resting BP by 8.24/4.00 mmHg against no-exercise controls and ranked first of five modes for systolic pressure (SUCRA 98.3%); by sub-mode, wall squat −10.47/−5.33…Edwards 2023A-Resistance-training volume in adults aged 60 and overAcross 151 randomised trials the lowest weekly volume ranked most effective for the timed up-and-go, 6-min walk, lean mass and leg muscle size, moderate and high volume for leg strength, and only…Radaelli 2025A-Heavy resistance training at retirement age: one supervised year of heavy lifting kept isometric leg strength at its baseline three years after the programme ended, while controls lost 7%But leg power, grip strength and leg lean mass fell in every group alikeBloch-Ibenfeldt 2024B+Rise and fall of physical capacity in a general population followed from 16 to 63Every capacity peaked by 36 and fell 30-48% by 63, the yearly loss rising from under 1% to about 2%, while the spread between people grew 3- to 25-fold and being active at 16, or becoming active…Westerståhl 2025AHigh-intensity (≥70% 1RM) vs low-to-moderate-intensity (<70% 1RM) resistance training in adults aged 50+: heavier training raised leg-press (SMD 0.95) and leg-extension strength (SMD 0.63) more, with no significant difference in lumbar-spine or femoral-neck BMD, falls or adverse eventsMeta-analysis of 18 RCTs, 1283 participantsShen 2026B+Effectiveness of interventions in reducing pain and maintaining physical activity in children and adolescents with calcaneal apophysitis (Sever's disease): a systematic reviewNine low-quality studies, no meta-analysis possible; limited evidence that orthoses gave more short-term pain relief than heel raises, and limited evidence overall for heel raises and orthoses in…James 2013BAn assessment of maturity from anthropometric measurementsSex-specific equations from height, sitting height, leg length and age predict years from peak height velocity (maturity offset) with R2 0.92 in boys and 0.91 in girls; the authors advise using the…Mirwald 2002BSport injuries aligned to peak height velocity in talented pubertal soccer players26 talented players followed for 3 years around the growth spurt had more traumatic injuries in the year of peak height velocity than the year before, a moderate rise in overuse injuries after it…van der Sluis 2013B+A systematic review on conservative treatment options for Osgood-Schlatter diseaseUp to 10% of adolescents are affected by this sport- and growth-associated knee condition; thirteen studies (only two RCTs, quality poor to moderate) covering 747 patients and 937 knees found…Neuhaus 2021ASports Specialization and Intensive Training in Young AthletesAAP clinical report: specialising too early may have detrimental physical and psychological effects, intensive training carries risks whether or not the athlete is specialised, and the right timing…Brenner 2016AThe NSCA's updated position statement on youth resistance trainingThe association holds that children and adolescents following age-specific guidelines can gain many of the benefits adults get from resistance training, and updates its 1996 statement on risks…Faigenbaum 2009AInternational Olympic Committee consensus statement on youth athletic developmentThe IOC critically evaluated the science and practice of youth athlete development and set out guiding principles for developing healthy, resilient and capable youth athletes, with opportunities for…Bergeron 2015AIPC classification position standClassification exists to minimise the impact of eligible impairment on competition outcome, so trained athletes are not moved up a class (selective, not performance, classification)Tweedy & Vanlandewijck 2011BAutonomic cardiovascular control in 52 Paralympic athletes with SCINeurological level plus autonomic completeness (sympathetic skin response), not the motor/sensory ASIA grade, identifies who has abnormal blood-pressure controlWest 2014C+Physiology of wheelchair racing with a spinal cord injuryCapacity is reduced across metabolic, cardiorespiratory, neuromuscular and thermoregulatory systems, but aerobic/anaerobic power does not map onto racing performance as cleanly as in able-bodied sportBhambhani 2002B+Cooling athletes with a spinal cord injurySweating and vasomotor control are lost below the lesion, impairment scales with lesion level, and site-specific cooling (ice vests) is what has been shown to workGriggs 2015C+The Balyi LTAD model reviewed against physiology: its "windows of opportunity" rest on little empirical evidence and questionable assumptionsA generic, one-dimensional "work in progress", not a rulebookFord 2011C+Bio-banding: group/program youth by biological maturity, not chronological ageTo counter the relative age effect, maturation bias, and "adolescent awkwardness"Cumming 2017B+Early sport specialization independently raises injury and serious-overuse-injury risk in young athletesBeyond age and weekly hours; two simple load flags (hours/week > age; organized:free play > 2:1) roughly double the oddsJayanthi 2015AMeta-analysis: RT produces large strength gains in children & adolescents (pooled ES 1.12)Trainability INCREASES with age and maturity, with no special boost during pubertyBehringer 2010A2014 International Consensus on youth resistance training: RT is safe & effective for children/adolescents when supervised and age-appropriate; it does NOT stunt growthLloyd 2014BAging tendon turns over slowly and accumulates cross-links/glycationIt adapts and heals slower than muscle; loading helps maintain it, but masters must progress tendon load gradually to avoid tendinopathySvensson 2016BAny age effect on masters athletes' performance and recovery is smaller than originally suggested and largely explained by training status; limited evidence of an age effect on recovery kineticsMore research neededBorges 2016A+RT reliably rebuilds strength & muscle in older adults (even ≥75), and high-velocity/explosive intent is the more effective way to restore POWER; effective dose ≈ 2–3 sessions/wk, ~2–3 sets, moderate-to-high loadStraight 2016 · Grgic 2020 · Borde 2015 — resistance-training meta-analyses in older adults 2020BSarcopenia is partly neurogenic: motor-unit numbers fall with age, and the failure of surviving units to enlarge (reinnervate) distinguishes sarcopenic from non-sarcopenic older musclePiasecki 2018BAging among elite distance runners: a 22-yr longitudinal studyContinued hard training slows but does not stop VO2max declineTrappe 1996B+Autonomic Function in Paralympic Athletes with Spinal Cord InjuryThe missing piece of classification (and why "boosting" is banned)Mills & Krassioukov 2011B+The Youth Physical Development (YPD) ModelAn evidence-based alternative to rigid LTADLloyd & Oliver 2012BProtein Ingestion to Stimulate Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis Requires Greater Relative Protein Intakes in Healthy Older Versus Younger MenThe per-meal dose for older muscleMoore 2015B+An investigation into the relationship between age and physiological function in highly active older adults (LEGACY study)Pollock 2015C+Declining performance of master athletes: silhouettes of the trajectory of healthy human ageing?Lazarus & Harridge 2017