title: Cyclic movement frequency is associated with muscle typology in athletes.
abstract: There is a continuing research interest in the muscle fiber type composition (MFTC) of athletes. Recently, muscle carnosine quantification by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was developed as a new non-invasive method to estimate MFTC. This cross-sectional study aims to better understand estimated MFTC in relation to (a) different disciplines within one sport; (b) cyclic sport exercise characteristics; (c) within-athlete variability; and (d) athlete level. A total of 111 elite athletes (74 runners, 7 triathletes, 11 swimmers, 14 cyclists and 5 kayakers) and 188 controls were recruited to measure muscle carnosine in gastrocnemius and deltoid muscle by1H-MRS. Within sport disciplines, athletes were divided into subgroups (sprint-, intermediate-, and endurance-type). The controls were used as reference population to allow expression of the athletes' data as Z-scores. Within different sports, endurance-type athletes systematically showed the lowest Z-score compared to sprint-type athletes, with intermediate-type athletes always situated in between. Across the different sports disciplines, carnosine content showed the strongest significant correlation with cyclic movement frequency (R = 0.86, P = 0.001). Both within and between different cyclic sports, estimated MFTC was divergent between sprint- and endurance-type athletes. Cyclic movement frequency, rather than exercise duration came out as the most determining factor for the optimal estimated MFTC in elite athletes.
authors: Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Bex
authors: Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Baguet
authors: Department of Radiology, Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Achten
authors: Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.|Department of Biology, Laboratory for Functional Morphology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Aerts
authors: Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: De Clercq
authors: Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: W
authors: W
authors: Derave
mesh_terms: D056352:Athletes; D001642:Bicycling; D002336:Carnosine / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D057645:Deltoid Muscle / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018656:Muscle Fibers, Fast-Twitch / Q000378:metabolism*; D018657:Muscle Fibers, Slow-Twitch / Q000378:metabolism*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D010807:Physical Endurance; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D012420:Running; D012767:Ships; D013550:Swimming; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002336:Carnosine
keywords: Cyclic sports; carnosine; contractile properties