Enzyme Activities and Muscle Strength after “Sprint Training” in Man

Sprint type strength training was performed 3-4 times a week for 8 weeks by 4 healthy male students (16-18 yrs). The training was carried out on a treadmill at high speed and with high inclination. Muscle biopsies were obtained from vastus lateralis before and after the training period for histochemical classification of slow and fast twitch muscle fibres and for biochemical determination of metabolites and enzyme activities. Muscle fibre type distribution was unchanged, whereas fibre area indicated an increase for both fibre types in 3 subjects after training. The muscle enzyme activities of Mg2+ stimulated ATPase, myokinase and creatine phosphokinase increased 30, 20, and 36 percent, respectively. Muscle concentration of ATP and creatine phosphate (CP) did not change with training. Sargent's jump increased with on average 4 cm (from 47 to 51 cm), maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) with 19 kp (from 165 to 184 kp), and endurance at 50 percent of MVC with 9 s (from 47 to 56 s), respectively. After training all subjects showed a gain in body weight (mean 1.4 kg) and in thigh circumference (mean 1.5 cm) indicating a larger leg muscle volume and consequently also an increase in total ATP and CP.