Does overnight fasting influence neuromuscular function? ⚡️
Changes to metabolism, but what about muscle function?
Overnight fasting does not affect motor unit firing, but may induce recruitment threshold-dependent changes in motor unit recruitment threshold
Study Details
Exercise under fasting conditions intended metabolic responses (e.g. ⬆️ fat oxidation) but its effects on the neuromuscular system have been unclear 🔍
This new study investigated motor unit firing and muscular function during resistance exercise in healthy adults under both fed and fasted conditions 🍽️
Fasting was overnight and lasted 8 - 10 hrs ⏰
Key Findings
⚡️ Electromyography-derived motor unit firing rate did not differ between conditions at both 30% and 70% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)
📊 However, at 30% MVC there was a significant difference in motor recruitment threshold between conditions
👉 This indicated that fasting may have led to selective recruitment of lower-threshold motor units at this lower exercise intensity
❌ At 70% there were no threshold-dependant changes
Conclusion
These findings suggest that overnight fasting may modulate motor unit recruitment patterns during low-intensity exercise ⚡️
Interested to see how this area develops with more research 🧐
Changes in metabolism can influence decision to train fasted or not.
Will neuromuscular function play into this equation too?
Reference
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42141781/
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