Research
Hormonal
Endurance training can induce muscle hypertrophy (7-11% increase in mass) in the quadriceps, particularly in sedentary individuals or those with limited exercise experience, through mechanisms independent of mTORC1.
If you are new to exercise or sedentary, starting an endurance program like cycling will likely build muscle in your legs, not just burn calories. This hypertrophy is comparable to what you might see from resistance training over the same period.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Over a 12-wk endurance-training program, muscle mass has been reported to increase by 7% to 11%... These reported increases in muscle mass with endurance training have been predominantly observed in the quadriceps muscle... and the individuals undertaking training had a limited level of exercise experience and/or sedentary lifestyle.
Why this rating
Cites multiple human studies (Konopka, Trappe, Harber) showing consistent hypertrophy in specific contexts.
Source
Adaptations to Endurance and Strength Training
David C. Hughes et al. · Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine · 2017
DOI 10.1101/cshperspect.a029769
narrative_reviewCited 525×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Strength training adaptations are driven by neural factors early on, and muscle hypertrophy requires reaching muscular failure regardless of load, though high loads are needed for maximal strength gains.Strong
- High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and sprint interval training (SIT) enhance mitochondrial respiration and function, whereas long slow-distance (LSD) training with higher volume is required to increase mitochondrial mass.Good
- Concurrent training (combining endurance and strength) can impair strength adaptations and muscle hypertrophy, potentially due to a significant caloric deficit and negative energy balance rather than just molecular interference (AMPK/mTORC1).Good
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