Research
Adherence
Defining 'non-responders' is methodologically challenging and depends heavily on the threshold used (e.g., measurement error vs. clinical significance), leading to inconsistent classification across studies.
Be cautious when comparing 'success rates' of exercise programs. One study's 'non-responder' might be another's 'responder' due to different measurement standards. Focus on your own progress rather than population statistics.
GoodQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Apart from this limitation, multiple definitions were used to distinguish CRF response from non-response... Few studies have used technical error (TE)... to define CRF response.
Why this rating
Based on review of multiple RCTs and their analytical limitations.
Source
Precision exercise medicine: understanding exercise response variability
Robert Ross et al. · British Journal of Sports Medicine · 2019
DOI 10.1136/bjsports-2018-100328
narrative_reviewCited 263×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Standardized exercise training produces highly variable cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) responses in humans, with a significant portion of individuals showing no improvement (non-responders) despite adherence to prescribed protocols.Strong
- Genetic factors account for 30-60% of the variance in cardiorespiratory fitness response to exercise training in humans.Strong
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →