Mixed
Endurance-based exercise training induces skeletal muscle mitochondrial biogenesis through a hormetic feedback loop triggered by acute disruptions in cellular energy and ionic homeostasis.
To build more mitochondria and improve endurance, you must challenge your body's energy balance. This happens through endurance exercise (like running or cycling) or high-intensity interval training (HIIT). The key is that the exercise must be intense enough to disrupt your muscle's normal energy state (depleting ATP/creatine phosphate and raising AMP/Calcium), which signals your cells to build more mitochondria over time. Consistency and progressive overload are necessary because your body adapts to the stress.
We highlight the mechanisms by which skeletal muscle responds to the acute perturbations in cellular energy homeostasis evoked by a single bout of endurance-based exercise and the adaptations resulting from the repeated demands of exercise training that ultimately promote mitochondrial biogenesis through hormetic feedback loops.
Why this rating
The paper synthesizes decades of seminal studies (Holloszy 1967, Hood, Pilegaard, etc.) and multiple human/rodent trials.
Source
Molecular Basis of Exercise-Induced Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Biogenesis: Historical Advances, Current Knowledge, and Future Challenges
Christopher G. R. Perry et al. · Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine · 2017
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