Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: The physiological structure and function of the muscle tissue during childhood are influenced by various factors, in addition to normal growth. This study aimed to investigate the effect of combined resistance-aerobic training on the Mechanical Growth Factor (MGF) and sarcomere growth in the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of male rats during development.
Methods: In this study, 10 two-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to a control group or a training group. A combined resistance-aerobic training program was conducted for 6 weeks on alternating days. Forty-eight hours after the final training session, the rats were dissected, and the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles were excised for histological analysis. Then, the muscle tissue was stained with hematoxylin to differentiate cellular components. Sarcomere number and length were measured using light microscopy.
Results: Independent t-tests indicated that MGF in the soleus muscle (P≤0.0028) and gastrocnemius (P≤0.0001) were significantly higher in the training group than the control group. Furthermore, both the number and length of sarcomeres in the soleus (P≤0.0016; P≤0.0010, respectively) and gastrocnemius (P≤0.0006; P≤0.0348, respectively) muscles were significantly greater in the training group.
Conclusion: The results demonstrated that combined resistance-aerobic training induced longitudinal muscle hypertrophy in developing male rats, which was associated with increased MGF in both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle tissues. However, the effect of training on increasing the sarcomere length was more pronounced in slow-twitch than the fast-twitch muscle tissue.
Keywords
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