Exercise Responses and Adaptations in Rowers and Spinal Cord Injury Individuals.

The article presents a study which examines the exercise responses and adaptations in elite rowers and spinal cord injury individuals. It was stated that these individuals are different physically in many aspects. Both have physical activity histories that affect their lower extremity extensor muscles in a dramatically different fashion. Their activities modestly increases the muscle fiber size and markedly increase the mitochondrial content. The data suggest remarkable plasticity of physical function to the extreme that a marked increase in energy demanding, rather continuous physical activity can make a muscle more slow twitch so it will demand less energy when contracted.