Following resistance training, augmented neural drive to the working musculature is primarily due to which combination of adaptations?

Following resistance training, augmented neural drive to the working musculature is primarily due to which combination of adaptations?

• A. Increased agonist recruitment and improved firing rate
• B. Muscle hypertrophy and greater synchronization
• C. Increased agonist recruitment, improved firing rate, and greater synchronization
• D. All of the above

Answer: (C)

Neural adaptations are what mainly drive early strength gains after resistance training. The nervous system becomes better at activating the working muscles in three ways: more motor units are recruited during a contraction (increased recruitment), the motor units fire more rapidly (improved firing rate or rate coding), and the timing of their discharges becomes more synchronized (greater synchronization). These changes together amplify the neural drive to the muscle, boosting force output and the rate of force development. While muscle growth (hypertrophy) can later contribute to strength, it is not a neural adaptation, so the combination that best explains augmented neural drive is increased recruitment, improved firing rate, and greater synchronization.

Neural adaptations are what mainly drive early strength gains after resistance training. The nervous system becomes better at activating the working muscles in three ways: more motor units are recruited during a contraction (increased recruitment), the motor units fire more rapidly (improved firing rate or rate coding), and the timing of their discharges becomes more synchronized (greater synchronization). These changes together amplify the neural drive to the muscle, boosting force output and the rate of force development. While muscle growth (hypertrophy) can later contribute to strength, it is not a neural adaptation, so the combination that best explains augmented neural drive is increased recruitment, improved firing rate, and greater synchronization.