Thiago Lopes, PhD

My third paper from PhD is online at @EurJSportSci! I would like to thank my coauthors, Dr Hugo Pereira and Dr Lia Bittencourt, from @UofOklahoma and @unifesp, respectively. Special thanks to my supervisor @BrunoMSilva8! tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

One barbell can take you far. Free-weight training is highly effective for increasing maximal strength and muscle hypertrophy with great transfer to athletic performance. ➡️Simplicity works💪 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39072660/

It's easy to speculate about what causes task failure during endurance exercise. It's way more difficult to design experiments that test rival hypotheses. Here is a blast from the past journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.11…

Optimizing Strength and Hypertrophy: The Combined Effect of Intensity and Velocity Loss Thresholds in Bench Press Training journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/abst…

doi.org/10.1007/s40279… Nice review! While AEL augments the ECC-phase stimulus, it increases metabolic stress+perceived effort, implying a need for longer, more frequent inter-set rests+longer btw-session recovery. Carefully consider this training method within a training cycle.

Long awaited update of a classic review in exercise physiology

Are you overloaded, at equilibrium or are you a drifter? Not asking about your mental health but about your metabolic training. I like to be at metabolic equilibrium but here and there, I like to be a drifter and I also love to be overloaded 😉 Please check out this new metabolic model to understand exercise metabolism and training that I propose. From 2013 to 2026, I just updated my “metabolic map” 👇 @inigosanmillan/note/p-193581258?r=2nunp3&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">substack.com/@inigosanmilla…

Pleased to publish a 25y update to my 2001 review: Anaerobic and Aerobic Energy System Contribution During Maximal Exercise (Sports Med) Synthesising 102 studies of energy system interplay during maximal efforts 🔗 rdcu.be/fcXUu #ExercisePhysiology @hareshsuppiah

🚨The updated Metabolic Map. Yesterday I said the Metabolic Map I proposed in 2013 needed to evolve. That map helped me and others translate complex laboratory findings into practical guidance for training and performance. Today I’m sharing the updated model. In my view, this represents a shift in how we should understand exercise metabolism. For over two decades, I focused on what the body burns, fat vs carbohydrates, and how lactate serves as a powerful proxy of that process. After many years of working with world-class athletes, patients and laboratory research, my view is clearer: exercise metabolism is a continuum of metabolic states, defined by the relationship between glycolysis and mitochondrial capacity. From equilibrium to drift to overload. Lactate is the signal of where the system stands, and how we can track metabolism across all exercise intensities. Full article: @inigosanmillan/note/p-193581258?r=2nunp3&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">substack.com/@inigosanmilla…

The original "Metabolic Map" I created in 2013 organized exercise metabolism around substrate utilization and muscle fiber recruitment, illustrating how the body transitions from fat to carbohydrate use as intensity increases. This model helped me and many others translate complex laboratory findings into practical guidance for training and performance. Now, I believe that it is time to evolve the concept.. Through years of research, as well as performance and clinical work with world-class athletes and patients, this has led to an updated model (2026), representing a conceptual shift. Rather than questioning what the body burns, I began to question whether the system itself is in balance. Exercise metabolism is reframed as a continuum of metabolic states, from equilibrium to overload, governed by the relationship between glycolysis and mitochondrial capacity. Lactate emerges as a central proxy of this balance, reflecting the system’s ability to match production with clearance. This concept and article have taken longer to articulate than anticipated, but tomorrow I’ll share the new model in my substack article. inigosanmillan.substack.com

The Effects of Advanced Resistance Training Prescription Methods on Strength, Power, Hypertrophy, and Performance Adaptations in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-analysis link.springer.com/article/10.100…

Our latest review explores the key physiological factors limiting VO₂max and endurance performance 🚴‍♀️🏃 From oxygen delivery to muscle metabolism, we unpack what sets the upper limits of human performance 🚴‍♀️🏃 Read more: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.11…

But what about the potential effects of SCFAs on the brain? Could they improve endurance through such a pathway? We are looking into it

LEADING ARTICLE ON... ➡️ How to assess DECELERATION in applied settings? ❌"Focus in sports performance been on assessing acceleration & top speed, neglecting necessity to DECELERATE!" ✔️ "Obtaining ACCURATE information on DECELERATION critical" KEY POINTS ⬇️

Our new systematic review and meta-regression exploring the relationship between training load and muscle fiber hypertrophy has just been pre-printed. Kudos to @StianLa07849895 and @Jozo_Grgic for awesome collaboration! You can read the paper here: sportrxiv.org/index.php/serv…

That's why we need better psychobiological understanding of exercise adherence

There is strong evidence that similar hypertrophy can be achieved across a wide range of loading schemes (~5 to 30+ repetitions), provided sets are performed close to muscular failure. That said, some data suggest fiber type–specific differences, with heavier loads potentially favoring Type II fiber growth and lighter loads favoring Type I fibers. A recent meta-analysis offers preliminary support for this idea, although the limited number of eligible studies warrants cautious interpretation. From a practical standpoint, those aiming to maximize hypertrophy may benefit from incorporating both heavy and light loads within a training program. For the general population, however, loading range is unlikely to have a meaningful impact on overall muscle growth—so selecting loads based on preference and adherence is a sensible approach. sportrxiv.org/index.php/serv…

Is muscle fiber growth load-specific? Our meta-regression exploring the effects of training load on type I and type II muscle fiber hypertrophy is now posted as a pre-print Comments are welcome @DorianVarovic sportrxiv.org/index.php/serv…

How does high-intensity interval training (HIIT) compare with moderate-to-vigorous continuous training (MVICT)? Our new meta-analysis synthesises 115 RCTs (n = 3196) across populations from sedentary adults to elite athletes. DOI: bit.ly/4rJXGgt Key findings below 🧵

Less than one-quarter of the population performs resistance training on a regular basis. Time is considered the primary barrier to participation. It shouldn't be. An emerging body of evidence shows that as little as two 30-minute resistance training sessions per week can produce meaningful improvements in strength, muscle hypertrophy, functional capacity, and various health-related outcomes. Several years ago we published a paper titled, "No Time to Lift? Designing Time-Efficient Training Programs for Strength and Hypertrophy" (PMID: 34125411) that detailed time-saving strategies for workouts. Here are some of the highlights: 1. Training efficiency can be enhanced by emphasizing bilateral, multijoint exercises performed through a full range of motion. 2. Incorporating techniques such as supersets, drop sets, and rest-pause training can reduce session duration by about half compared to traditional approaches, while still maintaining overall volume load. 3. When using moderate to higher repetition ranges, specific warm-ups may be largely unnecessary, and cool-downs are not essential. 4. Resistance training performed through a full range of motion can improve flexibility, minimizing the need for dedicated stretching unless further gains in range of motion are required for daily activities. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC84… Bottom line: Just lift 💪 #noexcuses

Non-local fatigue is closely associated with reductions in voluntary activation of the untrained limb, indicating that it is caused by central nervous system fatigue mechanisms.