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High-intensity exercise training — too much of a good thing?

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 17, pages 385–386 (2021)Cite this article

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Exercise training can induce robust changes in mitochondria that are beneficial for a range of metabolic health outcomes. However, a recent study suggests there might be an upper limit to the amount of high-intensity training that can be tolerated before disruptions to mitochondrial function and whole-body metabolic homeostasis occur.

Refers to Flockhart, M. et al. Excessive exercise training causes mitochondrial functional impairment and decreases glucose tolerance in healthy volunteers. Cell Metab. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2021.02.017 (2021).

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Fig. 1: Methodological considerations when interpreting mitochondrial function.

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Acknowledgements

Work in the authors’ laboratories is, in part, funded by an Australian Research Council grant DP160102176, “Molecular networks underlying exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis in humans”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exercise and Nutrition Research Program, Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    John A. Hawley

  2. Institute for Health and Sport (iHeS), Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    David J. Bishop

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  1. John A. Hawley
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Correspondence to John A. Hawley.

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Hawley, J.A., Bishop, D.J. High-intensity exercise training — too much of a good thing?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 17, 385–386 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-021-00500-6

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