Sports 2026, 14(8), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14080348 - 11 Aug 2026
Abstract
The purpose of this narrative review was to provide a conceptual and applied framework that distinguishes resistance training methods, strategies, and systems and clarifies how these constructs organize established training variables within contemporary recommendations for exercise prescription. The historical, conceptual, and theoretical synthesis
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The purpose of this narrative review was to provide a conceptual and applied framework that distinguishes resistance training methods, strategies, and systems and clarifies how these constructs organize established training variables within contemporary recommendations for exercise prescription. The historical, conceptual, and theoretical synthesis was not restricted by publication date and included seminal studies and previous evidence syntheses. In addition, a focused descriptive mapping of primary experimental studies published between January 2021 and April 2026 was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. This mapping comprised 40 studies assessing acute responses or chronic adaptations to methods including drop sets, rest–pause, pyramidal loading, eccentric training, blood flow restriction, cluster sets, and velocity-based training. Several studies reported no statistically significant between-method differences in selected strength or hypertrophy outcomes; however, their generally small samples and the absence of equivalence or non-inferiority analyses preclude conclusions of true equivalence. Individual studies also reported context-specific differences in session efficiency, fatigue distribution, movement velocity, regional hypertrophy, and contraction-specific adaptations. Given the heterogeneity of the mapped studies and the absence of formal risk-of-bias or certainty-of-evidence assessments, these observations should be interpreted as descriptive and exploratory rather than as evidence of general comparative superiority. Taken together with the broader historical and synthesized literature, the findings suggest that resistance training adaptations are primarily governed by foundational prescription variables, including load, volume, frequency, effort, density, and exercise selection. The principal contribution of this review is therefore to clarify how methods, strategies, and systems can be selected and organized according to specific goals, individual characteristics, and practical constraints.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strength Training and Muscular Adaptation: Implications for Health and Performance)
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