Higher legs muscle mass reduces gross mechanical efficiency during moderate intensity cycling in young healthy men

Higher legs muscle mass reduces gross mechanical efficiency during moderate intensity cycling in young healthy men | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Higher legs muscle mass reduces gross mechanical efficiency during moderate intensity cycling in young healthy men Jerzy A. Zoladz, Justyna Zapart-Bukowska, Marcin Grandys, Joanna Majerczak, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5669864/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 31 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Twelve healthy untrained men (age 22 ± 1 years; body mass (BM) 76.8 ± 14.4 kg; height 180 ± 8 cm, (mean ± SD)), participated in this study. The subjects performed an incremental exercise test on a cycloergometer with an increase of power output (PO) by 30 W every 3 min – until exhaustion. Gross mechanical efficiency (GE) and delta efficiency (DE) during exercise of moderate-intensity (below lactate threshold – <LT) was calculated. Both legs muscle mass (LMM) (determined using 3T MRI) amounted to 14.1 ± 2.1 kg (i.e., 18.6% of body mass). Pulmonary oxygen consumption (VO 2 ) at rest (sitting position) was 391 ± 42 mL min − 1 . The slope of the VO 2 (PO) relationship (at the PO’s < LT) amounted to 10.25 ± 0.99 mL O 2 min − 1 W − 1 and the intercept 501 ± 130 mL min − 1 . Pulmonary maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2max ) was 3198 ± 458 mL O 2 min − 1 , 42 ± 6 mL O 2 min − 1 kg − 1 BM and 187 ± 30 mL O 2 min − 1 kg − 1 of LMM. The LMM was positively correlated with the VO 2 at rest (p = 0.01). No relation between the LMM and the DE was found, whereas GE at the PO of 30–90 W was negatively correlated with the LMM (p ≤ 0.05). We concluded that greater muscle mass is not favorable when performing moderate-intensity cycling, since it results in poorer gross muscle mechanical efficiency. Health sciences/Health care/Quality of life Biological sciences/Physiology/Respiration Health sciences/Medical research/Pre clinical studies Exercise Delta efficiency Maximal oxygen uptake Power output Energy expenditure Muscle mass Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 31 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 22 Apr, 2025 Reviews received at journal 19 Apr, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Apr, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 04 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 03 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 03 Apr, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5669864","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":438267944,"identity":"f83a8ade-d825-4235-b651-8e090b96553c","order_by":0,"name":"Jerzy A. Zoladz","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1ElEQVRIie3PuwrCMBSA4RMC6VLpGhd9hYhgkQ59lVMcujh3cigU2kWc+ziVQCfp3DF9g07iopgK0jEZBfMPuQxfLgAu1w9Gcj0ooBAAIADTO8+GoCbL/EuozVUTEc20siE09waFpyje9qhgzCSEJqIfdhDYpnTXI5K6k7AvzKTlyCSbCF2UEoQ0ElJyfEl/W2vytCOU8aSUXHBNiBUpGBXJJRX8pvB67lLf+JdNVQ1qvEdxUB0T9ciiVejlBjKf6WMzjcJwCaznpdd8JiNxuVyuv+sNA+w+PaaAJdUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Chair of Exercise Physiology and Muscle Bioenergetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jerzy","middleName":"A.","lastName":"Zoladz","suffix":""},{"id":438267947,"identity":"1a1a810e-38f7-4aae-8afd-7a5ee46b135e","order_by":1,"name":"Justyna Zapart-Bukowska","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chair of Exercise Physiology and Muscle Bioenergetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Justyna","middleName":"","lastName":"Zapart-Bukowska","suffix":""},{"id":438267948,"identity":"33645425-2b2a-4292-b434-4d2d2f5f6e4a","order_by":2,"name":"Marcin Grandys","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chair of Exercise Physiology and Muscle Bioenergetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marcin","middleName":"","lastName":"Grandys","suffix":""},{"id":438267949,"identity":"13f86cf6-571d-45c9-b6eb-74fec5c7121c","order_by":3,"name":"Joanna Majerczak","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chair of Exercise Physiology and Muscle Bioenergetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Joanna","middleName":"","lastName":"Majerczak","suffix":""},{"id":438267951,"identity":"7e013109-4a5e-42e8-910d-f5b6385f4517","order_by":4,"name":"Zenon Nieckarz","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Marian Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, Kraków","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zenon","middleName":"","lastName":"Nieckarz","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-12-18 13:23:27","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5669864/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5669864/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08353-z","type":"published","date":"2025-07-31T16:29:12+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":88268471,"identity":"94e620e1-5615-4f95-bc41-43b5004a30e3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-04 16:51:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":687260,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ManuscriptcleanversionfileZoladzetal3042025.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5669864/v1_covered_83785562-38b6-43ed-8f0b-22b6871a6843.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Higher legs muscle mass reduces gross mechanical efficiency during moderate intensity cycling in young healthy men","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Exercise, Delta efficiency, Maximal oxygen uptake, Power output, Energy expenditure, Muscle mass","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5669864/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5669864/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eTwelve healthy untrained men (age 22\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1 years; body mass (BM) 76.8\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;14.4 kg; height 180\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;8 cm, (mean\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;SD)), participated in this study. The subjects performed an incremental exercise test on a cycloergometer with an increase of power output (PO) by 30 W every 3 min \u0026ndash; until exhaustion. Gross mechanical efficiency (GE) and delta efficiency (DE) during exercise of moderate-intensity (below lactate threshold \u0026ndash; \u0026lt;LT) was calculated. Both legs muscle mass (LMM) (determined using 3T MRI) amounted to 14.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;2.1 kg (i.e., 18.6% of body mass). Pulmonary oxygen consumption (VO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) at rest (sitting position) was 391\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;42 mL min\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e. The slope of the VO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e(PO) relationship (at the PO\u0026rsquo;s\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;LT) amounted to 10.25\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.99 mL O\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e min\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e W\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e and the intercept 501\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;130 mL min\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e. Pulmonary maximal oxygen uptake (VO\u003csub\u003e2max\u003c/sub\u003e) was 3198\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;458 mL O\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e min\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e, 42\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;6 mL O\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e min\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e kg\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e BM and 187\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;30 mL O\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e min\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e kg\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e of LMM. The LMM was positively correlated with the VO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e at rest (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.01). No relation between the LMM and the DE was found, whereas GE at the PO of 30\u0026ndash;90 W was negatively correlated with the LMM (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.05). We concluded that greater muscle mass is not favorable when performing moderate-intensity cycling, since it results in poorer gross muscle mechanical efficiency.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Higher legs muscle mass reduces gross mechanical efficiency during moderate intensity cycling in young healthy men","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-04-07 04:28:21","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5669864/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-04-22T09:12:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-04-19T23:06:37+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-04-11T10:59:33+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"304778999765574278727015300094447227637","date":"2025-04-09T10:06:13+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"220187020604197588572409727121400741797","date":"2025-04-07T10:20:27+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-04-04T05:56:49+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-04-03T12:42:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-04-03T10:59:28+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"74688df8-4fdf-49c6-af5a-1fd298769149","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 7th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":46668848,"name":"Health sciences/Health care/Quality of life"},{"id":46668849,"name":"Biological sciences/Physiology/Respiration"},{"id":46668850,"name":"Health sciences/Medical research/Pre clinical studies"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-08-04T16:47:36+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-5669864","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08353-z","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2025-07-31 16:29:12","publishedOnDateReadable":"July 31st, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-04-07 04:28:21","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-025-08353-z","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08353-z","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5669864","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5669864","identity":"rs-5669864","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}