Perspective of Dose and Response for Individualized Physical Exercise and Training Prescription.

Thomas Gronwald,Alexander Törpel,Henning Budde,Fabian Herold

doi:10.3390/jfmk5030048

Abstract

Physical interventions are used to increase physical (sports) performance and considered as effective low-cost strategies in the fields of healthcare, disease or injury prevention, and medical treatment. In general, a considerable amount of evidence buttress the application of physical interventions in various fields as it has been demonstrated to contribute to the maintenance and recovery of physical performance, cognitive function, and overall state of health. To implement physical interventions effectively, it is essential to provide an appropriate exercise and training prescription. Exercise and training prescription are key for “dose” specification and for the individualization (personalizing) of physical exercise and training, precisely adjusted and controlled like medication. Since the physiological response to physical interventions is demonstrably individual and dependent on many influencing factors, individualization is an emerging approach aiming to maximize the efficiency of an intervention by accounting for the interindividual heterogeneity. The present brief viewpoint article aims to distinguish and to redefine between the terms dose and response in order to improve the understanding of practitioners, the methodology of study protocols, and to relate future findings to the actual biological (interindividual) variability of acute and chronic responses.

Highlights

IntroductionThere is growing evidence that regular physical activity and/or physical exercise (as planned, structured, and purposive forms of physical activity [1,2]) lead to positive effects on physical performance and health in various physiological subsystems (e.g., metabolic, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, or central nervous system) and the organism as a whole, which emphasizes its use in different fields of application [3,4]
There is growing evidence that regular physical activity and/or physical exercise lead to positive effects on physical performance and health in various physiological subsystems and the organism as a whole, which emphasizes its use in different fields of application [3,4]
To be even more precise and to broaden the understanding of the dose–response relationship, we recommend redefining the phrase “dose–response” as “dose–outcome”, which specifies the link to an acute outcome parameter or a chronic outcome parameter according to the respective objective

Summary

Introduction

There is growing evidence that regular physical activity and/or physical exercise (as planned, structured, and purposive forms of physical activity [1,2]) lead to positive effects on physical performance and health in various physiological subsystems (e.g., metabolic, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, or central nervous system) and the organism as a whole, which emphasizes its use in different fields of application [3,4]. To be even more precise and to broaden the understanding of the dose–response relationship, we recommend redefining the phrase “dose–response” as “dose–outcome”, which specifies the link to an acute outcome parameter (in regard to a single bout of physical exercise) or a chronic outcome parameter (in regard to repeated bouts of physical exercise defined as training) according to the respective objective In this context, dose could be seen as an independent variable or a set of independent variables which we assume to be involved in biological processes in general and in a complex response matrix and signal transduction [35], leading to a distinct “outcome”. According to the definitions, internal load as proxy of the dose could be controlled by modifying the external load in consideration of exercise and training principles (e.g., periodization for the planned systematic and structural variation of a training program over time with an adequate ratio of load and recovery periods) and influencing factors such as the actual state of the psychophysiological capacity level (including level of performance)

Implications and Areas for Future Research

Conclusions