New professor Juha Ahtiainen investigates whether individual responses to resistance training can be predicted
Ahtiainen started as a professor of sports coaching science at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences on 1 August 2026.
Research into resistance training increasingly emphasises a personalised approach
Current research on resistance training responses is focused on individual variation.
“It is well known that resistance training increases strength and muscle mass,” says Professor Ahtiainen, “but it remains unclear why some individuals develop more than others by following the same training programme.”
He leads the project Towards Personalized Exercise, which is funded by the Research Council of Finland aims to identify the physiological factors that explain these differences.
At the moment, individual variation in training responses is a key topic in sport sciences.
“Sports sciences have traditionally focused on group averages,” says Ahtiainen, “but the field is shifting towards personalised exercise programmes, in which training and recovery are tailored precisely to individual characteristics.”
Personalised exercise is safer and more effective
According to Ahtiainen, current research in the field can be crystallised in a single question: Why can two individuals of the same age and fitness level react completely differently to the same strength training programme, and can these differences be predicted in advance?
“If we can find factors that predict training responses,” he says, “it will be possible to tailor individual training programmes and improve the safety and impact of exercise also with patient groups in the future.”
Ahtiainen’s research interests include the adaptation of the neuromuscular system in training, muscle growth and the cellular and molecular processes that regulate it, as well as the impacts of ageing on force production. He aims is to publish further research on resistance training, muscle growth and variation in training responses as soon as possible.
Since 2001, Professor Ahtiainen has held various positions in the field of sports biology of physical activity at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, serving as an assistant, senior assistant, lecturer, senior researcher and, after a period as an associate professor from 2021, as a professor of sports coaching science.
Further information:
Juha Ahtiainen, Professor
University of Jyväskylä, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences
juha.ahtiainen@jyu.fi, +358408053740
