Intramyocellular lipids of muscle type in athletes of different sport disciplines

The present study used magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( H-MRS) to examine quantitative differences in intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) contents in various muscle types at rest for individual athletes from different sport disciplines. Five groups consisting of sprinters, alpine skiers, cross-country skiers, endurance runners and untrained healthy male subjects volunteered for this study. Data were acquired using H-MRS from the tibialis anterior (TA), medial gastrocnemius (MG) and soleus (SOL) muscles. No significant difference was found in the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the TA, MG and SOL muscles, whereas the CSA of subcutaneous fat was significantly lower (