Per Aagaard
| Per Aagaard | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| 🎓 Alma mater | University of Copenhagen (PhD, 1998) |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Research on rate of force development and neuromuscular adaptation to resistance training; blood-flow-restricted training |
| 🏅 Awards | Johannes Lindhard Prize (2017) |
Per Aagaard is a Danish biomechanist and exercise physiologist, and professor of biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU).[1] His research concerns how the nervous system, muscles and tendons adapt to resistance training, detraining, ageing and injury, with particular attention to neural muscle activation, muscle morphology and rapid force production, expressed as rate of force development (RFD).[1][2] He has been a member of the European College of Sport Science's Scientific Committee since 2017[3] and received the Johannes Lindhard Prize in 2017.[4] He has a Google Scholar h-index of 124.[1]
Early life and education
Aagaard performed his pregraduate and graduate studies at the University of Copenhagen: mathematics (BSc, H.C. Ørsted Institute, 1984), physical education (BSc, 1986), exercise physiology (MSc, August Krogh Institute, 1991) and neurophysiology (PhD, Panum Institute, 1998).[1]
Career
Elite sport, hospital research and teaching
From 1991 Per Aagaard worked at Team Danmark Testcenter, the Danish elite-sport body, where he spent more than 10 years testing and advising elite athletes and coaches.[1][2] From 1998 he also held a research post at the Institute of Sports Medicine at Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen (ISMC), and from 1989 to the mid-1990s he lectured in anatomy, physiology and biomechanics at Copenhagen institutions.[1]
University of Southern Denmark
Aagaard joined SDU in 2003 as research professor and became full professor of biomechanics in 2006.[1] He headed the Muscle Physiology and Biomechanics Research Unit from 2011 to 2014, and remains a professor in the unit.[1][5] His Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics ranked 6th in the 2018 Shanghai Ranking of sport science schools and 7th in 2020, while rising to 2nd highest rank in 2025.[6][7]
Berkeley and international posts
He was a visiting scholar (1996–97) and research fellow (2001) at the University of California, Berkeley, and visiting professor in its Department of Integrative Biology in 2008, 2010 and 2012.[1] His profile lists teaching in Rome, Murcia, Salzburg, Berkeley and Thessaloniki.[1] He has also lectured at the Lithuanian Sports University and is listed on the faculty of a UCAM master's programme in high-performance sport in Spain.[8][9]
Research
Early work
His first papers (1994–98) concerned isokinetic strength, training specificity and the hamstring/quadriceps strength ratio, including a "new concept" for the strength ratio in the American Journal of Sports Medicine (1998).[1]
Neural adaptation and rate of force development
A 2002 paper in the Journal of Applied Physiology reported increased RFD and neural drive after resistance training in healthy males.[10] A companion study found that 14 weeks of heavy-resistance training increased V-wave and H-reflex responses in the soleus, indicating both spinal and supraspinal adaptations.[11][12] Related work includes a 2000 study of the effect of resistance training on neural inhibition in eccentric and concentric contraction, a 2001 study of the soleus H-reflex during walking and running in simulated reduced gravity, a 2003 review in Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, and a 2018 review of spinal and supraspinal control during maximal eccentric muscle contractions.[1][13] He co-authored a 2016 review of RFD.[1]
Muscle fibre type and architecture
His papers include studies of contractile strength and myosin heavy-chain composition (1998), myosin IIX "overshooting" (2000) and training-induced changes in muscle architecture (muscle fascicle pennation angle, myofiber size) with resistance training (The Journal of Physiology, 2001).
Tendon
With Peter Magnusson's and Michael Kjær's groups he co-authored studies of the mechanical properties of human tendon and aponeurosis in vivo, in athletes, ageing and tendinopathy.[1]
Satellite cells and blood-flow-restricted training
His group studied the activation of muscle stem (satellite) cells with creatine supplementation and resistance training, and later examined the effects of low-load training with blood-flow restriction (BFR) on satellite cell proliferation, myonuclei accretion and microvascular biogenesis. A 2012 study reported marked satellite-cell proliferation with BFR training.[1] Trials since then have applied BFR to knee osteoarthritis, patellar tendinopathy, spinal cord injury, haemophilia and inclusion body myositis.[1]
Injury prevention
A 2009 study with Professor Mette Zebis, University of Copenhagen, identified female athletes at risk of non-contact ACL rupture by neuromuscular screening, a 2016 randomised trial tested ACL injury prevention training in adolescent female athletes, and a 2022 cohort study examined modifiable ACL injury risk factors in adolescent female elite athletes.[1] With Walter Herzog and Matthew Jordan at the University of Calgary Per Aagaard has co-authored studies of ACL injury prevention and rehabilitation in elite alpine ski racers (2015–2026).[1]
Ageing, inactivity and rehabilitation
Together with Copenhagen Professors Charlotte Suetta, Michael Kjær and Peter Magnusson (ISMC, Bispebjerg Hospital, University of Copenhagen), Per Aagaard has studied sarcopenia, immobilisation and retraining, and resistance training after orthopaedic surgery and in disease, including a 2010 review of the effect of resistance training on nervous system function during aging and in sarcopenia, accompanied by the Copenhagen Sarcopenia Study (2019) led by Charlotte Suetta.[1]
Sport and human athletic performance
His work includes research studies in elite football, team handball, sailing, cycling, ice hockey and golf, weight lifting comprising a 2023 study of mitochondria adaptations in strength athletes, a 2023 study linking a gene variant to tendon stiffness, and a 2024 review of resistance training for sprint and endurance athletes.[1] A 2025 paper in Scientific Reports compared Maasai men with Norwegian controls: maximal jump height was similar, but the Maasai demonstrated more powerful energy efficient jumping patterns, had longer, more compliant tendons and shorter muscle fascicles.[14] Danish science media covered the study,[15] and Aagaard presented the Maasai work at a symposium at the 2017 American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting.[1]
Professional activities
- Societies and journals: ECSS Scientific Committee member since 2017.[1][3] According to his CV, he serves or has served on the editorial boards of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports and the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, and lists reviewing for 37 journals.[1]
- Invited scientific lectures: His CV lists about 250 congress and seminar lectures, including invited talks at the ACSM annual meeting, the IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport (Monte-Carlo), conferences of the Spanish and Italian Olympic committees, an FC Barcelona/Aspetar workshop (Camp Nou, 2016), INSEP in Paris (2023, 2024) and annual symposia at a FIFA medical centre in Porto (2023–2026).[1]
- Conferences: He co-edited the proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Strength Training (ICST 2006, Odense, Denmark) and contributed to the proceedings of the 6th (2008) and 8th (2012) ICST conferences.[1]
- Supervision and teaching: According to his CV, he has supervised 35 PhD, 172 Master's and 148 Bachelor's students, and he teaches a course on neural and muscular adaptations to resistance training at SDU.[1]
- Projects: He took part in the TRINITY robotics project (2020–24), was one of the coordinators of the RATE trial of ACL-reconstruction rehabilitation (2017–22) and took part in a football-and-health project (2019–21).[1]
- Media: His SDU profile lists 100 media contributions, many in Danish media.[1][16]
Awards
Johannes Lindhard Prize (3 February 2017), from the Danish Society for Sports Medicine and the Danish Society for Sports Physiotherapy.[4]
Books and scientific publications
Per Aagaard has contributed chapters to Textbook of Sports Medicine (2003), ACSM's Advanced Exercise Physiology, Strength and Conditioning: Biological Principles and Practical Applications (2010), Endurance Training: Science and Practice (2012, 2nd edition 2023) and Football as Medicine (2020).[1] Further, he has co-authored Styrketræning ("Strength Training"), a Danish-language textbook published by the Danish Sports Confederation (DIF 2002).
More than 600 scientific papers and conference abstracts have been authored by Per Aagaard, including 357 peer-reviewed journal articles.[1] He has a Web of Science h-index of 91 (26,952 citations) and a Google Scholar h-index of 124 (more than 54,000 citations).[1] Scopus also indexes his work, and a third-party index lists an h-index also of 124.[17][18]
Per Aagaard was ranked 57 out of 41,112 researchers in sports science (2026), corresponding to the top 0.1% of scientists in this subfield. He was ranked 18,924 out of 195,606 in the Top 2% Scientists list irrespective of subdiscipline (2026), corresponding to the top 0.2% of scientists worldwide.[19]
Selected works:
- Aagaard P, et al. (2002). "Increased rate of force development and neural drive of human skeletal muscle following resistance training." J Appl Physiol 93: 1318–1326.[10]
- Aagaard P, et al. (2002). "Neural adaptation to resistance training: changes in evoked V-wave and H-reflex responses." J Appl Physiol 92: 2309–2318.[11]
- Aagaard P, et al. (2001). "A mechanism for increased contractile strength of human pennate muscle in response to strength training: changes in muscle architecture." J Physiol 534: 613–623.[1]
- Aagaard P (2003). "Training-induced changes in neural function." Exerc Sport Sci Rev 31: 61–67.[1]
- Aagaard P, et al. (2010). "Role of the nervous system in sarcopenia and muscle atrophy with aging: strength training as a countermeasure." Scand J Med Sci Sports 20: 49–64.[1]
- Aagaard P & Andersen JL (2010). "Effects of strength training on endurance capacity in top-level endurance athletes." Scand J Med Sci Sports 20 (Suppl. 2): 124–132.[1]
- Aagaard P, et al. (2020). "Perspectives for progress in the assessment of neuroplasticity with strength training." Exerc Sport Sci Rev 48: 151–162.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 University of Southern Denmark. "Per Aagaard". SDU Research Portal.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 University of Southern Denmark, Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics. "Lynseminar: Træning af eksplosiv muskelstyrke" (in dansk).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 European College of Sport Science. "Our people".
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 University of Southern Denmark. "Johannes Lindhard Price awarded by the Danish Society for Sports Medicine (DIMS) and Danish Society for Sports Physiotheraphy (DSSF)". SDU Research Portal.
- ↑ University of Southern Denmark. "Employees: Research Unit of Muscle Physiology and Biomechanics".
- ↑ "Global Ranking of Sport Science Schools and Departments (GRSSSD)". ShanghaiRanking.
- ↑ "Which is the best university for sports science?". Study International. 2018.
- ↑ Lithuanian Sports University (30 November 2001). "Professor of the University of Southern Denmark presented a research".
- ↑ UCAM. "Master's Degree in High Performance Sport: Strength and Conditioning, teaching faculty".
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Aagaard, P.; Simonsen, E. B.; Andersen, J. L.; Magnusson, P.; Dyhre-Poulsen, P. (2002). "Increased rate of force development and neural drive of human skeletal muscle following resistance training". Journal of Applied Physiology. 93 (4): 1318–1326. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00283.2002. PMID 12235031.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Aagaard, P.; Simonsen, E. B.; Andersen, J. L.; Magnusson, P.; Dyhre-Poulsen, P. (2002). "Neural adaptation to resistance training: changes in evoked V-wave and H-reflex responses". Journal of Applied Physiology. 92 (6): 2309–2318. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01185.2001. PMID 12015341.
- ↑ Aagaard, P.; et al. (2002). "Neural adaptation to resistance training evidenced by changes in evoked V-wave and H reflex responses". Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 34 (5 (Supplement)). abstract 653. doi:10.1097/00005768-200205001-00653.
- ↑ Aagaard, P. (2018). "Spinal and supraspinal control of motor function during maximal eccentric muscle contraction: effects of resistance training". Journal of Sport and Health Science. 7 (3): 282–293. doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2018.06.003. PMC 6189238. PMID 30356634.
- ↑ Bojsen-Møller, J.; et al. (2025). "Jumping performance and muscle–tendon characteristics of Maasai men of East Africa". Scientific Reports. 15 (1). Bibcode:2025NatSR..1519019B. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-01694-9. PMC 12125220 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 40447602 Check|pmid=value (help). Unknown parameter|article-number=ignored (help) - ↑ "Nordmænd mod masaier i hoppe-duel: resultatet er stærkt overraskende". Videnskab.dk (in dansk).
- ↑ University of Southern Denmark. "Per Aagaard: Press/Media". SDU Research Portal.
- ↑ "Per Aagaard (author profile)". Scopus.
- ↑ "Per Aagaard". AD Scientific Index.
- ↑ "Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists list 2026". Top2PercentScientists.com. 7 October 2026.
External links
- Per Aagaard at the University of Southern Denmark
- Per Aagaard on ORCID: 0000-0002-9773-7361
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