The USF Muscle Laboratory was founded in 2018 when Dr. Samuel Buckner joined the faculty at the University of South Florida. The lab studies skeletal muscle adaptations to resistance exercise, with much of the research focused on muscle growth, strength, and how these adaptations are measured.
Recent work has focused on how different resistance training variables influence muscle growth. This includes examining the amount of training needed to promote muscle growth, as well as how variables such as rest periods and range of motion may influence this response. Other areas of interest include alternative approaches to resistance training, such as low-load exercise, blood flow restriction, and electrical stimulation.
Another major focus is how changes in muscle size are measured and interpreted. This includes studying the time course of muscle growth, how factors such as acute muscle swelling can affect measurements of muscle size, and how different imaging and measurement techniques can influence the observed changes.
Recent Publications
- Russo, J. R., Gonzalez, S. L., Shah, A., Foley, C. M., & Buckner, S. L. (2026). Measurement posture influences acute changes in quadriceps muscle thickness following resistance exercise. Journal of Trainology, 15(2), 26-30.
- Buckner, S. L., Gonzalez, S. L., Holtje, J. M., Moreno, E. N., & Dankel, S. J. (2025). Absolute and relative changes in muscle thickness and muscle cross‐sectional area. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging, 45(4), e70013.
- Moreno, E. N., Sampson, D. T., Figueroa, E. C., Jessee, M. B., & Buckner, S. L. (2025). Increasing set volume relative to baseline does not augment skeletal muscle adaptations when compared to maintenance of baseline training volume in recreationally trained individuals. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 125(4), 1049-1059.
Contact Us
The USF Muscle Laboratory is located in Physical Education 112 (PED 112) on the USF Tampa campus. Members of the community can get involved by participating in research studies, and students can gain research experience by assisting with ongoing projects.
Those interested in the research or in getting involved with the lab can contact Dr. Buckner at slbuckner@usf.edu.
