Journal of Eexercise & Organ Cross Talk

Bibliometric analysis of Iranian research on resistance training and muscle hypertrophy

Document Type : Review Articles

Author

Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, ET.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22122/jeoct.2026.563290.1182
Abstract
This study was designed to conduct a bibliometric analysis of Iranian research on the effects of various resistance training protocols on muscle hypertrophy. The analysis examined temporal publication trends, prolific authors, leading research institutions, and prominent journals in this field. All relevant articles published up to the year 1403 (2024) were retrieved from the MagIran database. Inclusion criteria were limited to original peer-reviewed research articles published in Persian, while conference abstracts and other non-journal sources were excluded. Data were analyzed using VOSviewer software to perform co-authorship and keyword co-occurrence analyses. Between 1390 and 1403 (2011–2024), a total of 31 articles were published in this domain. Most publications were authored by faculty members of public (state) universities. Approximately 65% of the articles appeared in journals affiliated with the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, whereas 35% were published in medical sciences journals. Keyword analysis indicated that “resistance training” and “muscle hypertrophy” were the most frequent and central terms, with clustering results demonstrating strong interconnections among core research topics. Overall, the findings of this bibliometric analysis provide a structured overview of the research landscape and offer a roadmap for identifying research gaps, publication patterns, and future research priorities in the Iranian context.

What is already known on this subject?

Previous bibliometric and narrative reviews indicate that research on resistance training frequently focuses on muscle hypertrophy and related adaptations, particularly within sport sciences and clinical exercise contexts. Existing evidence shows that publications in this field are commonly distributed across exercise physiology and medical journals and often originate from postgraduate research projects. However, the publication patterns, institutional contributions, journal accreditation characteristics, and thematic distribution of resistance training–related hypertrophy research within Iran have not been systematically examined.

 

What this study adds?

This study provides the first comprehensive bibliometric mapping of Iranian research on resistance training and muscle hypertrophy. It identifies publication trends, authorship structures, institutional contributions, journal accreditation patterns, and dominant research themes over a 15-year period. By highlighting the fragmented dissemination structure, limited temporal continuity, and thematic concentration of existing studies, the findings offer a structured overview that can inform future research planning, collaboration strategies, and journal targeting within this field.

Keywords

Subjects


Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Vice Chancellor for Research, Islamic Azad University, East Tehran, for their cooperation in conducting this research.

Funding

No sources of funding were sought or awarded for this study.

Data availability

Review article.

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval Not applicable.

Informed consent Not applicable. 

Author contributions 

Conceptualization: SH.R.M,; Methodology: SH.R.M,; Software: SH.R.M,;  Validation: SH.R.M,; Formal analysis: SH.R.M,; Investigation: SH.R.M,; Resources: SH.R.M,; Data curation: SH.R.M,; Writing - original draft: SH.R.M,; Writing - review & editing: SH.R.M,; Visualization: SH.R.M,;  Supervision: SH.R.M,; Project administration: SH.R.M,;  Funding acquisition: SH.R.M,; 

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Volume 6, Issue 1
Winter 2026
Pages 40-48

  • Receive Date 30 November 2025
  • Revise Date 27 January 2026
  • Accept Date 30 January 2026