Cellular and molecular exercise physiology: talking about past, present and future

Exercise physiology has evolved as a main area of investigation, in which the central goal is to better understand how the physiological systems respond to an acute bout of exercise and how these systems adapt to different types of exercise training. For many years and until now, exercise physiology field have been grounded in the fundamentals of biology and human physiology. However, during the last century, scientific knowledge has changed our understanding of biological sciences, allowing the integration of different areas, and increasing the focus on many sub-areas like cellular and molecular investigation. The development of new experimental techniques in the last years provided detailed information about cellstructure and function and, as a result, we could better understand not only the human body physiology, but also many diseases and their pathophysiology. Therefore, this present review intends to discuss more about cellular and molecular exercise physiology area, focusing on historical and methodological approaches, and highlighting the future perspectives for scientific knowledge and their practical application in health and exercise.