REVIEW article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1691779
This article is part of the Research TopicMulti-omics insights into exercise-induced molecular adaptationsView all articles
Mechanisms of the Biological Response Cascade to Exercise-Induced Stress: A Comprehensive Review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Fujian Police College, Fuzhou, China
- 2Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
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Exercise is widely recognized as a critical determinant of health, yet its effects can diverge substantially depending on intensity, duration, and individual characteristics. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the mechanisms underlying exercise-induced stress responses, outlining a sequential cascade from biomechanical signal perception, through organelle and metabolic regulation, to systemic integration via hormonal, myokine, and immune pathways. We highlight the concept of a bidirectional threshold theory, which proposes that moderate exercise promotes adaptation and health benefits, while excessive exercise may trigger maladaptive responses and pathological outcomes. At the same time, we note that significant inter-individual variability in exercise responses raises important questions regarding the generalizability of this framework. By integrating evidence across molecular, cellular, and systemic levels, this review provides a holistic perspective on the dual effects of exercise, underscores the need for improved biomarkers to monitor adaptive versus maladaptive responses, and identifies research gaps that must be addressed to translate these mechanisms into personalized exercise strategies.
Keywords: exercise-induced stress, Bidirectional threshold, Biological response cascade, Adaptation and maladaptation, Exercise variability
Received: 24 Aug 2025; Accepted: 21 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Zhang and Sang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kai Sang, sangk2023@163.com
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