Resistance training induces differenciated adaptions. Depending on the applied method, neural or anabolic adaptions may dominate. Neural adaptions already reveal in the early stage of a training program, since force improvements can be seen even without muscle hypertrophy. During this phase, upcoming adaptions on myofibrilliar protein level are initiated on mRNA level. These adaptations may be described mainly as an increase of myofibrillar proteins and fibre type transformation, respectively. The article describes adaptations against specific methods of resistance training like maximum power, speed strength and strength endurance and shortly discusses the therapeutic use of resistance training.