Ageing in humans is associated with physiological loss of strength and skeletal muscle fibres, known as sarcopenia. This results in loss of mobility and independence in the elderly, and is a major socioeconomic and public health issue. Progression of sarcopenia can be influenced by a range of concomitant factors. In our ongoing investigations into the effects on skeletal muscle of specific and intensity-graduated endurance and resistance training, we investigated the associated muscle adaptation at the molecular level through transcription profile analysis. Although the 12-week training programmes appeared to have little benefit, with increases in muscle strength of 1–2%, the transcriptional profiles obtained from tiny percutaneous needle biopsies of the vastus lateralis muscle demonstrated that the training was specific and efficient. This classification of the transcriptome in terms of the functional groupings of the gene expression profiles associated with the endurance and resistance training programmes provides a signature of the muscle responsiveness to the specific training. Therefore, such analyses could provide a useful tool to personalize specific skeletal muscle training, and they indicate that both endurance and resistance training should indeed be incorporated into weekly scheduled exercise in elderly subjects.