Epigenetics (loosely meaning ‘above genetics’) is the study of transcript behaviour and activity, without underlying modifications to the DNA code. This ‘programme’ of control involves a wide range of regulatory events, from chemical modifications to genomic DNA through to the production of small non-coding RNAs. The underlying commonality of these regulatory events is that they all have the capacity to regulate the behaviour of gene transcription and/or translation. It is this regulatory mechanism that has seen epigenetics become a popular field of study within exercise physiology. Indeed, since seminal work published around a decade ago, we have seen a surge in research that is involved in investigating skeletal muscle epigenetics, helping to characterise a whole new paradigm of molecular events that may, in part, help to orchestrate the post exercise adaptive response. 
I will discuss some of the most important papers that have shaped our understanding of skeletal muscle epigenetics during homeostatic conditions, describe how these become dysregulated following various exercise modalities and identify some of the most exciting avenues of scientific research that could create some major breakthroughs in the field of physiology.