Hormonal responses and adaptations to resistance exercise and training.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review without systematic search or meta-analytic methodology
PubMed 15831061 · doi:10.2165/00007256-200535040-00004
What was done
This narrative review synthesized literature on acute and chronic hormonal responses (including testosterone, growth hormone isoforms, cortisol, insulin, IGF-1, and catecholamines) and androgen receptor adaptations to different resistance exercise protocols, training volumes, intensities, rest periods, and nutritional states.
What was found
The abstract provides no numerical data or effect sizes. It reports that acute elevations of testosterone and growth hormones peak within 15–30 minutes post-exercise given sufficient stimulus. Resistance training protocols characterized by high volume, moderate-to-high intensity, short rest intervals, and large muscle mass engagement produce greater acute elevations of testosterone, growth hormone, and cortisol than low-volume, high-intensity protocols with long rests. Chronic resting hormonal concentrations frequently show no significant change despite documented muscle hypertrophy and strength gains.
Why it matters
It highlights that acute post-exercise hormonal surges and mechanical tension pathways, rather than chronic resting hormone levels, appear to drive training-induced tissue remodeling and muscular adaptations.
Limits
As a narrative review, it lacks systematic search criteria, quality appraisal of included studies, and meta-analytic pooling. Specific participant characteristics, sample sizes, and quantitative outcome measurements are not provided in the abstract.
Cited by
- context A moderate-intensity resistance training or cardio session transiently triples or quadruples baseline cortisol levels.
- context A resistance training session lasting 30 to 60 minutes triples or quadruples circulating cortisol levels.