Post-Exercise Hormone Elevations and Hypertrophy/Strength in 49 Trained Men: A 12-Week Study
Morton RW, Oikawa SY, Wavell CG, Mazara N, McGlory C, Quadrilatero J, Baechler BL, Baker SK, Phillips SM
Evidence is still building up
Summary
In 49 resistance-trained young men, post-exercise acute elevations in testosterone, GH, IGF-1, and cortisol showed no significant correlation with gains in muscle size or strength. Acute hormones are not a marker of adaptation.
Key findings
- 1
Acute systemic hormone elevations after exercise were unrelated to gains in muscle size or strength and were not markers of adaptation
- 2
Load (weight used) was not a determinant either — high- and low-load were equivalent when taken near failure
- 3
Participants were 49 resistance-trained young men over 12 weeks of whole-body training
- 4
Points toward local factors (e.g., intramuscular androgen receptor content) as more relevant to adaptation
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