Hormonal Responses to Resistance Training and its Effects on Strength Adaptations: A Brief Overview

Abstract

This paper looks at the role hormones play in improving both muscular strength and muscular remodelling. The hormones in question are: testosterone, human growth hormone, insulin growth factor and cortisol. All of the above hormones have been the subject of heated debate, particularly since the introduction of transgender athletes competing on the world stage.  The Edith Cowan online library Database and Google Scholar were the main databases used to search for articles between the years 2000 to 2019. A total of fifteen articles were chosen for review, with two additional papers chosen from other research articles. There was also one research review article included. The selected studies found that, while acute hormonal levels are elevated following bouts of resistance training, there is little evidence that these increases cause significant strength and hypertrophy adaptations. The following were the key findings from this review: 1) Muscle protein synthesis occurs with or without hormonal elevations. 2) Protein consumption spread evenly over 5-6 meals per day at a rate of 2.0g/kg.bw.day was more important than hormonal changes in eliciting strength adaptations. 3) Increasing the number of sets per exercise to more than three increases protein signaling, such as p70S6K1, resulting in greater strength and hypertrophy adaptations.