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Can weight training increase testosterone levels?[/h]We have previously discussed ways we can increase testosterone levels naturally so a new study exploring the impact of strongman training on salivary testosterone levels [1] is something which caught our eye. Previous research has tended to show that the impact of training on testosterone is not consistent but can be dependent upon duration of exercise, nutritional status, intensity of exercise, and volume of exercise. Strongman training is different to regular weight training to the extent that it tends to incorporate more dynamic movements utilising multiple muscle groups and joints which together can impose a larger degree of neural stress compared to a typical bodybuilding workout.
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Objective: To examine salivary testosterone responses from two novel strongman training sessions compared to the effect of a standard hypertrophy focused workout.
Methods: 16 males with an average age of 24 participated in the study. They performed three different training protocols, a strongman workout (ST), a mixed strongman/hypertrophy workout (MIX), and a hypertrophy workout (H) which were designed to ensure that each workout produced equivalent volumes (sets x reps), rest times, and intensity between groups. The sets were performed to failure and they performed the standard 3 set of 10 reps that will be familiar to anyone who has ever read a bodybuilding magazine. The intensity was set at 75% of 1RM. The researchers selected the volume and intensity based on previous research measuring the acute hormonal response to a training session.
In the strongman protocol (ST) the subjects performed 3 sets to failure of 5 different exercises (tire flip, farmer’s walk, chain drag, keg carry, and the atlas stone lift) with 2 mins rest between sets and a 3 minute rest between different exercises. The mixed session consisted of the tire flip, back squat, chain drag, bench press, and atlas stone lift while the hypertrophy session comprised standard weight training exercises such as back squats, leg press, bench press, and seated rows. Saliva samples were taken immediately pre-exercise (PRE), immediately after completion of all exercises (POST), and 30 minutes after the workout was completed (30POST).
Results: Data showed that there was a significant difference between PRE and POST testosterone levels in all groups with no significant differences between groups. Testosterone levels spiked by 136% in the group performing the hypertrophy workout, 74% for the strongman group, and 54% for the mixed strongman/hypertrophy group. A significant difference for testosterone level was observed over time (POST versus 30POST) for the hypertrophy group declining over this time frame.
Conclusion: Adjusted for exercise intensity and duration, strongman training causes a similar endocrine response as regular hypertrophy training.
Our Comments
Regular weight training has previously been shown to elevate testosterone levels acutely but this is the first study we have come across measuring different training protocols. The greater rise in testosterone levels during hypertrophy training compared to strongman or mixed training is an interesting feature although the authors of this study concluded that the endocrine response was similar between the differing training regimes. It suggest that the mechanism behind hypertrophy training causing a greater transient rise in testosterone levels is likely mediated through some specific aspect of hypertrophy training not seen in strongman training. Given that the researchers in this study went to some lengths to adjust work volumes and other training factors across groups we are left with the actual exercises themselves. Without a doubt, strongman exercises induce a greater degree of neuromuscular stress compared to standard weight training exercises while they also tend to lead to less of a pump compared to bodybuilding training. Although there is some debate on the significance of the pump in training, we earlier covered research suggesting that muscle damage is important to growth and this study shows that there is a potential hormonal advantage to standard weight training compared with strongman training.
Future research would ideally use a larger study group and look to track differences in hormone levels over time between differing training modalities to see if there is any endocrine advantage in training one style versus another.
Can weight training increase testosterone levels?[/h]We have previously discussed ways we can increase testosterone levels naturally so a new study exploring the impact of strongman training on salivary testosterone levels [1] is something which caught our eye. Previous research has tended to show that the impact of training on testosterone is not consistent but can be dependent upon duration of exercise, nutritional status, intensity of exercise, and volume of exercise. Strongman training is different to regular weight training to the extent that it tends to incorporate more dynamic movements utilising multiple muscle groups and joints which together can impose a larger degree of neural stress compared to a typical bodybuilding workout.
Objective: To examine salivary testosterone responses from two novel strongman training sessions compared to the effect of a standard hypertrophy focused workout.
Methods: 16 males with an average age of 24 participated in the study. They performed three different training protocols, a strongman workout (ST), a mixed strongman/hypertrophy workout (MIX), and a hypertrophy workout (H) which were designed to ensure that each workout produced equivalent volumes (sets x reps), rest times, and intensity between groups. The sets were performed to failure and they performed the standard 3 set of 10 reps that will be familiar to anyone who has ever read a bodybuilding magazine. The intensity was set at 75% of 1RM. The researchers selected the volume and intensity based on previous research measuring the acute hormonal response to a training session.
In the strongman protocol (ST) the subjects performed 3 sets to failure of 5 different exercises (tire flip, farmer’s walk, chain drag, keg carry, and the atlas stone lift) with 2 mins rest between sets and a 3 minute rest between different exercises. The mixed session consisted of the tire flip, back squat, chain drag, bench press, and atlas stone lift while the hypertrophy session comprised standard weight training exercises such as back squats, leg press, bench press, and seated rows. Saliva samples were taken immediately pre-exercise (PRE), immediately after completion of all exercises (POST), and 30 minutes after the workout was completed (30POST).
Results: Data showed that there was a significant difference between PRE and POST testosterone levels in all groups with no significant differences between groups. Testosterone levels spiked by 136% in the group performing the hypertrophy workout, 74% for the strongman group, and 54% for the mixed strongman/hypertrophy group. A significant difference for testosterone level was observed over time (POST versus 30POST) for the hypertrophy group declining over this time frame.
Conclusion: Adjusted for exercise intensity and duration, strongman training causes a similar endocrine response as regular hypertrophy training.
Our Comments
Regular weight training has previously been shown to elevate testosterone levels acutely but this is the first study we have come across measuring different training protocols. The greater rise in testosterone levels during hypertrophy training compared to strongman or mixed training is an interesting feature although the authors of this study concluded that the endocrine response was similar between the differing training regimes. It suggest that the mechanism behind hypertrophy training causing a greater transient rise in testosterone levels is likely mediated through some specific aspect of hypertrophy training not seen in strongman training. Given that the researchers in this study went to some lengths to adjust work volumes and other training factors across groups we are left with the actual exercises themselves. Without a doubt, strongman exercises induce a greater degree of neuromuscular stress compared to standard weight training exercises while they also tend to lead to less of a pump compared to bodybuilding training. Although there is some debate on the significance of the pump in training, we earlier covered research suggesting that muscle damage is important to growth and this study shows that there is a potential hormonal advantage to standard weight training compared with strongman training.
Future research would ideally use a larger study group and look to track differences in hormone levels over time between differing training modalities to see if there is any endocrine advantage in training one style versus another.
