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Effects of meal form and composition on plasma testosterone, cortisol, and insulin following resistance exercise
R J Bloomer1, G A Sforzo, B A Keller
1Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of postexercise feeding on plasma levels of insulin, testosterone, cortisol, and testosterone:cortisol (T:C). Ten experienced, resistance trained males (20.7 +/- 0.95 years) were given whole food (WF: protein 38 g; carbohydrate 70 g; fat 7 g), a supplemental drink (SD; isocaloric and isonitrogenous to WF), an isocaloric carbohydrate beverage (C), or a placebo beverage (P) immediately, 2 and 4 hours after a standardized weight training protocol on 4 days, each separated by 1 week, in a repeated measures design. Subjects also received a standardized meal at 7 and 12 hours postexercise. Insulin, testosterone, and cortisol were measured pre-exercise and during 24 hours of recovery (at 0.5, 2.5, 4.5, 8, and 24 hours) using venous blood samples. Significant (condition 3 time) interactions were found for insulin, testosterone, and T:C, but not for cortisol (p <. 05). The SD yielded a greater response for insulin than all other conditions. Conversely, P demonstrated the greatest values for testosterone and T:C at 2.5 and 4.5 hours postexercise. Cortisol did not vary between conditions and there were no condition effects for insulin, testosterone, cortisol, and T:C at 8 or 24 hours. In conclusion, the efficacy of postexercise feeding for optimizing T:C and muscle growth is unclear; however, consumption of SD appears to maximize circulating insulin for several hours following resistance exercise.
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