Maturity-Associated Longitudinal Variations in Exercise-Induced Acute Hormonal Responses in Adolescent Male Athletes
1Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Teikyo Heisei University, Tokyo,Japan.
Purpose:
To examine longitudinal changes in exercise-induced hormonal responses in adolescent male basketball players.
Methods:
Fifteen adolescent males were assigned to prepeak height velocity (pre-PHV) and post-PHV groups according to the predicted age at PHV. Salivary testosterone, cortisol levels, and the testosterone-to-cortisol ratio were evaluated before (PRE), immediately after (POST), and 15 minutes after a bodyweight resistance training session, which was repeated after 1 year to analyze longitudinal changes in testosterone and cortisol levels.
Results:
Resting testosterone levels and acute testosterone responses after bodyweight resistance training increased in both groups after 1 year at all measurement points. The POST testosterone levels at initial measurement and PRE and 15-minute postexercise levels at 1 year in the post-PHV group were significantly higher than those in the pre-PHV group. Cortisol levels significantly decreased in the post-PHV group at baseline and 1 year later. In the post-PHV, the testosterone-to-cortisol ratio after bodyweight resistance training was significantly increased at baseline and 1 year later.
Conclusions:
Although testosterone levels increase with age, no acute response to bodyweight resistance training was observed after 1 year. The change in anabolic status indicated by the testosterone-to-cortisol ratio was due to a decrease in cortisol levels.
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