Today we are going to discuss the anabolic hormone response, which is something you may have never heard of. The anabolic hormone response happens when we participate in resistance training, when anabolic hormones are released in response to two types of stressors on the system: Mechanical stressors- i.e. muscles and bones moving, and internal stressors- i.e. elevated body temperature and elevated heart rate / blood pressure. The four primary anabolic hormones produced in the body are testosterone, growth hormone, insulin-like-growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and insulin. The two we will discuss at length will be testosterone and growth hormone. 

• Testosterone: Promotes muscular and cellular growth, prevents cellular breakdown, and promotes synthesis of proteins. In addition, it is also “anti-catabolic” meaning that it inhibits the breakdown of muscle tissue and other proteins. You will see a spike in testosterone immediately after resistance training and for approximately one hour afterwards. 
• Growth Hormone: Like T, it promotes growth and synthesis of proteins, but is usually delayed in release until roughly 1-2 hours after exercise. In addition, it also stimulates the release of IGF-1 
• IGF-1: Increases and maintains protein synthesis for up to 24 hours after exercise. 
• Insulin: Is released after eating and promotes glucose and amino acid uptake into the muscle cells. Doing so, it turns glucose to glycogen which is needed for energy production to feed the muscles. 

During exercise, our body begins to synthesize more and more hormones to keep up with the demand of our muscles. Transportation of growth hormone and testosterone both increase, meaning that our liver has to function at a higher rate to clear the blood of the necessary receptors that bind the anabolic hormones to muscle tissue. While this is happening, the body also needs to continue to fuel itself with ATP, which is gathered from the stored glycogen that insulin worked so hard to create from our diet. As we expose our body to this type of stress over and over again, we begin to adapt and store greater amounts of anabolic hormones (in higher concentrations) and our cellular membranes become more sensitive, which causes more interactions with the receptor sites. 

All of this means that as we exercise consistently, our bodies become more effective at using the nutrients we gather from our diet and better at producing energy and power to perform activities. We go from operating like a 1980s van to a brand new Honda Accord, meaning we have some power and can go for a very long time! 

I will wrap up with this final note specifically on testosterone. If you wish to increase your testosterone levels, you need to consistently train for 2+ years. In addition to training consistently, you need to train your largest muscle groups at 85% or greater of your 1 rep max, utilize short rest periods, and have a moderate training volume. This is mainly achievable for men, as women have 15-20 times less testosterone than their male counterparts. This is why it’s so much easier for men to pack on muscle mass than women. 

I hope you found this interesting, and I will happily answer any questions you have on this topic as it can be a lot to digest in an email. 

Enjoy the gains to come, 
Nick and Tom