When men who lift weights start training, doing more reps with lighter weights causes a bigger short-term boost in certain hormones compared to lifting heavy weights for fewer reps. But this hormone...

If you're a guy who lifts weights, doing more reps with lighter weights (which spikes your hormones more) doesn't build more muscle or strength over 8 weeks than lifting heavier weights with fewer reps—even though the hormone changes look different.

When young men lift weights, their hormone levels spike right after, but those spikes don’t tell us who’s going to get stronger or bigger — some people grow a lot even with small hormone changes, so something else must be behind why people respond differently.

In guys who lift weights regularly, doing more reps with lighter weights and short breaks gives a bigger boost in growth hormone early on (by week 3) than doing fewer reps with heavier weights and longer breaks—but by week 10, that difference goes away.

Even if you lift heavy or light weights for 12 weeks, your body’s short-term hormone spike after each workout doesn’t change—and that means those hormone surges probably aren’t why your muscles get bigger or stronger over time.

When young men do intense leg workouts, their body releases more lactate and cortisol—stress and energy chemicals—but that doesn’t mean they’ll grow bigger muscles or get stronger faster than if those chemicals stayed low.