The Claim

In healthy young men, higher self-reported dominance is associated with lower mean heart rate during a single sprint interval exercise session (5 × 10-s all-out with 50-s recovery), but dominance is not associated with changes in testosterone or cortisol in response to the exercise.

Source: Effects of Dominance and Sprint Interval Exercise on Testosterone and Cortisol Levels in Strength-, Endurance-, and Non-Training Men

What the research says

Supports is higher

Support is ahead, but a single strong opposing study can change this.

Supports
44score
Challenges
0score

These are independent scores, not a percentage. Higher-grade studies count more, so a single strong opposing study can outweigh several weaker ones.

Correlation
1 study reviewed
In plain English

In healthy young men, those who say they are more dominant tend to have a lower average heart rate during a specific type of high-intensity interval workout, but being more dominant does not change the levels of two stress-related hormones (testosterone and cortisol) during that workout.

See the scientific wording

In healthy young men, higher self-reported dominance is associated with lower mean heart rate during a single sprint interval exercise session (5 × 10-s all-out with 50-s recovery), but dominance is not associated with changes in testosterone or cortisol in response to the exercise.

Why this might work

When a person feels more dominant, they feel more confident and less threatened during intense exercise. This calms the body's alarm system, so the heart doesn't beat as fast. Meanwhile, the levels of stress hormones like cortisol and testosterone stay the same because the body's hormone-producing glands are not affected by dominance.

Hypothetical mechanismbased on 1 study

What the research says

1 study
  1. Study: Effects of Dominance and Sprint Interval Exercise on Testosterone and Cortisol Levels in Strength-, Endurance-, and Non-Training Men

    Men who think they are more dominant had lower heart rates during the sprints, and their testosterone and cortisol levels didn't change based on dominance, which matches the claim.

Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 1 supporting studies

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