The Study
Effects of Dominance and Sprint Interval Exercise on Testosterone and Cortisol Levels in Strength-, Endurance-, and Non-Training Men
This study is like taking a snapshot of different groups of people at one moment. It compares people who do endurance training, strength training, or no training, and measures their hormones and heart rate after a short exercise. Because it's only one time and not a long-term study, we can see if different groups have different results, but we can't say that the training caused those differences. It's like noticing that tall people tend to have bigger feet, but we can't say that being tall causes big feet.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Scientists wanted to see if a quick sprint workout changes testosterone and cortisol (stress hormones) in men who exercise differently (endurance, strength, or not much). They had 96 men do 5 super-fast 10-second bike sprints with short breaks. They checked hormones before and after, and measured heart rate and how hard it felt.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1This means that a short session of 5 ten-second sprints is not intense or long enough to cause big hormonal changes, even in fit people.
- 2It might be good for beginners but not enough to trigger a strong stress response.
- 3Hormones (testosterone and cortisol) did not change after the sprints in any group.
- 4But people who train regularly had lower heart rates during the sprints than those who don't train.
- 5Also, people who said they were more dominant had lower heart rates.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Biology
Year
2022
Authors
Grzegorz Żurek, N. Danek, A. Żurek, Judyta Nowak-Kornicka, Agnieszka Żelaźniewicz, Sylwester Orzechowski, Tadeusz Stefaniak, Magdalena Nawrat, M. Kowal
Related Content
Claims (5)
A quick, very hard workout (5 bursts of 10-second sprints with short rests) does not change the amount of testosterone or cortisol in your saliva, whether you are fit or not. So this type of short exercise is not enough to trigger a stress hormone response.
Men who regularly exercise (like running for endurance or lifting weights for strength) have a lower average heart rate during a very intense short workout (five 10-second all-out sprints with 50-second rests) compared to men who don't exercise. This shows their hearts are better at handling intense exercise.
Healthy men who don't exercise regularly get a bigger spike in a stress hormone (cortisol) after a short burst of intense exercise than men who lift weights regularly. Men who are endurance athletes (like runners) are in between—their spike isn't clearly different from either of the other groups.
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.
Doing a short, very fast sprint raises the levels of two important hormones: testosterone and growth hormone. This effect happens right after the sprint.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.