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Endocrine responses to low‐load blood flow restricted and high‐load resistance exercise in well‐trained males
Eserhaut, Drake DeLeo, Joseph Provost, Jessica Fry, Andrew
Eserhaut, Drake
DeLeo, Joseph
Provost, Jessica
Fry, Andrew
Abstract
The present study compared acute testosterone (T), cortisol (C), epinephrine (EPI), norepinephrine (NE), and 22 kDa growth hormone (GH-22 kDa) responses following low-load resistance exercise with blood flow restriction (LL-BFR) and traditional high-load resistance exercise (HL-RE). Twelve resistance-trained men performed bouts of LL-BFR (30%1RM) and HL-RE (70%1RM), each consisting of four sets of bilateral seated leg extensions taken to momentary task failure with 60 s rest periods. A randomized crossover design was used with time of day matched within-subjects. Upon arrival between 1200 and 1800, 24 h dietary recalls were performed with post-exercise blood samples obtained within 60 s (IP) and 5 min post-exercise (+5 min) via intravenous cannulation. Greater total repetitions (d = 2.37, p < 0.001) and less volume-load (d = 2.86, p < 0.001) were performed during LL-BFR. No Condition × Time interaction effects were found for any hormonal analyte measured (p > 0.05). Both LL-BFR and HL-RE elevate the potent β2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR) agonist EPI (IP: 1.29 ± 0.44 and 1.35 ± 0.60 nmol·L−1, respectively), and the androgenic steroid T (+5 min: 27.4 ± 12.9 and 29.0 ± 14.3 nmol·L−1, respectively). Thus, acute skeletal muscle β2AR phosphorylation may be comparable between conditions. When lower resistance exercise intensities (e.g., 30% 1RM) are desired, athletes may perform LL-BFR in place of HL-RE and experience no statistical difference in acute endocrine responses.
Description
A grant from the One-University Open Access Fund at the University of Kansas was used to defray the author's publication fees in this Open Access journal. The Open Access Fund, administered by librarians from the KU, KU Law, and KUMC libraries, is made possible by contributions from the offices of KU Provost, KU Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Studies, and KUMC Vice Chancellor for Research. For more information about the Open Access Fund, please see http://library.kumc.edu/authors-fund.xml.
Date
2025-7-9
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Wiley
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Keywords
catecholamines, cortisol, growth hormone, testosterone, vascular occlusion
Citation
Eserhaut, D. A., DeLeo, J. M., Provost, J. A., & Fry, A. C. (2025). Endocrine responses to low-load blood flow restricted and high-load resistance exercise in well-trained males. Physiological Reports, 13, e70455. https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.70455