Hormonal response to carbohydrate supplementation at rest and after resistance exercise

This investigation examined the anabolic-hormone response to carbohydrate (CHO) supplementation at rest and after resistance exercise. Nine recreationally trained men randomly underwent 4 testing conditions: rest with placebo (RPL), rest with CHO (RCHO), resistance exercise with placebo (EPL), and resistance exercise with CHO (ECHO). The resistance-exercise protocol was four sets of Smith machine squats with a 10-repetition-maximum load, with 90-s rests between sets. Participants then consumed either a placebo or CHO (24% CHO, 1.5 g/kg) drink. Blood was taken before exercise (Pre), immediately after testing (Post), and then 15 (15P), 30 (30P), and 60 (60P) min after drink ingestion. Blood was analyzed for cortisol, glucose, insulin, and total testosterone (TTST). Cortisol did not change significantly in any condition. Glucose concentrations increased significantly from Pre to 15P and 30P during RCHO and Pre to 15P, 30P, and 60P in ECHO (p ≤ .05). Insulin concentrations increased significantly from Pre to 15P, 30P, and 60P in the RCHO and ECHO conditions (p <, .05). There were no significant changes in TTST concentrations during RPL or RCHO. Both EPL and ECHO demonstrated a significant elevation in TTST concentrations from Pre to Post (p ≤ .05). During ECHO, TTST concentrations at 60P were significantly lower than Pre levels (p ≤ .05), but there were no significant treatment differences in TTST concentrations at any time point during the EPL and ECHO conditions. Ingesting CHO after resistance exercise resulted in decreased TTST concentrations during recovery, although the mechanism is unclear.