Research shows long cardio better than weight training for GH release

JRT6

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I'm still dissecting this but this is a topic worth debating:

http://www.ergo-log.com/lengthy-car...cretion-more-than-strength-training-does.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24576855

30.05.2014

Lengthy cardio training stimulates growth hormone secretion more than strength training does

Lengthy cardio training stimulates growth hormone secretion more than strength training does
The results of a human study that researchers at the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine will soon publish in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise fly in the face of the message found in nearly all popular articles on exercise, health and hormones. But because we know that our readers weren't born yesterday, we've written about it. According to the researchers, two hours of cardio training boosts your body's growth hormone secretion more than doing one or two hours of strength training.

Ways of optimising your endogenous production of growth hormone are of particular interest to life extenders because growth hormone helps to restore muscle fibre, bone, cartilage and skin. But growth hormone is also of interest to people who want to lose fat. Growth hormone pulses stimulate muscle cells to burn fat.

Intensive exercise stimulates the secretion of growth hormone, according to many studies. But most of these only measure growth hormone secretion during the first few hours after an exercise session. No studies had ever been done that measured the effect over a 24-hour period, and that compared the effect of different kinds of exercise. So these researchers decided to fill this gap.

The researchers got eight male recreational athletes who were in their twenties to do on different occasions: a) nothing [Control], b) an hour of strength training using weights with which they could manage 5-10 reps [Moderate strength training], c) two hours of strength training [Long strength training], d) an hour of cycling at 70 percent of VO2max [Moderate aerobic training] or e) two hours of cycling [Long aerobic training].



The strength training session consisted of squats, bench presses, leg presses and lat pull-downs; the cardio training consisted of 15-min sessions with a couple of minutes rest in between.



The figure below shows that over a period of 20 hours both the Moderate strength training and the Moderate aerobic training boosted the amount of growth hormone in the blood compared with doing nothing. But the increase in these cases was not statistically significant. The increase in the amount of growth hormone in the blood after the Long aerobic training was significant.
Lengthy cardio training stimulates growth hormone secretion more than strength training does

Lengthy cardio training stimulates growth hormone secretion more than strength training does

The figures above show the amount of growth hormone in the blood of one of the participants. LA = Long aerobic training; MA = Moderate strength training.

The researchers are aware that textbooks and the popular media usually say that it's strength training that boosts growth hormone secretion and that their study showed unexpected results.



"We believe that the underlying cause may be due to the greater energy expenditure achieved during aerobic exercise and a greater demand for post-exercise fat mobilization", the researchers write. "The physiological significance of GH pulsatile secretion and its important metabolic role with regard to fuel provision are further reinforced by the recent findings of Surya et al. [J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Aug;94(8):2828-34.] who reported that only pulsatile, not continuous, delivery of GH stimulates lipolysis in humans."



Source:
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2014 Feb 26. [Epub ahead of print].


More:
Squat produces more growth hormone and testosterone than leg press 09.01.2014
Animal study: eleven hundred percent more testosterone and three hundred percent more growth hormone with Rubus coreanus 16.09.2013
Extra high growth hormone peak with clever interval training 26.03.2013
Plant-based growth hormone booster: sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't 30.03.2012
Higher growth hormone peak makes hypoxia-gym training more effective 29.03.2012
600 mg glyceryl-phosphoryl-choline = more post-training growth hormone 05.01.2012
Handful of ornithine caps before strength training boosts GH level 23.08.2011
Fenugreek boosts growth hormone emission too 11.08.2011
Drinking fluid during cardio raises your growth hormone level 11.02.2011
GABA quadruples post-training GH production 09.06.2010
Only pure protein causes GH peak 26.05.2010
Protein breakfast is an anabolic breakfast 25.05.2010
Reach your GH peak two hours after eating gelatine pudding 08.05.2010
Melatonin before cardio raises growth hormone release 29.05.2009
Meditate for less cortisol, more testosterone and growth hormone after training 09.03.2009
 
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Not surprised with aerobic training being better than resistance at increasing gh response. Blood lactate seems to play a role in increasing exercise induced growth hormone. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18184755

On a side note, the benefits of hormonal changes from exercise are overblown.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3371329/
"We found no association between the acute response of any hormone and increase in leg press strength. There was no association between GH or testosterone and the increase in LBM, whereas GH and cortisol were correlated to increases in type II area and explained ~8% and 12% of the variance in this outcome."
 
Too much sciencey stuff for me. Just tell me what to do to get jacked, bro.
 
Sure. Just check out the jacked physiques of distance runners..
 
Doesnt matter for muscle growth, just because its measurable doesnt mean its noticable.

Point beeing is that GH levels, or Test levels for that sake, will vary but never exceed normal ranges. So as long as it is not superficial levels, gains will not be any different. And it will never surpass and go over the normal range without adding inn outside artificial hormones, also called "teh juice".

So to sum it up, your hormone levels vary throughout the day, but never above or below normal ranges if you are not juicing or have a deficiancy disease. So chill out, dont do marathons and expect to get gains. Same with the myth of squats and hormones...
 
Another one of those misreported/misunderstood sports science studies that make the turns in forums and online media but are entirely useless for anyone who is not a physiology scientist.
 
Good news for those who have 2-3 hour long MMA sessions. Not that it matters much anyways.
 
Point beeing is that GH levels, or Test levels for that sake, will vary but never exceed normal ranges. So as long as it is not superficial levels, gains will not be any different. And it will never surpass and go over the normal range without adding inn outside artificial hormones, also called "teh juice".

I am not sure I'm understanding your post correctly.

Are you are saying that if your numbers are within the "normal" range (I assume by "superficial" you mean supra-physiological) the it doesn't matter what exactly they are?
 
Growth hormone is a lipolytic stress hormone, so that makes sense. You need to liberate fatty acids for prolonged endurance sessions, not strength training.

That said, the effects of GH are routinely overblown and it's actions are routinely misinterpreted by people in the fitness community. Just ignore it and move on.
 
I am not sure I'm understanding your post correctly.

Are you are saying that if your numbers are within the "normal" range (I assume by "superficial" you mean supra-physiological) the it doesn't matter what exactly they are?

Sorry, yes, thats the word im looking for. My medical english is rather rubbish so to speak.

Anyhow, for muscle gains, that is what im saying. As long as your hormones are within "normal" it has little to no implication for muscle gains. When you go below or above it will on the other hand.

Effects will occur if you have less or (far) more than the normal range of variation. Meaning suppliments like "testoboosters" have zero effect on muscle gains, as they have no means of raising the levels past your normal range, and therefore useless other than it parhaps makes you feel better by placebo or other stuff they put inn it.
 
Here is also a video of Layne Norton about hormones and "myths" regarding it.


 
Here is also a video of Layne Norton about hormones and "myths" regarding it.




Lol.

I've already seen that video (your original post actually reminded me it, that's why I asked). What he says about variation within the physiological limits having no effect is unfounded and actually is contradicted by the majority of the existing evidence. Not only that, but the very study he refers to directly contradicts his claims (both muscle volume and strength showed a pretty linear correlation to T levels across the board): http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/ajpendo/281/6/E1172.full.pdf

TL;DR: Total T levels are not necessarily the only significant factor (it's clear that they aren't), but suggesting that a 25 yo male having 400 or 900 total T can make no difference in muscle gain is unsupported by existing evidence (and imo entirely unreasonable).
 
I wish Layne Norton would just stop talking sometimes. Every time he tries to be profound he just ends up being wrong.

From what I can gather he is a great coach though. Book knowledge and practical, applicable, knowledge can be mutually exclusive - he should just embrace what he's actually good at (the former), and take pride in that.
 
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