"Eight Hormones and Exercise"
copyright 2002 by
Greg Landry, M.S.
There are many
physical, mental, and physiological benefits to regular
exercise. One category of benefits is the
impact that exercise has on many of your body's
hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers within
your body that affect almost all aspects of
human function:
- Stimulates
protein synthesis (muscle tone/development), and strength of
bones, tendons, ligaments, andcartilage. |
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- Decreases use of
glucose and increases use of fat as a fuel during
exercise. This helps to reduce body fat and to keep
blood glucose at a normal level which helps you to
exercise for a longer period of time.
Release of growth
hormone from the pituitary gland in the brain is
increased with increasing aerobic exercise time,
especially more intense exercise such as interval training.
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- An endogenous
opioid from the pituitary gland that blocks pain,
decreases appetite, creates a feeling of euphoria (the
exercise high), and reduces tension and anxiety. Blood levels of
endorphins increase up to five times resting levels
during longer duration (greater than 30 minutes) aerobic
exercise at moderate to intense levels and also
during interval training. Also, after several
months of regular exercise, you develop an
increased sensitivity to endorphins (a higher high from
the same level of endorphins), and endorphins that are
produced tend to stay in your blood for a longer
period of time. This makes longer duration exercise
easier (you're feeling no pain) and it causes your
exercise high to last for a longer period of time
after exercise.
- An important
hormone in both males and females for maintaining muscle
tone/volume/strength, increasing basal metabolic
rate (metabolism), decreasing body fat, and feeling
self-confident. It's produced by the ovaries in females
and by the testes in males.
- Females have only
about one tenth the amount of testosterone that
males do, but even at that level in females it also
plays a role in libido and intensity of org*sms.
Production of testosterone in females begins to decline as a
woman begins to approach menopause and in males it begins
to decline in his forties. Blood levels of
testosterone increase with exercise in both males and
females beginning about 20 minutes into an exercise
session, and blood levels may remain elevated for one to
three hours after exercise.
- The most
biologically active estrogen, 17 beta estradiol,
increases fat breakdown from body fat stores so that it can be
used and fuel, increases basal metabolic rate
(metabolism), elevates your mood, and increases libido.
This hormone is at much higher blood levels in
females, but the ovaries begin to produce less of it
as a woman begins to approach menopause.
The amount of 17
beta estradiol secreted by the ovaries increases with
exercise, and blood levels may remain elevated for one to
four hours after exercise.
- A hormone
produced by the thyroid gland, Thyroxine riases the
metabolic rate ("metabolism") of almost all cells in the
body. This increase in "metabolism" helps you to feel
more energetic and also causes you to expend more
calories, and thus is important in weight loss.
Blood levels of
thyroxine increase by about 30% during exercise and
remain elevated for several hours afterward -
this period of time is increased by an increase in
intensity and/or duration of
exercise. Regular
exercise also increase thyroxine levels at rest.
- A hormone
produced primarily by the adrenal medulla that
increases the amount of blood the
heart pumps and
directs blood flow to where it's needed.
- Stimulates
breakdown of glycogen (stored carbohydrate) in
the active muscles and liver to use
as fuel. It also
stimulates the breakdown of fat (in stored fat and in
active muscles) to use as fuel.
The amount of
epinephrine released from the adrenal medulla is
proportional to the intensity and
- An important
hormone in regulating (decreasing) blood levels of
glucose ("blood sugar") and in
directing glucose,
fatty acids (fat), and amino acids (protein)
into the cells. Insulin secretion by
the pancreas is
increased in response to a rise in blood sugar and/or
amino acids (protein) as is often the case after a
meal. Typically, the larger the meal, or the greater the
quantity of simple sugars consumed, the larger the
insulin response. An excessive
insulin response causes fat production within the cells -
thus, insulin is sometimes called the "fat
hormone". Many overweight people's cells develop a
resistance to insulin so that it takes more insulin
to have the same effect. This creates a situation
where blood levels of insulin are higher than
normal. This condition is often
improved by losing
weight and daily aerobic exercise.Blood levels of
insulin begin to decrease about 10 minutes into an
aerobic exercise session and continue to
decrease through about 70 minutes of exercise. Regular
exercise also increases a cell's sensitivity to
insulin at rest.
- A hormone that is
also secreted by the pancreas, but it's job is to
raise blood levels of glucose
("blood sugar").
When blood sugar levels get toolow, glucagon is
secreted and causes stored carbohydrate
(glycogen) in the liver to be released into the blood
stream to raise blood sugar to a
normal level. It
also causes the breakdown of fat so that it can be
used as fuel. Glucagon typically
begins to be secreted beyond 30 minutes of
exercise when blood glucose levels may begin to
decrease. So, next time
you're exercising, think about all the wonderful
things that are happening to your hormones. It might
even make you want to do more exercise!
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