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60 Capsules -
Optimum Presents: |
"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:
1. Growth
Hormone
- Stimulates
protein synthesis (muscle tone/development),
and strength of
bones, tendons, ligaments, and
cartilage.
- 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.
To receive an article on interval
training, send
email to:
<a href="
mailto:Intervals@Landry.com ">Intervals</a>
2. Endorphins
- 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.
3. Testosterone
- 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.
4. Estrogen
- 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.
5. Thyroxine
(T4)
- 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.
6. Epinephrine
- 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
duration of
exercise.
7. Insulin
(adrenaline)
- 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.
8. Glucagon
- 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 too
low, 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!
Author and exercise
physiologist,
Greg Landry,
offers
a FREE newsletter,
"Healthy Weight Loss for Women",
and weight loss
success stories at his site...
copyright 2002 by
Greg Landry,
M.S.
All Rights Reserved
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