GLOSSARY

Exercise Hormonal Response comprises hormonal changes associated with exercise.

Exercise mode, intensity, duration, recruited muscle, training history and prior food influence hormonal responses. Acute changes differ from baseline adaptations after training. Higher concentration does not necessarily mean greater secretion or tissue effect, because clearance, plasma volume and receptors also matter. Performance develops through combined adaptations, so targeting a hormone peak is not sufficient for session design or supplement selection; actual recovery and performance must remain part of evaluation.

Growth hormone is pulsatile and varies with sleep, food and activity; IGF-1 and its binding proteins add further layers. A brief rise in supposedly anabolic hormones after a session does not determine future muscle growth. Normal hormonal roles are not equivalent to prescribed or pharmacological exposure. For athletes, training progress, adequate intake and recovery provide more practical information than pursuing a hormone peak or interpreting one acute endocrine response as hypertrophy.