EFFECT OF HYDRATION STATE ON RESISTANCE EXERCISE-INDUCED ENDOCRINE MARKERS OF ANABOLISM, CATABOLISM, AND METABOLISM.
J Appl Physiol. 2008 Jul 10. [Epub ahead of print]

Hypohydration (decreased total body water) exacerbates the catabolic hormonal response to endurance exercise with unclear effects on anabolic hormones. Limited research exists that evaluates the effect of hypohydration on endocrine responses to resistance exercise; this work merits attention as the acute post-exercise hormonal environment potently modulates resistance training adaptations. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of hydration state on the endocrine and metabolic responses to resistance exercise.

Seven healthy resistance-trained males (age = 23 +/- 4 y, body mass = 87.8 +/- 6.8 kg, body fat = 11.5 +/- 5.2%) completed three identical resistance exercise bouts in different hydration states: euhydrated (EU), hypohydrated by ~2.5% body mass (HY25), and hypohydrated by ~5.0% body mass (HY50). Investigators manipulated hydration status via controlled water deprivation and exercise-heat stress. Cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, testosterone, growth hormone, IGF-1, insulin, glucose, lactate, glycerol, and free fatty acids were measured during euhydrated rest, immediately preceding resistance exercise, immediately post-exercise, and during 60 minutes of recovery.

Body mass decreased 0.2 +/- 0.4%, 2.4 +/- 0.4%, and 4.8 +/- 0.4% during EU, HY25, and HY50, respectively, supported by humoral and urinary changes that clearly indicated subjects achieved three distinct hydration states.

Hypohydration significantly 1) increased circulating concentrations of cortisol and norepinephrine, 2) attenuated the testosterone response to exercise, and 3) altered carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.

These results suggest that hypohydration can modify the hormonal and metabolic response to resistance exercise, influencing the post-exercise circulatory milieu.