Relationships Between Serum Testosterone, Cortisol, and Weightlifting Performance

Elite and nonelite junior weightlifters (nonelite: n = 14, X ± SE, age = 17.2 ± 0.4 years; elite: n = 8, age = 18.4 ± 0.4 years) performed identical training programs for 4 weeks. Pre-and postexercise serum samples were collected before and after 1 week of high-volume training and after 3 weeks of normal-volume training. The percent change (%D) in preexercise testosterone/cortisol exhibited different correlations (p <0.05), with %D weightlifting performance for each training phase and each group (high volume nonelite: r =-0.70; high volume elite: r = 0.00; normal volume nonelite: r = 0.51; normal volume elite: r = 0.92). Correlations for %D testosterone or cortisol and weightlifting performance exhibited no discernible pattern. These data indicate that preexercise testosterone/cortisol of these weightlifters reflect the short-term training volumes and is correlated to changes in competitive weightlifting performances. Furthermore, based on hormonal profiles and weightlifting performances, elite weightlifters appeared to better tolerate high-volume training than nonelite weightlifters.