Salivary testosterone and cortisol in Powerlifting: correlation with early clinical symptoms of the overtraining
Subject Areas : Journal of Animal Biology
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Keywords: Cortisol, testosterone, psychological questionnaire, Hormone, overtraining,
Abstract :
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between score obtained from the overtraining questionnaire and the concentrations of salivary testosterone and cortisol in male Powerlifting. Fifty top-level male body-builders (Mean ± SD: age, 22.8 ± 3.8 y; height, 178 ± 6.5 cm; weight, 86.53 ± 10.3 kg; BMI 28.07 ± 2.4 kg/m2 and BF% 9.87 ± 2.67) volunteered to participate in the study. They were informed of the purpose and methods of the study before giving written consent to participate. They were asked to complete the overtraining questionnaire contains 54 question requiring answers of "yes" or "no". Then three saliva samples were taken immediately after getting up (at 8 am, 11 am and 5 pm) during a rest day. The results of data analyses showed a significant negative relation between the questionnaire score and testosterone concentration (p < 0.05, r = - 0.53) but not between the questionnaire score and cortisol concentration (p > 0.05, r = 0.22). Also, we noted a significant negative correlation between the testosterone/cortisol ratio and the questionnaire score (p < 0.05, r = - 0.52).
The results showed that the questionnaire may be a useful tool for monitoring and preventing overtraining syndrome. Therefore, the best way to use this tool would be to carry out extensive follow up of an athlete during a sporting season, in order to compare various states of progressive tiredness with a baseline determined before the start of the season.
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