This study aims to review the results found in the literature concerning a variety of factors related to the acute and chronic hormonal response to strength training. It has been observed that there is a close relationship between the trainability of individuals submitted to strength training and the circulating testosterone levels in these subjects. Moreover, other hormonal parameters, such as the ratios between testosterone and its binding protein and between testosterone and cortisol, were also related to the ability to increase strength. Besides the characteristics of the population investigated, several factors associated with the training session affect the acute and chronic hormonal response to training. Among them, volume and intensity are the main variables associated with the magnitude of this response. Determining which factors might be closely related to the hormonal response to strength training may be important to establish a training session and a periodization that optimize the anabolic environment determined by the testosterone and cortisol concentrations, and thus enhance the neuromuscular adaptations resulting from this type of training.
physical training; acute hormonal response; endocrine adaptations
