The effect of 12 weeks of whole body resistance training (TRX) on testosterone and cortisol serum levels in elderly men

Changes in anabolic and catabolic hormones are associated with increasing age in old age. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of 12 weeks of TRX training on testosterone and cortisol serum levels in elderly men.

In this quasi-experimental study, 16 elderly men with age range of (62.06±1.53) years were selected as a sample and randomly selected in two training groups: TRX and control. There were 8 participants in each group. The experimental group trained in a TRX training program for 12 weeks and 3 sessions per week for 60 minutes. Blood samples were taken 48 hours before and after the intervention to measure serum testosterone and cortisol. Statistical analysis was performed on the surface P<0.05.

The results of paired t-test showed that there was a significant difference between pre-test and post-test in testosterone levels (P=0.01, t=-0.49) in TRX group. Also, the results of analysis of covariance showed that the amount of testosterone in the TRX group increased compared to the control group, but the changes were not significant (P=0.06, F=4.07). Also, no significant change in blood cortisol levels was observed between the two groups (P= 0.20, F=1.77).

It seems that resistance training with body weight can be effective in the increasing the anabolic hormone testosterone in the elderly and reduce the level of the catabolic hormone cortisol, also. Therefore, TRX training is recommended as a suitable training method to increase testosterone levels in the elderly.