Anabolic/catabolic hormone imbalance but still jumping further? : negative association of free testosterone with jumping performance in elite handball players following a preparatory period

Drole, Kristina (author), Pori, Primož (author), Jerin, Aleš (author), Kren, Aljaž (author), Paravlić, Armin (author)

Purpose: The present study investigated the effects of a 10-week preparatory training period on biomarkers and jumping performance and associations of changes in biomarkers, load, and jumping performance from the beginning (PRE) to the end of the preparatory period (POST) in elite handball players. Methods: Seventeen elite handball players competing in the first Slovenian men’s League were recruited. Training, competition and academic loads were reported weekly, while biomarkers and jumping performance were assessed at PRE and POST. Results: At POST, decreased levels of free testosterone (large effect size [ES] = -1.69, p < .001) and free testosterone to cortisol ratio [FTCR] (large ES = −.95, p = .004) were observed; whereas, better performance on the single leg lateral hop test [SLLH] (large ES = .85, p = .007) and single leg triple hop test [SLTH] (large ES = 1.05, p = .002) were observed compared to PRE. Furthermore, changes in FTCR correlated with changes in cortisol (high r = -.751, p = .001), SLLH (moderate r = -.603, p = .022), and SLTH (moderate r = -.643, p = .013), while changes in free testosterone correlated with SLTH (moderate r = -.645, p = .013). Conclusions: High intensity trainings with a saturated competition schedule can result in disturbed anabolic/catabolic hormone ratio observed through FTCR decrease, which could indicate either an optimal state or early exhaustiveness. It seems that SLLH and SLTH are more sensitive to changes in biomarkers than a single leg hop test. Sport professionals may use the results for individualized monitoring of an athlete’s health and performance, specifically, as an aid for adjusting training loads accordingly to prevent performance declines and potential injury/illness events.

• Language: English
• Keywords: sport, handball, athlete, biomarkers, free testosterone to cortisol ratio, single leg hop test
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FŠ - Faculty of Sport
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: Str. 938–944
• Numbering: Vol. 95, no. 4
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-165197
• UDC: 796.322
• ISSN on article: 2168-3824
• DOI: 10.1080/02701367.2024.2353715
• COBISS.SI-ID: 200316419
• Publication date in RUL: 26.11.2024

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Research quarterly for exercise and sport
• Shortened title: Res. q. exerc. sport
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis, Society of Health and Physical Educators
• ISSN: 2168-3824
• COBISS.SI-ID: 521032729

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: šport, rokomet, športniki, biomarkerji, prosto razmerje med testosteronom in kortizolom, test skoka z eno nogo

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Funding programme: Young researchers
• Project number: 393/2020

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P5-0147
• Name: Kineziologija monostrukturnih, polistrukturnih in konvencionalnih športov