Hormonal responses to consecutive days of heavy-resistance exercise with or without nutritional supplementation.

Nine resistance-trained men consumed either a protein-carbohydrate supplement or placebo for 1 wk in a crossover design separated by 7 days. The last 3 days of each treatment, subjects performed resistance exercise. The supplement was consumed 2 h before and immediately after the workout, and blood was obtained before and after exercise (0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 min postexercise). Lactate, growth hormone, and testosterone were significantly (P </= 0.05) elevated immediately postexercise. The lactate response was significantly lower during supplementation on days 2 and 3. Growth hormone and prolactin responses on day 1 were significantly higher during supplementation. After exercise, testosterone declined below resting values during supplementation. Cortisol decreased immediately postexercise on day 1; the response was diminished on days 2 and 3. Glucose and insulin were significantly elevated by 30 min during supplementation and remained stable during placebo. Insulin-like growth factor-I was higher during supplementation on days 2 and 3. These data indicate that protein-carbohydrate supplementation before and after training can alter the metabolic and hormonal responses to consecutive days of heavy-resistance exercise.