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Younger men’s workouts resemble a crescendo, with testosterone peaking post-exercise, while older men’s responses are more subdued, like a steady rhythm. Descriptively, the hormonal response to leg training is a symphony of factors, with age and gender as the conductors. For older adults, supplementing training with protein intake (1.2–1.6g/kg body weight daily) can mitigate muscle loss and improve hormonal outcomes.
Therefore, the testosterone spikes last only a few hours after your workout. All these factors work in synergy to make your muscles bigger and stronger. Therefore, there is not a significant spike in testosterone after implementing them. This increase in lactic acid causes a release of cortisol (also known as glucocorticoids) into your bloodstream.
For postnatal effects in both males and females, these are mostly dependent on the levels and duration of circulating free testosterone. Since testosterone levels decrease as men age, testosterone is sometimes used in older men to counteract this deficiency. Insufficient levels of testosterone in men may lead to abnormalities including frailty, accumulation of adipose fat tissue within the body, anxiety and depression, sexual performance issues, and bone loss. Middle-aged adults (ages 35–50) benefit from hybrid routines combining strength and endurance training to sustain hormonal health. Persuasively, age-specific programming is critical for leveraging leg workouts to influence testosterone.
Overtraining, a common pitfall among athletes, leads to chronic fatigue, decreased performance, and a suppression of testosterone production. Finally, consistency is key—regularly challenging the leg muscles with high-intensity stimuli over time will yield more significant and lasting hormonal adaptations. For older adults or beginners, starting with bodyweight exercises like lunges or step-ups can build a foundation before progressing to heavier loads. Unlike traditional steady-state cardio, which may suppress testosterone in some cases, HIIT promotes a brief but significant spike in hormone levels. However, avoid overtraining by limiting such high-intensity sessions to 2-3 times per week, allowing adequate recovery for muscle repair and hormone regulation. This highlights the importance of incorporating compound leg movements into training regimens for those seeking hormonal benefits. Practical application involves tailoring volume, intensity, and exercise selection to individual goals, age, and training experience.
Interestingly, women showed similar, or even greater (LPD, Sex×Time) relative strength gain. Circulating testosterone in adults explains most sex differences in strength performance (17). As mentioned, some argue that elevations in GH can be a cause for greater muscle protein synthesis and strength adaptations (15, 29, 36), while some argue it does not (43–45). The inclusion of both sexes increases within-group variance and decreases (females) absolute changes in hormonal measurements on a group level. Descriptive statistics of hormones measured before, during and after a standardized exercise session. Descriptive statistics for hormonal responses are depicted in Table 3. Delta values for hormonal response during workout are depicted in Figure 3.

Gender: Female