Human Growth Hormone and Exercise

Human growth hormone is generated in the pituitary gland. It helps us grow, and also maintains our organ and tissue function. As we grow older, the amount of HGH generated declines drastically, leading to some of the effects that we associate with aging, including weight gain, high cholesterol, reduced energy and sexual drive, loss of focus and memory, and decreased muscle mass. However, according to a 2003 article from Brunel University, it is common knowledge among experts that exercise can help increase the level of HGH that the brain produces. This is called the exercise-induced growth hormone response, or EIGR. In an abstract of their article, the authors claim, "In a great many cases, the impact of some of the deleterious effects of ageing [sic] could be reduced if exercise focused on promoting the EIGR." In other words, if you carry out a regular exercise program with the goal of raising your HGH levels, you may experience fewer of the adverse effects of growing older.

How the EIGR Works

Experts still are not sure exactly how exercise can lead to increased HGH levels. One theory is that it causes changes in the balance of acids and bases in your body. For example, a study conducted in 1994 at Pennsylvania State University concluded that "an increase in blood hydrogen ion concentration may be partly responsible for the hGH response to acute high-intensity anaerobic exercise." When you exercise, more hydrogen ions are concentrated in your blood, shifting the balance of your body from basic to acidic. In response, your glands put out a higher level of HGH in order to help maintain and repair cells, tissues, organs and muscles for up to thirty minutes after you finish your workout.

Another theory is that neural input can exert control over the amount of HGH that your body produces. One expert claims that this is tied to the shift in blood pH levels (acidity versus baseness). He argues that as we increase the intensity of our workout, we use less oxygen to help us produce energy. In response to this change, we require shifts in the systems that we use to generate the energy that helps us move, and these differences not only change the acidity of our blood, but also require more neural input between our muscles and our brains. A 1996 study from the American Physiological Society supports the idea that neural input is one of the controls on how much HGH can be released.

One study from the University of Louisiana in 1970 also claims that "catecholamines may effect growth hormone secretory centers." Catecholamines, as one medical website explains, are hormones secreted by the body's adrenal glands. The most common catecholamines are epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine. When we are under stress, either emotional or physical (such as intense exercise), the body releases these hormones, and they may stimulate HGH secretion. There was another study from the University of Virginia in 2000, however, that simply concludes that if you have a more intensive workout, during the time in which you exercise your adrenal glands will release more catecholamines, and afterwards your body will burn more fat � and also that "the increase in fat expenditure during recovery with higher exercise intensities is related to GH [growth hormone] release." In other words, intense exercise can lead to both more catecholamines and more HGH being secreted by the body, but it is not yet known exactly how closely the two are connected.

Fourth, an expert cites another study to say "when hard work is performed without lactate production, there is no EIGR." A different source clarifies the issue: when we are in the middle of an intense workout, our muscles will produce lactic acid, which in turn breaks down into hydrogen and lactate ions. This again shifts our blood pH toward acidity, causing fatigue in muscles and making it hard to maintain an intense level of exercise. There is evidence that lactate in the blood causes the release of HGH in order to counter its effects, based on a 2009 study from Brunel University that concludes, "lactate could play a major role in the EIGR in humans."

Finally, there is the production of nitric oxide, which one expert explains is a type of gas produced within the human body from the breakdown of arginine, an amino acid that can naturally increase HGH levels. It seems possible, he argues, that when you increase the level of nitric oxide in your body, you likewise have the potential to increase your levels of HGH, based on the presence of arginine in your blood. Nitric oxide opens up blood vessels and increases blood flow to muscle cells during and after exercise, according to another authority, helping them repair and regenerate after the stress of an intense workout. The authors of a 2003 study claim that nitric oxide is one of the most probable candidates for driving the EIGR.

There is still more for us to learn about how exercise can help increase our HGH levels and influence our general health. However, what we already know about the EIGR nevertheless shows the importance of regular and intense workouts to keep us feeling healthy, young and energetic.

HGH Supplements