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The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2012 April;52(2):221-7

Copyright © 2012 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Relationships between salivary free testosterone and the expression of force and power in elite athletes

Crewther B. T. ¹,Kilduff L. P. ², Cook C. J. ^{1, 3, 4}, Cunningham D. J. ², Bunce P. ⁵, Bracken R. M. ², Gaviglio C. M. ⁶ ✉

¹ Hamlyn Centre, Imperial College, London, UK; ² Health and Sport Portfolio, College of Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, UK; ³ United Kingdom Sport Council, London, UK; ⁴ Sport, Health and Exercise Science, Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK; ⁵ Bath Rugby, UK; ⁶ Gold Coast SUNS - AFL Franchise Gold Coast, Australia; School of Human Movement Studies, University of, Queensland, Australia

AIM: This study examined the predictive relationships between the salivary free testosterone (T) concentrations of elite athletes and the expression of force and power.
METHODS: A group of elite male rugby players (N.=64) were assessed for peak force (PF), peak rate of force development (PRFD), force at 100 milliseconds (F100 ms) and 250 milliseconds (F250 ms) during an isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP), and/or peak power (PP) and height during a countermovement jump (CMJ). Saliva samples were collected before testing and assayed for free T. Relationships between individual T concentrations and performance were assessed as a pooled group and 4 sub-groups of equal size.
RESULTS: As pooled data sets, none of the IMTP and CMJ performance variables were significantly correlated with free T in either the PF or PP groups (r=0.01-0.23). The PF and PP abilities of the 4 sub-groups were significantly different, so that PF1>PF2>PF3>PF4 (P<0.001) and PP1>PP2>PP3>PP4 (P<0.01). When the 4 sub-groups were analysed, the T concentrations of the PF4 group were significantly (P<0.05-0.01) correlated to PRFD (r=0.69) and F100 ms (r=0.55) during the IMTP, as was F100 ms in the PF1 group (r=0.66). In the PP1 group, free T also correlated to CMJ height (r=0.62).
CONCLUSION: The key conclusion is that the expression of force and power in an elite athletic group may be dependent, to some extent, on individual variation in salivary free T concentrations and existing strength or power levels. The current results also confirm that the grouping of elite athletes of mixed strength or power ability may bias predictive results in a manner not reflective of sub-groups within this population.