Growth Hormone, Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1, Testosterone and Cortisol Responses to a Single Bout of Agility Ladder Exercise (ALE) in Water Polo Athletes: A Randomized Controlled Field Trial

Agility ladder exercise (ALE) is a very diverse and popular activity for athletes in different disciplines. In the water polo field, ALE is used to observe the variation principle of training in non-specialized sessions and off-season sessions and for athletes with upper extremity injuries who cannot be in the pool. The present study, for the first time, investigated the acute response of growth hormones (GH), testosterone, insulin-like growth factor1 (IGF)-1, cortisol, and testosterone/cortisol (T/C) ratio following an ALE session in male water polo athletes. Using a randomized, double-blind controlled field trial, thirty male water polo athletes were divided into control ( n = 15) and exercise ( n = 15) groups. The exercise group performed ALE after warm-up and after that performed cool-down, while the control group just performed warm-up and cool down. Blood samples were taken 2 h before the ALE session, as well as immediately, 24, and 48 h after the ALE. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), and p ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. The results showed that serum concentrations of GH ( p = 0.001), IGF-I ( p = 0.001), testosterone ( p = 0.001), cortisol ( p = 0.001), and T/C ratio ( p = 0.02) significantly increased immediately after ALE. All changes returned to baseline within 24 h after exercise. In conclusion, anabolic hormones (GH, IGF1, and testosterone) in athletes responded appropriately to ALE. Although there was an increase in cortisol, it was low compared to the increase in testosterone. Therefore, a single session of ALE seems to have a positive physiological response in water polo athletes.