4 Ways to Boost
Testosterone
Provided
by American
Council on Exercise
Anabolic
steroids are usually associated with illegal performance-enhancing drugs that
athletes take when trying to get an edge on the competition, but the truth is
that we all have anabolic steroids in our bodies. In fact, anabolic steroids
such as testosterone, which is naturally produced by the body, are essential
for building muscle and increasing strength. Read on to learn seven things
about testosterone and how you can use exercise to increase your body’s ability
to produce it.
1. Anabolic refers to a hormone the
body produces that promotes growth (by contrast, catabolic hormones are those that
break down a substance into smaller components). A steroid hormone interacts
with receptors in the nucleus of a cell, while a peptide hormone works with
receptors on a cell membrane. Testosterone is an anabolic steroid the body
produces that, in addition to other functions, promotes muscle growth by
interacting with receptors in the nuclei of muscle cells to help repair muscle
proteins damaged during exercise.
2. Testosterone is also an androgen
that promotes sexual development in men. Testosterone is produced primarily in the Leydig cells of the male testes. Women can produce
testosterone in the ovaries and adrenal glands; however, they produce much less
than men, which means the fear of developing “bulky
muscles” from two strength-training workouts per week are unfounded and
scientifically impossible. The synthetic testosterone taken by those looking to
promote rapid muscle growth is called exogenous androgen because it is a
substance produced outside of the body. Whether you want to call it an anabolic
steroid or an androgen, both are correct, testosterone is a completely natural
substance that enhances muscle growth as part of the normal post-exercise
repair and recovery process.
3. As you age, your body will produce
less testosterone. Andropause affects men over the age of 30, causing them to
produce less testosterone.
4. But here’s some good news: According to the research,
certain types of exercise can help your body produce testosterone, even in the
later years of the adult lifespan. A study by Baker and colleagues, for
example, had. three groups of men separated according
to age (20-26 years, 38-53 years and 59-72 years) perform the same strength
training program of six exercises using 80% one repetition maximum for three
sets of 10 repetitions. Each group had blood drawn before and after the workout
to measure how the exercise influenced testosterone production. Prior to the
workout the younger group had a higher level of Testosterone, but after the
workout, all three groups showed an increase in the hormone. These findings
suggest that you should make high-intensity strength training a consistent part
of your exercise program if you want to maintain testosterone in your body
during the aging process.
5. Even if you are a little older and
have been sedentary for a period of time, research suggests
high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can help improve the production of free
testosterone. In
this study, 22 sedentary male participants (average age: 62 years) performed a
total of nine HIIT workouts on a bicycle ergometer; each workout consisted of six
sprint intervals of 30 seconds each followed by three-minute recovery
intervals. Participants’ total testosterone increased by an
average of 17% as a result of the HIIT. The authors suggested that “HIIT
appears [to be] a sufficient stimulus to improve free-Testosterone in lifelong
sedentary aging men.”
6. Multiple sets of strength-training
exercises performed to the point of fatigue could be an effective strategy for
enhancing testosterone production.
According to a literature
review by Kraemer and Ratamess,
strength training causes the body to make four specific adaptations as it
relates to testosterone production: (1) acute changes during and within the
first 30 minutes post-exercise; (2) long-term changes that increase resting
levels; (3) long-term changes in how efficiently the body produces testosterone
as the result of exercise; and (4) an increase in the number of receptor sites
that interact with testosterone. As receptor sites increase, there is a better
chance that the elevated levels of circulating testosterone post-exercise will
have a positive effect on muscle growth. The researchers concluded that a high
volume of high-intensity strength training that engages large amounts of muscle
mass combined with relatively short rest intervals of one minute or less helps
to promote testosterone production.
7. Enhancing the metabolic effect of
strength training by reaching a point of fatigue can be an effective way to
ensure that the body produces enough testosterone to promote muscle growth. In a review of
the research literature, Vingren and colleagues noted
that heavy strength training promotes both total testosterone and free
testosterone (the levels of the hormone circulating through the bloodstream
that can attach to the binding proteins responsible for carrying it to receptor
sites in cell nuclei). The researchers suggest that to promote testosterone,
exercise selection should focus on compound movements with shorter rest
intervals.
While
the body does produce less testosterone over the lifespan, exercising to a
point of fatigue for either strength or cardio is essential for testosterone
production. And here’s a bonus tip: Testosterone is produced during the REM
cycles of sleep, which means that practicing
good sleep hygiene is essential for optimizing the
repair and recovery process, particularly on the days when you schedule your
most intense workouts. On the other hand, if you have big plans in the evening
that might disrupt your normal sleep pattern, consider scheduling a
lower-intensity workout because there’s no sense pushing yourself in the gym if
your body won’t have the opportunity to experience optimal muscle repair while
you sleep.
AUTHOR
Pete
McCall
Pete
McCall, MS, CSCS, is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and long-time player in
the fitness industry. He has been featured as an expert in the Washington
Post, The New York Times, Los
Angeles Times, Runner's World and Self.
He holds a master's degree in exercise science and health promotion, and
several advanced certifications and specializations with NSCA and NASM.