The fact that a man may not have optimal testosterone makes most guys panic. What is the best exercise to increase testosterone, and do testosterone boosters benefit muscle gains? All men want to know what is the best way to boost testosterone. This article is a quick guide to help you understand testosterone and facts about testosterone-boosting exercises and supplements.
HOW TO RAISE YOUR TESTOSTERONE
Many men are obsessed with seeking the best ways on how to raise testosterone your testosterone. Testosterone plays a vital role in overall health, mood, building muscle, and losing weight and fat. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland control the amount of testosterone your gonads (testicles or ovaries) produce and release.
A man’s testosterone levels start declining around age 30 (i.e., 0.4–2% per year). (Feldman et al., 2002) Low testosterone is associated with health conditions such as lack of sex drive, weight gain, erectile dysfunction, acute depression, fatigue, low energy levels, and insomnia. (Cunningham et al., 2016)
The fact that a man may not have optimal testosterone makes most guys panic. What is the best exercise to increase testosterone, and do testosterone boosters benefit muscle gains? All men want to know what is the best way to boost testosterone. This article is a quick guide to help you understand testosterone and facts about testosterone-boosting exercises and supplements.
HOW TO RAISE YOUR TESTOSTERONE: EXERCISE
Everyone knows that the benefits of high testosterone are increases in protein synthesis and enhanced muscle gains. One of the most frequently asked questions is,” does working out increase testosterone?” The short answer is yes, but that’s not what should be your biggest concern.
Your goal is to build muscle, not to find which exercise results in the biggest testosterone boost. Most studies have found that short rest periods increase testosterone more than longer rest periods; however, this does not lead to better muscle gains. (Schroeder et al., 2013)
Researchers had subjects rest for 2 minutes between sets, whereas another group rested 5 minutes between sets. At the end of the six months, there was no significant difference between testosterone, free testosterone, or GH between the short and long-rest period groups. Also, both groups had similar gains in muscle mass and strength. (Ahtiainen et al., 2005) This suggests that you can rest anywhere between 2-5 minutes between sets and obtain increases in muscle gains.
The current research shows that acute testosterone increases from working out do not impact muscle growth. (Hubal et al., 2005) A landmark study had subjects trained with either a heavy weight, low repetitions workout (i.e., strength training workout), or high repetitions (i.e., bodybuilding workout). Despite the bodybuilding high rep workout resulting in greater increases in testosterone, both groups increased muscle mass similarly. (Morton et al., 2016)
Many lifters like to compare the increases in testosterone after exercise to pharmacological increases in testosterone (i.e., testosterone replacement therapy). Low-dose testosterone replacement therapy results in a sustained release of testosterone over several hours. (Dobs et al., 1999) Testosterone levels after exercise return to baseline levels, usually within an hour after exercise.(Kraemer et al., 2017)
HOW TO RAISE YOUR TESTOSTERONE: ARE CERTAIN EXERCISES BETTER FOR INCREASING TESTOSTERONE?
Long ago, I read an article that talked about how doing squats not only resulted in leg growth but also increased arm growth. The article explained that squats increase testosterone, and like testosterone injections, they result in muscle growth for all body parts. Therefore, if you wanted to gain muscle, you needed to do squats. Do squats increase testosterone and result in more muscle growth of other parts?
A study examined whether doing leg exercises would result in greater arm growth due to greater testosterone levels. Subjects were trained with either biceps curls or bicep curls plus leg press and leg extension/leg curls. It has been well documented that large multi-joint exercises like squats and leg presses produce greater testosterone than smaller joint exercises like bicep curls. If increases in testosterone were the driving factor for gaining muscle, then the arms+ leg exercises should result in more biceps muscle growth than biceps exercises alone. Assuming that the greater increases in testosterone would increase arms size.
The study found that the arms plus legs workouts resulted in greater testosterone increases than biceps curls, but they found no differences in bicep muscle growth after 15 weeks of training.[6] This means that acute testosterone increases are not driving muscle gains.
RESULTS
Based on the sum collection of all the studies, the acute anabolic hormone rise from exercise has a minor effect on muscle growth. (McCall et al., 1999) The type of exercise should be based on the target muscle you are trying to exercise, less on whether it increases testosterone.
Another popular question is, “does weightlifting increase testosterone better in the afternoon and evenings?” Exercising in the afternoon results in greater testosterone levels than those working out in the morning but similar muscle growth occurs regardless of higher testosterone levels from exercising in the afternoon. (Seo et al., 2013) Another interesting fact about worrying about what exercises increase testosterone the most is that women make substantial gains in muscle growth despite having lower testosterone levels. (Hubal et al., 2005).
HOW TO RAISE YOUR TESTOSTERONE: TESTOSTERONE BOOSTERS BENEFITS
Unlike creatine monohydrate, which has a proven track record of increasing performance and lean muscle mass, testosterone boosters are promising at best. A 2020 review of the literature title says it all, “‘Testosterone Boosting’ Supplements Composition and Claims Are not Supported by the Academic Literature.” The review analyzed claims made by supplement companies and their ingredients for boosting testosterone. Only 5.5% of the supplements had two or more research studies validating their supplements claims, whereas 61.5% had no research on their products.
Some testosterone supplements had ingredients that did have research to show that it boosted testosterone; however, they did not disclose that other studies had found no changes in testosterone or decrease in testosterone with the ingredients used. (Clemesha et al., 2020)
There is limited evidence that ingredients like Eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali), Serenoa repens, boron, ashwagandha root, and fenugreek can support testosterone increases, but the changes are small. (Balasubramanian et al., 2019) Of these, fenugreek and ashwagandha seem to have the most favorable effects on testosterone. (Smith et al., 2021) One important fact, many of these studies were conducted on people with pre-existing diseases (i.e., infertility, low testosterone, etc.).
Another important consideration is that the study on testosterone boosters is conducted with very small sample sizes. There have been no large-scale, high-quality long-term studies on testosterone boosters to determine if they work.
It has been suggested that testosterone boosters can not be recommended for use by athletes because of insufficient data. (Balasubramanian et al., 2019; Lazarev & Bezuglov, 2021) Furthermore, some testosterone boosters have been associated with serious side effects. (Almaiman, 2018)
How to Raise Your Testosterone Levels: Q AND A
WHAT INCREASES TESTOSTERONE?
Many factors affect testosterone (i.e., reduce testosterone), including age, obesity, poor nutritional status, sleep deprivation, alcohol consumption, etc. Except for age which you can’t control, all the above factors can increase testosterone when remedied.
Weight loss (i.e., those with obesity), getting the optimal hours of sleep, increasing physical activity, and eating healthier can all increase testosterone. Healthy fats such as olive oil may improve testosterone, and vitamin D supplementation for those that are deficient can also improve testosterone.
DOES WEIGHT LIFTING INCREASE TESTOSTERONE?
Resistance exercise can increase testosterone, but the changes in testosterone levels are not associated with increases in muscle mass.
IS IT BAD TO TAKE TESTOSTERONE BOOSTERS AT AGE 20?
There is no reason a 20-year-old should be taking a testosterone booster unless instructed by a doctor. Testosterone boosters have little to no proven research to boost testosterone. The use of testosterone boosters is not supported by peer-reviewed research. Some testosterone boosters are associated with severe side effects.
How to Raise Your Testosterone Naturally?
Weight loss (i.e., those with obesity), getting the optimal hours of sleep, increasing physical activity, and eating healthier can all increase testosterone. Healthy fats such as olive oil may improve testosterone, and vitamin D supplementation for those that are deficient can also improve testosterone.
REFERENCES
Ahtiainen, J. P., Pakarinen, A., Alen, M., Kraemer, W. J., & Häkkinen, K. (2005). Short vs. long rest period between the sets in hypertrophic resistance training: influence on muscle strength, size, and hormonal adaptations in trained men. J Strength Cond Res, 19(3), 572-582. https://doi.org/10.1519/15604.1
Almaiman, A. A. (2018). Effect of testosterone boosters on body functions: Case report. Int J Health Sci (Qassim), 12(2), 86-90.
Balasubramanian, A., Thirumavalavan, N., Srivatsav, A., Yu, J., Lipshultz, L. I., & Pastuszak, A. W. (2019). Testosterone imposters: An analysis of popular online testosterone boosting supplements. The journal of sexual medicine, 16(2), 203-212.
Clemesha, C. G., Thaker, H., & Samplaski, M. K. (2020). ‘Testosterone Boosting’ Supplements Composition and Claims Are not Supported by the Academic Literature. World J Mens Health, 38(1), 115-122. https://doi.org/10.5534/wjmh.190043
Cunningham, G. R., Stephens-Shields, A. J., Rosen, R. C., Wang, C., Bhasin, S., Matsumoto, A. M., Parsons, J. K., Gill, T. M., Molitch, M. E., Farrar, J. T., Cella, D., Barrett-Connor, E., Cauley, J. A., Cifelli, D., Crandall, J. P., Ensrud, K. E., Gallagher, L., Zeldow, B., Lewis, C. E., . . . Snyder, P. J. (2016). Testosterone Treatment and Sexual Function in Older Men With Low Testosterone Levels. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 101(8), 3096-3104. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2016-1645
Dobs, A. S., Meikle, A. W., Arver, S., Sanders, S. W., Caramelli, K. E., & Mazer, N. A. (1999). Pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety of a permeation-enhanced testosterone transdermal system in comparison with bi-weekly injections of testosterone enanthate for the treatment of hypogonadal men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 84(10), 3469-3478. https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem.84.10.6078
REFERENCES
Feldman, H. A., Longcope, C., Derby, C. A., Johannes, C. B., Araujo, A. B., Coviello, A. D., Bremner, W. J., & McKinlay, J. B. (2002). Age trends in the level of serum testosterone and other hormones in middle-aged men: longitudinal results from the Massachusetts male aging study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 87(2), 589-598. https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem.87.2.8201
REFERENCES
Hubal, M. J., Gordish-Dressman, H., Thompson, P. D., Price, T. B., Hoffman, E. P., Angelopoulos, T. J., Gordon, P. M., Moyna, N. M., Pescatello, L. S., Visich, P. S., Zoeller, R. F., Seip, R. L., & Clarkson, P. M. (2005). Variability in muscle size and strength gain after unilateral resistance training. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 37(6), 964-972.
Kraemer, W. J., Ratamess, N. A., & Nindl, B. C. (2017). Recovery responses of testosterone, growth hormone, and IGF-1 after resistance exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 122(3), 549-558. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00599.2016
Lazarev, A., & Bezuglov, E. (2021). Testosterone Boosters Intake in Athletes: Current Evidence and Further Directions. Endocrines, 2(2), 109-120. https://www.mdpi.com/2673-396X/2/2/11
McCall, G. E., Byrnes, W. C., Fleck, S. J., Dickinson, A., & Kraemer, W. J. (1999). Acute and chronic hormonal responses to resistance training designed to promote muscle hypertrophy. Can J Appl Physiol, 24(1), 96-107. https://doi.org/10.1139/h99-009
Morton, R. W., Oikawa, S. Y., Wavell, C. G., Mazara, N., McGlory, C., Quadrilatero, J., Baechler, B. L., Baker, S. K., & Phillips, S. M. (2016). Neither load nor systemic hormones determine resistance training-mediated hypertrophy or strength gains in resistance-trained young men. J Appl Physiol (1985), 121(1), 129-138. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00154.2016
Schroeder, E. T., Villanueva, M., West, D. D., & Phillips, S. M. (2013). Are acute post-resistance exercise increases in testosterone, growth hormone, and IGF-1 necessary to stimulate skeletal muscle anabolism and hypertrophy? Med Sci Sports Exerc, 45(11), 2044-2051. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000000147
REFERENCES
Seo, D. Y., Lee, S., Kim, N., Ko, K. S., Rhee, B. D., Park, B. J., & Han, J. (2013). Morning and evening exercise. Integr Med Res, 2(4), 139-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imr.2013.10.003
Smith, S. J., Lopresti, A. L., Teo, S. Y. M., & Fairchild, T. J. (2021). Examining the Effects of Herbs on Testosterone Concentrations in Men: A Systematic Review. Adv Nutr, 12(3), 744-765. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmaa134
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