Since testosterone is such an important and powerful tool that can be used for a variety of purposes, we thought it well to dedicate an entire article to it.
We have all heard of testosterone, and we all know it is beneficial. The question remains, why is it important, and how can I increase my testosterone levels naturally?
Why? Testosterone is the naturally occurring dominant male sex hormone. A woman’s body produces it as well – just in much smaller quantities, but it is beneficial to everyone involved.
Regular or heightened T-levels leads to increases in lean mass gain, enhanced fat metabolism, increases in strength, enhanced mood, increased libido, and a much fuller nights’ rest.
Due to these amazing benefits, it is definitely worth while looking into increasing your testosterone levels – and we will show you how.
The most potent and researched way to increase natural testosterone is to exercise. More importantly, to do the exercises we will mention in this article.
Studies have shown that exercise can increase T-levels at all ages, where the only difference is how long the heightened levels last. Due to our physiology, the older we get, the less testosterone we produce. Generally, we start producing less after we reach 30 years of age, with natural testosterone levels dropping by about 2% per year after we reach 40 years of age.
Although these are mainly for males, females can still benefit from the exercises.
It is therefore important to make sure you get enough exercise, and that you do the following exercises to keep those T-levels up:
Compound exercises:
Compound exercises are movements that require the body to utilize more than one group of muscles. These types of exercises cause a greater mind-muscle connection and has a big influence on the activation of your central nervous system as well.
Testosterone controls muscle synthesis, as well as energy:
Compound lifts causes the highest rate of muscle synthesis according to EMS studies done by Alexander R. Scott, and because it incorporates more than one muscle group, it also requires more energy than isolated exercises.
This is the basis of why compound lifts, and the other exercises in this article attributes to raised testosterone levels.
Although it can be debated, we advise including these exercises into your workout routine, and where to fit the exercises into your workout split:
– Squats (Leg day)
– Leg Press (Leg Day)
– Deadlifts (Back Day)
– Bent-over rows (Back Day)
– Pull-ups (Back Day)
– Bench Press (Chest Day)
– Push-Ups (Chest Day)
– Overhead Press (Delts Day)
– Military Press (Delts Day)
A very important point to remember when performing these exercises and trying to raise your natural testosterone levels, is that load and repetitions are important, but the vital part to successfully achieving your goal is to focus on the functional performance, according to studies performed on older and younger individuals.
Performing the movements correctly and effectively will help you achieve much better results than lifting more weight than you can handle or doing reps until failure.
Keep that in mind during each of your training sessions, and you should be well on your way to increasing your T-levels in the most effective way.
High-intensity cardio sessions:
High-intensity cardio sessions can also significantly increase your natural testosterone levels.
Most people will believe cardio to be catabolic, and that it will diminish their gains by burning through their hard-earned muscle but performing regular short-but-intense cardio sessions actually has a strong anabolic effect on our muscles.
Doing these types of exercise is a good way to stimulate muscle synthesis, increase heart and vein health, strengthen your cardiovascular and respiratory system, activate and strengthen anabolic fast twitch fibers, and boost testosterone levels.
The best part is that you only need to do 10 or 15 mins of high-intensity exercises two to three times a week to achieve results.
Include different forms of HIIT (High-intensity interval training) into your workout routine, e.g.: Sprints, rowing, cycling, box jumps, swimming, etc. Or just add normal high-intensity cardio to your workouts.
Sleep
Lastly, quality sleep is vital for proper hormone production regulation.
This is obviously not an exercise, but it should be treated the same way. Achieving good, quality sleep should be as important to us as achieving a new personal best every week. Don’t confuse duration of sleep with quality of sleep. What we should all aim to achieve is a “deep” sleep, every night.
A good way to achieve this is to create a routine where you go to bed at the same time every night, to avoid stimulants after 5pm (depending on tolerance), to turn off all blue-light emitting electronics, and to utilize USN’s range of testosterone-boosting supplements if you are older than 18 years old.
We have a full range of testo-boosters to suit every lifestyle and every goal. We have Testo-Tribulus as an entry level product, Testo gH for optimal testosterone regulation, Testo Methox 17 for elevated T-levels, and the brand new EPIK™ Test gH for ultimate natural testosterone production. We recommend these mainly to males, but females are of course allowed to use it at their own discretion.
These products help to naturally stimulate your body to produce testosterone at its most efficient level and can aid in achieving your goals. Combine one of them with the exercises mentioned above, and you will build more lean muscle, burn more fat, have an elevated mood, increase your libido, and raise your natural energy levels.
Do this consistently, and watch the results roll in, and how your life changes.
References:
Craig, B.W., Brown, R. and Everhart, J., 1989. Effects of progressive resistance training on growth hormone and testosterone levels in young and elderly subjects. Mechanisms of ageing and development, 49(2), pp.159-169.
King, D.S., Sharp, R.L., Vukovich, M.D., Brown, G.A., Reifenrath, T.A., Uhl, N.L. and Parsons, K.A., 1999. Effect of oral androstenedione on serum testosterone and adaptations to resistance training in young men: a randomized controlled trial. Jama, 281(21), pp.2020-2028.
Deschenes, M.R. and Kraemer, W.J., 2002. Performance and physiologic adaptations to resistance training. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 81(11), pp.S3-S16.
Craig, B.W., Brown, R. and Everhart, J., 1989. Effects of progressive resistance training on growth hormone and testosterone levels in young and elderly subjects. Mechanisms of ageing and development, 49(2), pp.159-169.
Scott, A.R., 2016. Electro-muscular stimulation system. U.S. Patent Application 14/813,941.
Leproult, R. and Van Cauter, E., 2011. Effect of 1 week of sleep restriction on testosterone levels in young healthy men. Jama, 305(21), pp.2173-2174.