Exercise and testosterone are two things that greatly influence your overall health. Among other amazing benefits, exercise helps you stay healthy, strong, and fit. Testosterone, on the other hand, helps with your reproductive system and maintain other characteristics and functions, including muscle mass and stronger bones.
As your testosterone levels start to naturally decline around the 30s, it’s still possible for you to maintain healthy levels by eating testosterone boosting foods and doing things that help the body produce more testosterone.
Experts say exercise is one of the keys to raising one’s declining testosterone levels. To get the most benefits, a regular workout should be part of your daily routine.
Exercise and Testosterone
Your testosterone levels fluctuate during the day. It’s higher in the morning after a good sleep, which your morning wood manifests, and lower in the evening. Though science still needs to dig deeply into the relationship between exercise and testosterone, doctors and professionals have seen a significant influence of exercise and testosterone.
Exercise and hormones expert Todd Schroeder says that exercise can elevate testosterone levels for 15 minutes to one hour after the workout, which means the effect isn’t for long. But still, exercise is a huge help in maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system.
An unhealthy heart can lead to other issues including low sex drive and erectile dysfunction. Besides, exercise helps to manage weight. Too much abdominal fat is one of the leading causes of declining testosterone.
Endocrinologist Scott Isaacs says exercise is not the only thing that raises a man’s testosterone, but it can make a difference, especially when their level is on the borderline between high and low.
Important Effects of Exercise on the Male Body
It helps manage weight
Obesity, particularly, adiposity is not good for your testosterone. The stubborn fat cells metabolize testosterone to estrogen, leading to a decline in testosterone levels. But when you exercise and start to manage your weight, you will prevent this aromatization process.
It helps bone and muscle health
In older men, exercise may no longer be reliable in boosting their testosterone levels, but it can create a big impact in their bone and muscle health. A human’s body goes through wear and tear. This is why older folks tend to lose their balance and suffer from fractures. But this can be prevented through regular exercise. Many strong older people today have proven that they can delay the age’s debilitating effects on the body through regular movement and exercise.
It helps raise testosterone
Because your levels are typically highest in the morning, fitness professionals and doctors recommend having your intense workout in the evening when your goal is to raise your levels. According to studies, strength training workouts and natural testosterone replacement methods are the best at boosting your testosterone.
It helps you boost testosterone even if you’re out of shape
If you’re a total beginner, you get a bigger boost in your testosterone when you start exercising since your body is new to the challenge. Though, the benefits start to diminish as your body adapts to the workout. Engaging in regular workout challenges is one way to maintain a healthy boost of testosterone.
You may be asking about the type of exercise that effectively boosts testosterone. According to Schroeder, go for endurance and resistance training. The best workouts are the ones that involve more muscles. Briefly lifting heavier weights also works best, than doing many reps with lighter weights. And never forget to take shorter rest periods during the workout. This plays a big role in getting the best results. This also helps you to avoid overtraining, which may hurt your testosterone should you push yourself too hard.
While these are your main goals, you still need to incorporate cardio and flexibility exercises to move all the muscle groups in your body and support your overall health.
In the meantime, here are the exercises you need to try to increase testosterone.
Best Testosterone Boosting Workouts
Squats
Squats enable your whole body to project the weight upwards, exhausting you much more easily. The more muscle mass that is stimulated, the bigger the anabolic response, and the higher the boost in testosterone. Go for free squats. Research found that free squats are effective at raising testosterone by about 16.5 percent compared to the leg press.
Deadlifts
The deadlifts engage your body’s biggest muscles, making it one of the best testosterone-boosting moves. Besides, deadlifts are great at muscle repair and muscle tissue growth.
Military Press
The military press is old school, but its effectivity is timeless. This is why this basic exercise is making a comeback in strength training programs nowadays. The military press works your shoulders and arms, but it goes beyond that. This workout requires you to engage your core, obliques, and lower back to maintain balance and posture. Basically, you use more muscles, which is ideal to boost testosterone.
Clean and press
If you’re a total beginner, stay away from this advance workout, which recruits more muscles from legs, core, arms, forearms, back, and shoulders in a single move. Only do this challenge after you’ve mastered the basics like squats and deadlifts.
Pull-up
Pull-up is a tough exercise that allows multiple muscles to work in conjunction. It helps transform your upper body and supercharges your testosterone production.
Testosterone Supplements
While all the above workouts work effectively at raising your testosterone levels, the results vary depending on your age. Research shows that vigorous workouts work best only when you’re younger. If you’re a bit older, these exercises may not be enough to boost your declining testosterone. This is when testosterone supplements come in handy.
Raise your testosterone to healthy levels and be your best self regardless of your age because you deserve the best.
