Ultimate Guide on Testosterone Boosting Exercise with Workout Plan
Does exercise increase testosterone levels in men?
Yes. Resistance exercise and training is shown to increase testosterone levels in men.
Training-Induced Anabolic Adaptations
Testosterone, as you know, is male hormone responsible for muscle growth and strength. Testosterone is responsible for various adaptation of your body towards resistance training. High-intensity exercise causes the release of anabolic and catabolic hormones in your body. The release of testosterone depends on multiple factors other than training and nutrition; Sex, age, and weight are those factors.
Factors affecting Testosterone levels
Age
Your testosterone levels start to decrease as you age. A 35-year-old cannot expect the same testosterone levels as a 25 yr old gets while exercising.
Weight and body fat
Obese people have low testosterone levels as they have low testosterone synthesis and body fat promotes its conversion to estrogen.
Overweight and obese people can benefit from exercise in two ways. They can shed extra fat and at the same time boost their testosterone levels.
This study on testosterone shows the relation of testosterone boosting with exercise. It also shows that age, body weight, and sex are major factors determining the testosterone levels after a high-intensity exercise. Men will have an elevated testosterone concentration directly after a workout.
The study shows that anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormones are elevated 15- 30 minutes post-exercise. Its level greatly depends on the workout intensity, volume and rest intervals.
Younger men were shown to have higher levels of growth hormone and testosterone than older men following an exercise. This study reveals that older men have a significant enhancement in their free testosterone levels, but the response is different than younger men.
Physical Activities and Impact on Testosterone Levels
Sprint
Sprint training has a positive effect on your testosterone levels. It helps to burn fat, fire up your metabolism, helps to add lean muscle mass.
This study shows sprint interval training (SIT) increase total testosterone and decreased cortisol levels. This also stresses the importance of short recovery periods as it can improve both aerobic and anaerobic performance in athletes.
You can incorporate sprint interval training in which short burst of sprinting followed by less duration of recovery periods.
- Start: warm up by jogging for 5 – 8 min
- Sprinting-30sec
- Recovery: jogging 30-90s (for beginners: jog for 90s- reduce the recovery time as they progress)
- This complete one cycle and repeat this for 10 -12 times
- Finish the session by 5 min warm down
Compound Exercise
When your aim is testosterone boosting; the compound exercise has the edge over isolation exercise.
When you are executing a compound lift, you have to use major muscle groups and joints. Thus it adds stress on major muscle groups which cause training-induced anabolic adaptations.
Your lift will be heavier than isolation exercise due to the involvement of major muscle groups; this is another advantage of compound exercise.
Compound lifts for testosterone boosting
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Pull ups/Chin ups
- Dips
- Rows
- Bench press
- Military press
- Shoulder press
Olympic Lifts
Olympic lifts are power workouts which utilize the explosive strength of an athlete. The main advantage of Olympic lifts is that they have more mobility and range of motion during execution.
Olympic lifts include the snatch and the clean and jerk; both are explosive moves. Learn to do the lifts with proper form; otherwise, it can lead to injury.
There are several variations for these Olympic lifts that are worth trying.
Limit Your Cardio
Cardio training is good for your heart health and endurance level, helps you to get fit and stay in good shape. But you should limit your cardio duration; otherwise, it can lower your testosterone levels.
Athletes running more than 64 km a week is shown to have lower testosterone levels. Their free and total testosterone levels are inversely related to running volume.
Workout Technique
We have discussed various exercises for boosting your testosterone. You should have an exercise plan which includes exercises for overall health. You can practice the following in your routine for better testosterone response.
Long Rest Periods
Long rest periods of 120s are shown to increase your testosterone levels. Follow a high-intensity training routine with 120s rest intervals for optimal testosterone boosting. This study also shows 30-60s rest helps you to boost your growth hormone.
Go Heavy or Go Home
When you plan to boost your testosterone levels always lift heavy. Go heavy with low reps to boost your testosterone levels. Your training must be high volume and intense to induce an acute testosterone response.
Train Your Lower Body
Never miss your squat workout if you want bigger biceps.
Your squat works the biggest muscle group –the quadriceps which pumps more testosterone in your system.
This study shows that training your legs along with another muscle part can increase testosterone and growth hormone levels.
Overtraining
This study shows that overtraining can cause a reduction in free and total testosterone. It also reduces the sperm count and testosterone to cortisol ratio.
Symptoms of Overtraining:
- Lasting muscle soreness
- Decline in muscle strength
- Persistent fatigue
- Increased susceptibility to infections
- Increased incidence of injuries
- Difficulty in recovering from workouts
- Depression
- Insomnia – sleeplessness
- Loss of appetite
If you have any symptoms of overtraining, then reduce your workout volume and give yourself enough time to recover.
Conclusion
Exercise has a wonderful effect on your testosterone levels. Always include compound exercises, Olympic lifts, and sprint in your workout routine. Limit your cardio duration for better testosterone levels. Go heavy with few reps and never forget your leg workout.
It’s time to boost your testosterone levels which help to increase your muscle mass, strength, and stamina.
Nutrition and supplementation are also important and checks here for supplementation advice.
