Younger men get a bigger boost after exercise. Testosterone levels also vary throughout the day; levels are usually higher in the morning and lower in the afternoon. Jadick emphasizes that he's talking about prescription testosterone supplements, not over-the-counter products. He also says it's crucial to take supplements only under the care of a doctor, as they can have side effects.
All the studies analyzed confirmed that middle-aged and older men continue to increase plasma testosterone levels sharply after physical activity, despite age-related hormonal decreases. Doctors and fitness professionals still have a lot to learn about exercise and its effects on testosterone. It's important to note that testosterone supplements are not the same thing as testosterone replacement therapy, which is given under the supervision of a medical provider. One study found that resistance training three times a week for one month resulted in higher testosterone levels immediately after workouts and over time.
This means that squats can increase testosterone levels more than push-ups alone, since leg muscles are larger than those in the arms, although push-ups can be a big part of a full-body workout. Throughout the study period, these men had low baseline serum testosterone levels, which was associated with low levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and LH. If the main reason for wanting to increase testosterone is to change your body composition or improve muscle growth, exercise is likely to be effective, but not necessarily due to an increase in testosterone. In short, resistance exercise seems to be a direct stimulant of testosterone production when a sufficient muscle mass load is achieved or when a moderate and high intensity of exercise is combined with greater muscle volume and shorter rest periods between sets.
Based on the ads we see everywhere, you might think that exercise is one of the best ways to increase testosterone. Many studies have addressed the effect of regular or interventional exercise on baseline (resting) serum testosterone levels, with no clear effect to date. If this concerns you, rest assured that there is no evidence that any type of training significantly increases testosterone in women. Therefore, although the low baseline testosterone concentration is likely due to HPA suppression and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism during chronic exercise, factors that contribute to serum testosterone levels in the absence of LH suppression have not yet been determined.
However, research has not always found a link between larger muscles and exercise-induced increases in testosterone. Isaacs reveals that he is part of the speaker office of Abbott Laboratories, which markets a testosterone replacement product. Interestingly, some studies have even shown that chronic resistance exercise can be inversely correlated with baseline serum testosterone concentrations.
