- Scientifically proven: 9 methods that increase your testosterone
BY MARK MASLOW 11 COMMENTS
Obesity, muscle loss, listlessness, depression, loss of libido.
If you think “boost testosterone” now, you think right.
More testosterone means more lust. At work, sport, sex, at life.
In this article, you will learn about 9 scientifically proven methods that increase your testosterone – without doping.
This is part 4 of the series of articles and podcasts about testosterone.
“Testosterone – The Naked Good Look Hormone” (Article Series)- Part: What is Testosterone? Why the hormone makes men and women slim and strong.
- Part: Clear symptoms by which you can recognize a testosterone deficiency.
- Part: 11 common causes of low testosterone levels and how to stop them.
- Part: Boosting Testosterone: Natural Ways to Get More Testosterone.
- Part: Case Study – Natural Hormone Tuning in 8 Weeks (Men’s Health Publication)
- For the best results, you should also read the other articles.
Measurably more testosterone in 8 weeks: 9 natural testosterone boosters
You can find natural solutions that increase your testosterone in one of the following three areas:- the right lifestyle
- the right training
- the right nutrients
- The lifestyle factors are at the forefront, especially the things we stress every day. This is the greatest lever for real progress. Here is the focus in part 3 of this series of articles.
In this article, you will learn how to exercise if you want to increase your testosterone.
If we lack certain nutrients, the level of hormones that make us strong, slim and fit also drops. You can now find out which nutrients your testosterone can demonstrably increase and which dose is effective.
With the right measures, you can expect measurable results in about 8 weeks. (In Part 2, you will learn how to have your testosterone level correctly determined. )
Boost Testosterone # 1 – Heavy Weight Training
Proper strength training, the “R” in the MARK formula, is one of the most effective ways to stimulate your body’s testosterone production.
Weight training helps with heavy weights.
Incidentally, not only if you want to increase your testosterone, but also if you want to reduce body fat and avoid the yo-yo effect.
If you feel like fine-tuning, you can obviously influence the hormonal response of your body by varying the duration of the break between training sessions.
In one study, men released the most testosterone when taking a 90-second break between squats and bench press training sets. A 60-second break resulted in a lower testosterone release, but this shorter break stimulated a higher growth hormone level . 1
A study with women came to a similar conclusion: the shortest sentence break – in this case, 30 seconds – led to the highest growth hormone release. Unfortunately, no testosterone was measured in women. 2
Increase testosterone with strength training – Here’s how
Exercise regularly (at least 2-3 times a week) with heavy weights.
Even if the studies on sentence breaks are interesting, you can probably expect the best results if you align your strength training with your goal as stated here.
Here you can find out everything about the right strength training.
Boost Testosterone # 2 – Sprints
Cardio training can also increase your testosterone. At least if you do it right.
High-intensity interval training helps.
A crisp six-second sprint can significantly increase testosterone levels, according to a study conducted with young men. The test subjects’ total testosterone remained elevated even 20 minutes after exercise. 3
Long endurance sessions like marathon training can have a negative impact on your testosterone level.
A study by the University of British Columbia observed various groups of long-distance runners: runners who run more than 100 kilometers of training per week have significantly less free testosterone in their blood than athletes who do non-endurance discipline two to four times a week. The higher the training load in long-distance running among the men examined, the lower the testosterone level. 4
Increase testosterone through intensive cardio training – Here’s how
If you want to boost your testosterone, use high-intensity interval training (HIIT) instead of long cardio sessions.
There are almost infinite possibilities of how you can design a HIIT. You can find many suggestions in my articles about HIIT.
If running isn’t your thing, check out Jason Ferruggia’s ebook ” Renegade Cardio “.
Boost Testosterone # 3 – Sunlight (or Vitamin D)
Did you know that sperm have vitamin D receptors? Incidentally, vitamin D not only affects fertility in men …
Obviously, vitamin D plays an important role in the production of the body’s own muscle building hormones.
Studies show that testosterone levels increase in men with a previously low vitamin D level when they take a vitamin D supplement for a year. 5 6 7
Vitamin D is also one of the basic supplements that I recommend on page 6 of the Dietary Supplement Guide to those who want to optimize their supply of essential micronutrients.
Vitamin D is a safe and inexpensive dietary supplement that protects you from a testosterone deficiency. 8th
Most Germans (82% of men and 91% of women) get too little vitamin D. 9
People who live near the equator can do without a dietary supplement if they spend enough time in the sun (rule of thumb: 1-2 days of sunshine on the beach per week).
However, if you have a darker skin tone, you need more sunlight to produce the same amount of vitamin D.
Blog Article: Here you will find everything you need to know about the sun vitamin and vitamin D deficiency symptoms.
Increase testosterone with vitamin D – Here’s how
If you want to use a vitamin D preparation, you should choose a dosage between 2,000-3,000 IU per day.
The lower limit corresponds to my basic recommendation in the dietary supplement guide, while the upper limit corresponds to the dosage used in the studies on vitamin D and testosterone.
Since vitamin D is fat-soluble, you should take it with a meal that also contains fats. Some people report having trouble falling asleep when taking it in the evening. If you have similar experiences, it is recommended to take it for breakfast.
Boost Testosterone # 4 – Saturated and Monounsaturated Fats
Most people think of omega-3 and other unsaturated fatty acids when they think of “healthy fats”. But your body also needs saturated fats, especially for testosterone production.
You can find healthy fats especially in natural unprocessed foods such as fresh meat, dairy products, certain oils, coconut and other nuts, eggs, olives or avocados.
Increase testosterone with healthy fats – Here’s how
If you follow my recommendations on a balanced diet, you will probably already be well supplied with healthy fats.
It is a good idea if you do not get the lion’s share of your daily energy from sugar or highly processed grain, but from foods that are as natural as possible.
Here is a selection of foods that give you enough healthy fat and help boost your testosterone:- Olives and olive oil (I use this olive oil )
- Unprocessed nuts such as almonds and pecan nuts
- Organic meat from grass-fed grazing cattle
- Coconuts and coconut oil
- Organic eggs
- Pasture milk butter from grass-fed cows
- Avocados
- cold-processed organic nut oils
- Boost Testosterone # 5 – Zinc
Zinc is a mineral that is often associated with a testosterone-boosting effect.
In fact, a zinc supplement can boost your testosterone. But only if you suffer from a zinc deficiency.
Exercising a lot increases the risk of zinc deficiency because you lose zinc when you sweat. 10 11
Zinc deficiency has been linked to low IGF-1 and testosterone levels in various studies. If you stop zinc deficiency, your testosterone will also increase. 12 13
However, an increase in zinc levels above normal does not further increase testosterone levels.
If you overdose zinc, you can irritate your digestive system and, in extreme cases, damage your liver or kidney. High doses of zinc can also lead to copper deficiency.
Without a medical report, you should not ingest more than the safe upper limit of 25 mg zinc per day in the long term. 14
Increase testosterone with zinc – Here’s how
If you have a zinc deficiency, you should take 25-30 mg of elemental zinc per day. Elemental zinc refers to the weight of the mineral itself and not to the compound that is said to facilitate absorption in the body.
For example, 230 mg zinc gluconate contains 30 mg elemental zinc. The elementary dosage is declared on the preparation, not the total amount.
As with all dietary supplements, you should also rely on a quality product for zinc. You can find out how to recognize a suitable preparation on page 7 of the Dietary Supplement Guide.
Zinc should be taken with meals. At higher doses over 800 mg, you should not take it with minerals such as magnesium or calcium, because the substances then compete with each other for absorption in the body. At a lower dose, however, you can take the minerals together.
Note: You should not take more than 25 mg zinc/day over a longer period of time without a blood test and medical advice.
Boost Testosterone # 6 – Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral, like zinc.
Magnesium deficiency is also associated with low testosterone levels.
If there is a magnesium deficiency, you can increase your testosterone by supplementing with magnesium. 15 16
If you have enough magnesium in your blood, however, additional magnesium will not affect your testosterone level any further.
Since magnesium, like zinc, is released through sweat, a magnesium supplement makes sense for athletes.
Increase testosterone with magnesium – Here’s how
The effective dosage is 200-400 mg magnesium a day. Magnesium citrate is best absorbed by the body. You can either take it with a meal or on an empty stomach.
Magnesium is part of the basic protection of vitamins and minerals.
Boost Testosterone # 7 – Creatine
Creatine is a small organic acid that supports the cell’s energy metabolism.
Creatine can regenerate a cell’s ATP stores very quickly. The energy supply via sugar or fatty acids takes a lot more time.
In this way, creatine can accelerate muscle growth and provide noticeably more strength in training. 17 18 19
Some studies have looked at how creatine affects male sex hormones. It appears to reliably increase testosterone levels in young men aged 18-35 years by approximately 20-25%. 20 21 22
Creatine is one of the best-researched nutritional supplements in sports. So far, no side effects have been proven with the correct dosage. 23 24 25 26 27 28
Due to its proven high effectiveness, creatine is part of the basic recommendations in the MarathonFitness Supplement Guide.
Increase testosterone with creatine – Here’s how
Take 5 g of creatine monohydrate daily with a meal, ideally before or after training on training days. This is the standard dose.
Alternatives to creatine monohydrate are often more expensive, but according to studies, they are not more effective. 29 30 31
People with more muscle mass could benefit from a higher dosage (10 g creatine monohydrate a day). However, this recommendation is based on empirical values and has not yet been proven by studies. If you add 10 g per day, you should split the daily dose into 5 g twice.
A loading phase in which you dose creatine higher is not absolutely necessary. The only advantage of a charging phase is that the positive effect can occur somewhat faster. If you want to carry out a loading phase, take 20-25 g of creatine monohydrate for the first 5-7 days before switching to the standard dose (5 g creatine monohydrate/day).
Tip: I use this creatine monohydrate.
Boost Testosterone # 8 – BCAAs
Studies indicate that branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) can increase your testosterone – especially if you take them in close proximity to your strength training. 32
BCAAs are available as dietary supplements. But natural foods such as low-fat curd cheese, cheese, and other protein-rich dairy products also contain many BCAAs. Another excellent BCAA source is whey protein.
Increase testosterone with protein – Here’s how
If you follow the recommendations for protein intake described in the starter kit and rely on natural protein sources, you do not need to use an additional BCAA preparation to optimize your testosterone level.
It is a good idea to first use natural protein sources and supplement them with high-quality protein powder if necessary. I use this protein powder.
Boost testosterone # 9 – Release testosterone handbrake
Why would you want to step on the accelerator when the handbrake is still on?
You should ask yourself this question especially if you want to increase your testosterone.
Before you tackle the hormone tuning measures mentioned above, you may have to think about whether you can take the wind out of your sails by your lifestyle.
Increase testosterone by releasing the brake – Here’s how
You release the handbrake by going through these 11 testosterone stomach causes one after the other and then turning them off step by step.
Tribulus Terrestris, Maca, fenugreek & Co. – effective or not?
The ad is full of supplements that claim to boost your testosterone.
Among them are many medicinal herbs that make you want to have sex, but they have absolutely no proven effect on testosterone levels.
These libido boosters include Tribulus Terrestris, Maca, Fenugreek or Yin Yang Huo. 33
Because these preparations make you feel like sex, many people believe that the substances also increase testosterone – and continue to buy them.
Other plants like Eurycoma or ginger can only increase testosterone in infertile people.
Summary: Testosterone boost with micronutrients
If you want to boost your testosterone, you can make up for micronutrient deficits with the following supplements. In this way you offer your body all the nutrients it needs for an optimally functioning hormone metabolism.
Intake (effective dose per day): - Vitamin D should be taken with a meal that contains fat.
When buying food supplements, it is advisable to pay attention to quality. There are 7 simple criteria by which you can recognize quality products ( see Supplement Guide, page 7 )
Basically, you should eat a balanced and healthy diet (increase testosterone # 4 and # 8), consider the training recommendations (# 1 and # 2) and check which lifestyle factors you can still optimize (# 9).
Note: This information is intended for adults only. They do not replace a visit or a blood test to the doctor. Please consult a specialist before using nutritional supplements or if you have specific questions about health. If you suspect a testosterone or nutrient deficiency, it makes sense to have this confirmed by a blood test at the beginning and end of micronutrient therapy (usually after 90 days).
Conclusion
“Doc, just tell me which nutritional supplement I can use to boost my testosterone,” was my first thought when I heard about my testosterone deficiency.
And indeed: I had too little magnesium in my blood. An unfavorable lifestyle and training errors can further exacerbate a lack of nutrients. For example, those who are constantly under stress have an increased need for certain micronutrients.
The targeted intake of nutrients compensates for these deficits. If the causes are in the “lifestyle” area, dietary supplements can act like an adhesive plaster and bring about a quick improvement.
The biggest difference in my case was not the supplements, but the things that I changed in everyday life. In the last part of this series of articles I tell you my story.
My thesis is that many people think at first like me and look for the “magic pill” that solves all problems for them.
In this article, you learned about 9 scientifically proven ways to increase your testosterone.
I hope one thing has become clear: there is no such thing as a magic pill.
But the goal of looking good naked is achievable.
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