Does Exercise Boost Testosterone?


Strap in, because I’m about to completely change your idea about what “healthy” workouts look like.

It’s true that working out can help raise your testosterone levels if you’re suffering from low testosterone. But not the workouts you might imagine.

You don’t need to workout every day to boost testosterone.

You don’t need to workout more than 30 minutes to boost testosterone.

You don’t need to run marathons to boost testosterone.

In fact, it’s not that you just don’t need to—you shouldn’t actually work out every day, workout too much, or run long distances.

Instead, you should be focusing on strong bursts of resistance training.

In this article, I’m going to give you the specifics about how to exercise to boost your testosterone levels and get back on track to ultimate sexual and overall health.

Does exercise boost T levels?

In short, the answer to this question is, yes. Exercise can boost testosterone levels—if you exercise correctly. Testosterone is the hormone that controls muscle synthesis and energy, and it also helps regulate weight. Since exercise is also important for muscle and weight, the two go hand-in-hand to lend towards overall health and wellness.  

Research shows two major impacts of exercise on testosterone levels: short-term and long-term.

Firstly, testosterone spikes 30 minutes after a training workout. However, testosterone returns to resting levels after about an hour. This means that there’s only a short-term spike in testosterone during the day.

But that doesn’t mean that short-term spike isn’t helping long-term. In fact, research shows that the more frequently men experience this quick T spike, the greater their resting testosterone level.

This means that exercising boosts testosterone levels most significantly in the short-term but most profoundly in the long-term. If you consistently workout to raise T levels, your resting T levels will start to raise methodically and permanently.

Working out also has an indirect relationship with testosterone due to the impacts of exercise on body fat, stress, and sleep.

Body fat

Working out helps reduce body fat, especially around the midsection. Maintaining a healthy body weight is important to healthy levels of testosterone. Visceral fat can actually raise cortisol and estrogen, which in turn lowers testosterone.

If you want high levels of testosterone, you need a healthy weight.

If you want to lose weight, you need to be moving and exercising consistently.

Stress

Exercise is a proven stress reducer. It releases endorphins that make you happier while reducing anxiety and depression.

When you’re stressed, your body releases cortisol (the “stress hormone”). Cortisol and testosterone have an inverse relationship. High cortisol equals low testosterone and vice versa.

This is because cortisol and testosterone are both made from the same “base” hormone called pregnenolone. If the body has to use more pregnenolone to make cortisol, it won’t have enough left over to make testosterone. This is called “cortisol steal” because it steals away the building blocks of necessary T production.

Sleep

Getting enough sleep is an important part of testosterone production. Studies show that sleeping too few hours can drastically lower testosterone by boosting cortisol to exorbitant levels.

Working out can help you sleep better. It uses up extra energy and trains your muscles, so you’re more likely to get a higher quantity and quality of sleep. Exercise also lowers cortisol, so you can have a more restful night’s sleep. and Plus, since working out reduces your stress, you’ll be in a better mental state to help fall asleep.

Still don’t believe that exercise boosts testosterone?
Check out the scientific proof:  

What kind of exercise boosts testosterone?

Not all exercise is created equal when it comes to raising testosterone levels.

Resistance training (lifting weights) is the best way to raise testosterone. Studies show that strength training can actually induce the release of growth hormone and testosterone regardless of age.

In reverse, research shows that long-distance running can actually lower testosterone levels. In fact, one study found that the long-distance runners had lower T levels than even the non-athletic group. This is because running for long distances over-stresses the body. This stress releases cortisol, aka the “stress hormone,” and leads to cortisol steal (as discussed above).

For the same reason, you want to avoid overtraining or over-exerting your body during workouts. Working out too hard can release cortisol that reduces the production of testosterone.

So yes, I’m telling you not to overdo it with your workouts if you want to see T-raising benefits!

When to workout

There are two schools of thought with regards to when you should work out to best boost testosterone.

The first is that you should work out in the late afternoons or early evenings.

Testosterone is naturally highest in the morning. Testosterone is actually one of the hormones that helps you wake up in the morning with energy and vigor. (That’s why men with low testosterone often feel fatigue, low energy, and low interest.)

T levels naturally fluctuate throughout the day, but they steadily decline as the day progresses. This is one of the reasons you might find that you start to lose some of your energy in the middle of the day.

The second school of thought is that you should work out in the mornings.

Studies show that working out on an empty stomach has the greatest fat burning benefits. Burning fat can help raise testosterone levels. Lifting weights on an empty stomach can also help increase metabolism and muscle synthesis, which can further boost testosterone.

My suggestion? Workout whenever it fits in your schedule! If you workout in the mornings, don’t eat beforehand and you’ll see greater fat burning benefits. If you workout in the evenings, drink a cup of coffee to improve your energy and performance.

How to workout

There are three things you need to focus on in your workout in order to boost testosterone levels:

  1.    Compound exercises
  2.    Fewer reps at higher weight
  3.    Longer rest periods

Most experts refer to this kind of workout as “high intensity interval training (HIIT).” Basically, you’ll want to push more muscle groups, with heavier weights, for short intervals.

1. Compound exercises

Compound exercises work a number of muscle groups at one time. Research shows that testosterone levels are correlated with the amount of muscle tissue that’s stimulated during a workout. The more muscles you work, the greater the T boost. You want to avoid isolation exercises, which have no proven impact on testosterone.

The ideal workout would consist of three compound exercises. This includes one upper body pull, one upper body push, and one lower body exercise.

Examples of upper body pull include pull-ups, dumbbell rows, and chin-ups. Upper body push includes push-ups, chest presses, ring dips, and shoulder presses. Lower body compounds include body weight squats, weight squats, lunges, and reverse lunges.

Before you get into your compound movements, you want to warm up your muscles. I recommend 30 seconds of skipping rope and 30 seconds of jumping jacks. This gets your heart rate up while also moving the muscle groups you’ll need for your compound movements.

Do 30 seconds of rope skipping, 30 seconds of jumping jacks, and then rest for 30 seconds. Repeat three times, and you’ll be warm and ready!

2. Fewer reps, higher weight

Studies show that you’ll see the best results if you use a higher weight with fewer reps as opposed to more reps at a lower weight. This is because higher weights exert your body at a greater rate, which helps build muscle and set off testosterone production.

You want to get through 6 to 8 reps at a high weight. This ensures you don’t injure your muscles by overexerting, but you’re still pushing your body just enough.

Remember—you see the greatest results in the last rep that you “can’t do!” Power through it.

Repeat for six sets. By the end of the sixth set, you’ll be exhausted and ready for an extended rest period.

3. Longer rest periods

You want to rest at least one minute between sets and five minutes between exercises. This gives your body the chance to recuperate to take on the next set.

The five minutes between each exercise helps relieve your central nervous system so you don’t start to release cortisol (and end up with cortisol steal and lower testosterone levels).

You also want to rest 48 hours between each workout.

That’s right—you don’t want to workout like this every day! Doing so can actually overexert your body and damage your T levels.

You don’t want to be sitting on the couch and eating potato chips on your down days, though. You should still get up and get your body moving for at least 30 minutes each day. I recommend light cardio, like walking or swimming. This will help you burn calories and stay active without stressing your body.

When boosting your testosterone levels, recovery is especially important!

Pulling it together

Altogether, you want to train large muscle groups, lift heavy, and rest long.

You have three compound movements: 1 upper body pull, 1 upper body push, and 1 lower body compound. Do each movement with 6-8 reps for six sets. Rest one minute between sets and five minutes between each workout. This brings you to about a thirty-minute workout.

This kind of HIIT workout is what we call “explosive resistance training.”

I love this kind of training because it’s quick but mighty. You only need a half-hour to see amazing results in your testosterone levels, muscle growth, weight loss, energy levels, and overall health.

HIIT has even shown significant results in the bedroom. It can actually help boost your stamina and make you a better lover. Score!

Benefits of using exercise to boost testosterone

Working out:

Raises testosterone, which leads to higher libido, greater energy, and improved wellness.

Burns fat, which reduces the risk of disease and raises self-confidence.

Enhances stamina, which allows for improved workouts and sex sessions.

Reduces stress, which lowers the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) and other serious diseases.

Improves sleep, which helps produce more testosterone and other hormones.

Overall, exercise creates a cycle of sexually invigorating testosterone production!

Conclusion

Does exercise boost testosterone? Heck yes, it does! Working out one of the most natural and effective ways to overcome low testosterone and bring back optimal health. Resistance training is one of the best ways to get your T level back to where you want it to be.

The benefits of exercise are immense. But we all have our excuses. We don’t have time. We don’t have a gym nearby. We’re too busy.

It’s time to stop making excuses. There’s no better time to take control of your health than RIGHT NOW!

You can find thirty minutes every other day to improve your health, can’t you?

You just need to start. You need someone to help you.

That’s what I’m here for.

Do you want specific, in-depth exercise plans that can help you raise testosterone this month?

Are you looking for more ways to boost your testosterone?

Then it’s time to sign up for The Male 90X program!

This genetic-based report and analysis will give you everything you need to know about low testosterone levels and any sexual health concerns. You’ll also get a private consultation to address an individually-tailored plan that will put you on the track to success.

It’s time to invigorate your sexuality and enliven your vitality! 

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Epigenetics Series: Can Working Out Change Your Genes?


Professional athletes seem to have a special “something” that no one else has.

“It must be in his genes,” we say when we see Michael Phelps swimming or Michael Jordan shooting a three-pointer.

But is it actually in their genes? Is there a gene for athleticism?

Epigenetics says “maybe.” It’s not necessarily that professional athletes have a certain DNA sequence that no one else has. It’s that they have a unique DNA expression that the rest of us haven’t yet activated.

For example, elite Kenyan runners have dominated distance running events for the last two decades. Research is working to prove that a mixture of training regiments, high altitude, and diet create a certain type of genetic expression. If researchers can understand the unique interactions of these lifestyle factors, it could theoretically be replicated in any population.

So yes, I’m telling you that you can change your genes and finally be a pro baseball player or soccer player.

But epigenetics isn’t just relevant to professional athletes.

Your genes can impact your athletic ability…

But the reverse is true as well.

Your exercise routine can also impact your genes.

In fact, working out may change your genetic expression so drastically that it can deactivate the genes of disease and illness.

You’re shedding more than just pounds when you exercise. You’re shedding off methyl groups that impact the expression of your DNA.

Let me explain.

What is epigenetics?


Epigenetics looks at the expression of DNA genetic makeup. The DNA you’re born with is the DNA you’ll have until you die. It stays the same throughout your life.

However, the expression of those genes can change.

For example, your hair might change colors or textures based on how your genes are expressed—even though the gene for your hair hasn’t changed. This is because a certain gene is turned “on” or “off.”

In the same way, you can actually activate or deactivate your risk for disease and illness based on how these genes are expressed.

Science has proven that genetic expression has a direct impact on your risk of disease and illness.

Epigenetics looks at two key modifications that impact DNA expression: methylation and histone acetylation.

In this article, we’ll focus on the specific link between DNA methylation and exercise.

What is DNA methylation?

DNA methylation occurs when a methyl (CH3) group is added to a DNA strand. A reaction occurs on the DNA chain, likely between the methyl and the fifth carbon atom of a cytosine (which is one of the four nucleotides of DNA).

Basically, when a methyl group attaches to DNA, it changes the way that DNA is expressed.

Think of it like a light switch. When the methyl group is added to the strand, the light switch is turned into the “off” position. When the methyl group is removed, the light switch flips back to the “on” position.


Methylation usually slows down the expression of genes (although not always).

In some cases, this slowing of genetic expression is a good thing. For example, if you have a gene for Alzheimer’s, DNA methylation may help slow the onset.

In other cases, you don’t want DNA methylation to impact your genetic expression. For example, it could “turn off” the genes that help regulate your body weight. You could be putting on the pounds—even when dieting—simply because your metabolism genes are slowed down due to methylation.

How does exercise impact DNA methylation?

There hasn’t been a lot of conclusive research about the impact of exercise on overall epigenetics just yet. But there has been one significant finding that is completely changing the way researchers are looking at both exercise and epigenetics as a whole.

Yup, this finding is that important.

A Swedish study looked at muscle biopsies of 14 healthy men and women before and after physical exertion. They put them on an incremental treadmill test to exhaustion.

They found significant changes in the DNA in their muscles after an intense workout. The genes that were involved in metabolizing energy actually de-methylated after exercise.

This tells us three really important things:

  1. Working out changes our genes.
  2. The intensity of the workout matters.
  3. Working out even once can impact your epigenetics almost immediately.

  1. Working out changes our genes.

The most important takeaway? Overall, exercise impacts our genes.

The fact that working out can change our genetics is an incredible finding. This says that we are not victims of our DNA. We have control over our genetic expression based on certain lifestyle factors, like working out, diet, or even sleeping.

  1. The intensity of the workout matters.

Researchers pushed participants to the point of exhaustion. They have not yet studied what happens after a mild to moderate workout.

The researchers concluded, though, that methylation is dependent upon intensity. A leisurely walk likely isn’t changing your genetic expression like a sprinted marathon.

  1. Working out even once can impact your epigenetics.

Probably the most surprising result of this study was how quickly the genetic expression changed. The participants had de-methylated genes after just one exhausting workout.

This completely alters the former notion that genetic changes happen slowly (if at all).

This test showed that genetic changes don’t happen overnight… they can happen faster than that.

However, there’s a caveat to this. The researchers know that genetic expression changed after one workout. But we don’t know how long these changes lasted for.

We don’t know if methyl groups were added back to the genetic sequence immediately afterwards—when the participants went back home and started living their normal lives again.

So, change is fast… but we’re not sure if it’s lasting.

What does this mean for your workout?

  1. You need to workout.

If you want to avoid disease and illness, you need to exercise. Of course, working out is the best way to keep your muscles strong, your body fat low, and your arteries clean and clear. Beyond that, working out will help remove harmful methyl groups that could be slowing down your healthy genes.

Your genes can help prevent disease—but only if they’re healthy and clear themselves.

  1. You need intense workouts.

Harder exercise produces more de-methylation. This means that you need to boost the intensity of your workouts on a consistent basis.

I recommend high-intensity interval training (HIIT). This type of training exhausts your body with intense intervals, followed by periods of rest. These cycles of intensity and recovery may have the most influential impact on DNA methylation.

Plus, HIIT is the best way to burn fat, improve muscle mass, and raise your testosterone levels. Learn more about HIIT here.  

  1. You need both cardio and lifting.

In the study, researchers looked at the effects of cardio. This means that you need to get your heart pumping if you want to impact your genetics.


But this doesn’t mean cardio is the only exercise you should be doing. Lifting can also produce an intense exercise that could influence DNA.

In fact, researchers concluded that the reason for the de-methylation was due to muscle contraction. The muscle cells were contracting and releasing at high intensity during the cardio, which was likely what removed the methyl group.

I like to think of it that your muscle flexes “shook loose” the methyl groups from the DNA.

Thus, both cardio and lifting are important. Cardio contracts muscles throughout your body, while lifting concentrates the muscle contractions. These contracts lead to intense de-methylation in your genes.

Pairing cardio and lifting in an intense, sweaty workout may be able to improve your genes in just one session!

  1. You need to workout frequently.

We don’t yet know how or why DNA methylation occurs.

We know from this study that genetic expression can change quickly. This means that it’s possible that even one fatty, fried meal could add a methyl group back to your genes after an intense workout.

Just as quickly as exercise can de-methylate your genes, other lifestyle factors can reapply methyl groups to your genes.


We don’t yet have a clear understanding of what does and doesn’t impact methylation. All we know is that exercise can help de-methylate important genes. Thus, if you want to prevent harmful methylation, you need to workout often.

The more frequently you workout, the more opportunities you have to remove methyl groups from your genes—no matter where those methyl groups are coming from.

This frequent de-methylation can help speed up healthy, disease-preventing genetic expressions.

A note about caffeine…

If you read the study, you’ll find that the researchers found that caffeine has a similar effect as exercise.

They gave a culture of muscle cells a dose of caffeine. Caffeine releases calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which mimics a muscle contraction.

This is how they realized that muscle contraction are the basis for de-methylation.

They were then able to conclude that calcium might create a cellular trigger that activates de-methylation.

But hold on for a second. Don’t start glugging coffee in place of your workout. You’d need about 50 cups a day to have the same de-methylation effect that one intense workout would have. (Yes, 50 cups of caffeine could be lethal. Don’t try that at home.)

However, you may want to try drinking a cup of black coffee before you workout.

Caffeine is a stimulant that can give your muscles a jolt of energy, pushing you further in your workout. With this added energy, you can lift more at a higher intensity—which encourages de-methylation.

Caffeine hits its peak stimulation between 30 and 75 minutes of consumption. So try drinking a cup about one hour before your workout.


Plus, research found that drinking caffeine before a workout can help keep cravings in check while reducing caloric intake for the day. This can help boost your weight loss efforts. Two-for-one!

Why black coffee? Milk and sugar create a temporary sugar high. When your body starts falling from this high, it will lose all its energy and start to crash. This creates low energy that can kill your workout.

If you need to cut the bitterness of your coffee, try almond or cashew milk. This helps you avoid dairy while giving you healthy fats that can help improve your workout.

Other benefits of working out:

Exercise makes you healthier, stronger, and trimmer.

I think it’s time to start working out.

Conclusion

You know that exercising is important for your health. But it goes beyond just body fat, calories, muscle, and even organ health. Working out has a direct impact on the health of your genes—which is the foundation of your overall wellbeing.

You could be a professional athlete if you wanted to—as long as you altered your genes appropriately.

But even if you have no interest in a Super Bowl ring, exercise can improve your genetic makeup to help resist disease and illness.

Healthy genes make a healthy person. And exercise makes for healthy genes.

Not sure how to workout for optimal health? Or how to impact your genes towards overall wellness?

No worries.

That’s why I’m here.

Check out our Male 90X program, a genetic-based report and analysis that will help you unlock and achieve your maximum potential.

You can change your health, your genes, and your life right now.

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In this eBook, Dr. Tracy Gapin unlocks the secrets to naturally increase testosterone and how to optimize your performance in the bedroom, the boardroom and beyond – by leveraging YOUR unique genetic blueprint.