Boost the Testosterone Within

It’s not surprising that a killer workout can flood your veins with muscle-building T. It’s the physiological reward for getting under the bar and pushing yourself to your limits. How much of a hormonal response you get depends on the amount of muscle you use, as well as the training intensity and volume. In other words, you need to move big heavy weights to get the maximum test boost.

We also assessed T levels after another type of exercise: Pilates. While Pilates is no joke, it doesn’t score as high on the John Wayne scale of manliness as traditional iron-grinding. But the test was worth it just to see M&F Group Creative Director Chris Hobrecker in a leotard.

Our Findings: We used a high-volume workout designed by Senior Science Editor Jim Stoppani, PhD, and as you might expect, the subsequent testosterone levels did not disappoint. In fact, one editor actually doubled his resting test levels after performing the routine. This same editor had his testosterone levels cut in half by the Pilates workout.

Conclusion: Training intensity matters. Use heavy, basic lifts for maximum muscle growth.

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At times the iron can seem daunting. But the sound of music can give you the strength to push yourself beyond the limits of mere mortals. Not only can music motivate you psychologically, but it can also have a direct effect on your physiology. When you hear motivating music – preferably adjusted to a screaming volume -stimulant hormones increase and testosterone along with them. This can be a winning combination for training intensity, and driving muscle growth and fat loss.

Listening to calming music, however, will decrease this stress response, which is ideal postworkout. The stress reduction can facilitate recovery and ultimately sleep – just be sure to get home first.

Our Findings: While heavy music had a small but positive impact on resting T, soft music had a strong negative effect on hormone levels. Before you throw away your Celine Dion collection, you should know that this test was conducted on active guys who like hard music. So we can’t rule out inactivity or disliking the music as causes of test decline.

Conclusion: Use music to psych yourself up before your workout, but come down as soon as you’re done with lighter music that you like.

There’s something primal about grilling a steak. The sight of the flame, the sound of the meat sizzling and the occasional grunt, all while working your finely honed craft. This synergy makes for an overtly masculine intervention that just begged to be tested. That, plus the free steak.

In direct contrast was our intervention of inhaling the artificial chemicals from scented candles (bubble bath optional). They may be relaxing for some, but many of these candles contain endocrine disruptors such as phthalates and parabens. These preservatives have chemical structures similar to hormones and act as antiandrogens. In other words, they’re bad for testosterone, muscle and fat loss.

Our Findings: Cooking steak had no discernable impact on T, but our worst fears about scented candles were realized. Even a 30-minute exposure decreased resting T by one-third.

Conclusions: Cooking steak is still manly; scented candles, on the other hand, may make you want to breastfeed.

If you like the Godfather movies (well, at least the first two), that’s good news because one study actually showed elevated testosterone in men who had watched a particularly violent 30-minute segment. On the flip side, watching 30 minutes of The Bridges of Madison County caused testosterone levels to drop sharply, while progesterone increased. One website actually suggested that this reduction was a good thing because it could stimulate a man’s desire to cuddle. How did we get to the point where some think lower T is a positive effect? I can just hear the ladies now: “Sure he’s small, overweight and impotent, but my man is an excellent snuggler.” I don’t think so.

Our Findings: Although the chick flick made at least one editor cry, it didn’t have any notable impact on resting T. Before you assume our T levels are so rock-solid that they’re impervious to a mere movie, you should know that watching a guy flick decreased T. This drop could be a result of the sustained attention required for a full movie. Looks like we’ll have to limit our Jackie Chan viewings to 30 minutes.

Conclusion: You’re probably safe if you have to sit through a chick flick. But if you start to feel restless during any movie, hit the pause button and go grab a protein shake.

You had to know we wouldn’t forget the most important intervention of all: sexy ladies. Visual arousal is a great way to boost T. We’re all married, so let’s just say we went home and gazed longingly into our spouses’ eyes.

But it’s not just your perception of women that matters. Men you find intimidating, even if you aren’t aware of it, may negatively impact your hormone levels. While this reaction is related to our dominance instinct, if you lift regularly, you may have the confidence to resist this response.

Our Findings: The trial we used for intimidation caused little variation in testosterone. Perhaps more importantly, the test involving attractive women yielded a healthy boost in T, which is great considering that women are often our primary impetus to train. For an easy testosterone spike, check out bikini competitor Ali Sonoma who was featured in a previous issue of M&F.

Conclusion: It’s official: Reading M&F really does drive up T levels.

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Salimetrics for their oral testosterone testing kits and analysis.