It’s no secret that there is an epidemic of low testosterone in today’s society. Over the past few decades, the testosterone levels of men in the U.S have plummeted. In fact, each generation of men since the sixties has had markedly lower testosterone levels than the generation prior.
This is cause for serious concern as healthy testosterone levels are vital for a man’s physical health and mental wellbeing, while low testosterone can cause a tsunami of negative consequences.
Effects of low testosterone:
- Decreased Muscle Mass
- Impotence
- Depression
- Excess Body fat
- Trouble Sleeping
- Decreased Energy
- Lack of Motivation
- Infertility
- Low Libido
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- And More…
Low testosterone ruins a man both physically and mentally.
Luckily there are a myriad of scientifically validated methods which I am about to share with you which you can use to naturally raise your testosterone levels.
Lose Body Fat – If you are a man with over 15% body fat, the single best thing you can do to increase your testosterone production is lose fat.
There is an inverse correlation between body fat levels and testosterone levels. The more body fat you have, the more you increase your insulin resistance, which thereby perpetuates cortisol circulation, which compromises testosterone production, which also means you gain more fat. It’s a negative feedback cycle.
Put simply, the more body fat you have, the less testosterone you will be able to produce.
That’s not to say however that you should attempt to lose weight as quickly as possible. Ultra low calorie “crash” dieting places an enormous strain on your endocrine system, and a stressed endocrine systems is also antithetical to healthy testosterone production.
To quickly, safely, and effectively lose body fat, read How to Get a Six Pack in 2 Months. This will be your most effective tool for combating low testosterone.
“Doesn’t low body fat decrease testosterone as well?”
For most of the people reading this, the more relevant concern when it comes to optimizing testosterone levels isn’t having too little body fat, but too much. That being said, remaining at ultra low body fat levels can impede testosterone production. Luckily this doesn’t start happening until men get well below 10%. When bodybuilders drop below a certain body fat percentage (usually under 7%) their testosterone levels plummet as their bodies reallocate resources away from less vital processes such as hormone production and towards more immediate needs such as organ function. However this level of leanness does not happen by accident; and even professional bodybuilders don’t remain at this level long term. So unless you are intentionally dropping below 7% body fat (not an easy thing to do) you have nothing to worry about.
Eat More Eggs – Cholesterol plays an important role in countless bodily processes. Everything from hormone production to metabolizing vitamins is negatively affected by cholesterol deficiency. So if you aren’t consuming enough cholesterol you are missing out on one of your body’s most important molecules.
For the purposes of increasing testosterone levels, the only thing you really need to know is that cholesterol is a precursor to testosterone. Cholesterol is converted into progesterone, which is converted into testosterone.
“But isn’t cholesterol bad for you?”
No!
In fact your body needs around 1000-1400mg of cholesterol each day for optimal physical, psychological, and cognitive function.
So where did this “evil cholesterol” myth come from?
Back in the 1950s a bunch of scientists (who probably all suffered from low testosterone) found a correlation between heart disease and arterial lesions.
When they studied the fat deposits on the arterial lesions they found that they contained cholesterol and wrongly assumed the cholesterol was to blame for the lesions. In actuality, the lesions were not caused by the cholesterol but were in fact due to inflammation from other sources (free radical damage, etc.) and the body used the fatty cholesterol laden deposits to cover the lesions on the arterial wall sort of like a bandage. So cholesterol was present at the site of the lesion, but it was in no way responsible for it.
The bottom line is that you need to consume more cholesterol if you want to optimize your testosterone, and the best places to get them are steak and eggs.
Fix Vitamin Deficiencies – There are certain vitamins and minerals which men need in order to optimize their testosterone. Deficiencies in any one of them will cause testosterone levels to plummet.
A good men’s multivitamin should fix any deficiencies and improve testosterone production, however it should be noted that increasing vitamin and mineral intake passed baseline levels will not increase testosterone any further.
The most common vitamin deficiencies which are robbing men of testosterone are zinc, vitamin D, and selenium.
Improve Your Body Language – Your body language can have a powerful effect on your physiology. Small adjustments in the way you sit and stand can increase your testosterone levels significantly in just a matter of minutes.
A study by Dr. Amy Cuddy in which men’s testosterone levels were measured both before and after assuming confident body language showed that by assuming high status posture for just two minutes men were able to increase their testosterone levels by 20% while simultaneously lowering their cortisol levels by 25%.
If assuming good body language for just two minutes can increase your testosterone by 20%, imagine what permanently fixing your posture and making good body language a natural part of who you are will do for your testosterone levels in the longer term.
So how can you improve your body language? Well in order to understand good body language we first need to understand bad body language. Bad body language is characterized by closed off posture. Hunched shoulders, arms crossed in front of the chest, legs closed, chin tucked, etc. The key to good body language is to do just do the opposite. Be open and take up space. Sit with your legs spread and avoid crossing your arms in front of your chest.
Good body language is a habit, and just like implementing any habit you’ll need to take it one day at a time. For the next few weeks whenever you notice yourself engaged in bad body language immediately fix it. Eventually good body language will become a part of who you are.
Improve Your Sleep – Football coach Jim Harbaugh once said, “Sleep is the best steroid.” He was right. A good night’s rest will do more to heal your body than any drug ever could. Most people need between 7-9 hours of sleep each night, during which time the body can recover from the stresses of the day. Without enough sleep you will slowly place more and more stress on your body and your testosterone levels decline. If you haven’t been getting enough sleep, or if you are consistently getting low quality sleep, here are some tips.
- Sleep in total darkness. Remove all light from your room. Your body is designed to be awake when it’s light out, and asleep when it’s dark. By removing ambient light, you won’t be sending your body mixed signals.
- Wear socks on your feet while sleeping. Keeping your feet warm will lead to improved sleep. Your hands and feet have very sensitive temperature receptors. This means they get cold faster than the rest of your body. This is probably the weirdest sleep hack I’ve ever used, but it works.
- Having sex (or masturbate) before bed. During orgasm, the body releases several chemicals, one of which triggers the desire for sleep.
Lift Weights – Nothing else provides the health and anti-aging benefits of weightlifting. It’s the closest thing to the fountain of youth that science has so far discovered.
In terms of increasing testosterone however, not just any weight training will do. Doing high reps with the girly weights will have basically no effect on your testosterone. If you really want to raise your testosterone levels you need to train explosively and with heavy weight while activating a large amount of muscle. Studies have shown that the hormonal response to training is directly proportional to the amount of muscle volume activated. This means you want to focus on the “big” lifts; squat, deadlift, and bench press.
It should also be noted that endurance training is antithetical to testosterone production. If you are serious about increasing your testosterone you need to cut out endurance training.
In Summary – If you want to increase your testosterone levels naturally you need to…
- Lose fat
- Eat more eggs
- Take a multi-vitamin
- Improve your body language
- Improve your sleep
- Lift weights
Until next time,
Luigi