Obesity, muscle loss and listlessness. Depression, loss of libido and sleep disorder.
If you’re thinking of boosting testosterone right now, you’re on the right path.
Higher testosterone levels correlate with having more pleasure. On work, sport or sex. Basically, the entire life becomes a lift-up.
In this article, you will learn 9 scientifically proven methods that naturally increase your testosterone level, without doping.
Measurably higher testosterone levels
Natural solutions that boost your testosterone can be found in either one of the following three areas:
- the right lifestyle
- the right training
- the right nutrition
These factors are at the forefront, especially things we are stressing about every day in and out.
This article is mainly concerned with how you should exercise if your goal is aimed at boosting your testosterone level.
If we lack certain nutrients, our body may suffer a decreasing level of key hormones that make us strong, lean and fit.
You’re going to find out which nutrients can demonstrably increase your testosterone and on a related note which dose is effective.
With the right methods, it possible to expect measurable results within 8 weeks.
#1 Training with heavy weights
As we all should know by now, weight training has multiple benefits up its sleeve.
Strength training with heavy weights helps to boost testosterone levels.
By the way, this not only concerns increasing testosterone but also if you want to reduce body fat while avoiding the so-called yo-yo effect.
One effective way of how to influence the hormone response of your body can be found in varying the duration of breaks between each training set.
In one study, men released the most testosterone by taking 90 seconds breaks between squats and bench press.
Another study with women came to a similar conclusion: The shortest break in between sets, in this case, 30 seconds, led to the highest growth hormone release.
Unfortunately, there was no testosterone measured in these women.
Increase testosterone level with the right weight training:
Exercise regularly, at least 2-3 times a week with heavy weights.
Although the studies on breaks in between training sets are interesting, you can probably expect even better results if you align your strength training as stated here to your own goal.
#2 Sprints for higher testosterone levels
Cardio training can also boost your testosterone. At least if you approach it the right way.
High-Intensity Interval Training is a great choice.
A crisp six-second sprint can significantly increase testosterone value, shows a study conducted with young men. Even 20 minutes after exercise, the total testosterone of the subjects remains elevated.
Long periods of endurance, such as marathon training, can negatively affect your testosterone levels.
A study by the University of British Columbia observed several groups of long-distance runners. It reveals that runners who run more than 100 km per week have significantly less free testosterone in their blood than athletes who engage in non-endurance exercise two to four times a week.
The higher the training load in long-distance running, the lower the testosterone levels have been in the examined participants.
Increase testosterone level with the right cardio training:
If you want to increase your testosterone, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) can be the right choice for you. Rather implement shorter, more intense workouts instead of longer units.
There are almost endless possibilities of how to design your personal HIIT. Due to its broad range of exercises and simple concept, you can be as creative and flexible as you want.
If running is not your cup of tea, then you may want to take a look at Jason Ferruggia’s ebook “Renegade Cardio“.
#3 Sunlight (or Vitamin D)
Did you know that sperm possesses Vitamin D receptors? Incidentally, Vitamin D not only affects fertility in men…
Obviously, Vitamin D plays an important role in the production of endogenous muscle building hormones.
Studies show that testosterone levels in men with a previously low Vitamin D level increase when they recourse on a Vitamin D supplement for one year.
Vitamin D is one of the safest and inexpensive supplements that you can deploy to protect you from a testosterone deficiency.
Most Germans (82% of men and 91% of women) receive too little Vitamin D throughout the year.
People who live close to the equator don’t necessarily need supplements to attain proper Vitamin D levels, given that you spend enough time in the sun (rule of thumb: 1-2 sunny days a week on the beach).
However, people with a darker complexion need even more sunlight to produce the same amount of Vitamin D.
Increase testosterone level with the right dose of Vitamin D:
If you want to use a Vitamin D supplement, you should choose between 2,000-3,000 IU per day.
IU stands for an international unit and is used for the fat-soluble vitamins (such as Vitamins A, D and E) and certain hormones, enzymes, and biologicals (such as vaccines).
The lower limit corresponds to basic recommendations for dietary supplements guides, while the upper limit can be traced back to studies on Vitamin D and testosterone.
Since Vitamin D is liposoluble, you should take it with a meal that also contains fats. Some people report falling asleep in the evening. If you have similar experiences, you may want to switch to consume it during breakfast.
Along these lines, the most important partner for Vitamin D is Vitamin K2, which activates several essential proteins produced by Vitamin D.
Without Vitamin K2, Vitamin D can even have harmful effects. This is based on the fact that a good Vitamin D supply with a concurrent Vitamin K2 shortage can lead to a gradual calcification of tissues and vessels.
Eventually, this can cause numerous health complications in the long term, since the calcium accumulates without Vitamin K in our bodies and cannot be utilized.
#4 Saturated and monounsaturated fats
Most people think of omega-3 and other unsaturated fatty acids when the term “healthy fats” occurs. However, our body also needs saturated fats, especially for testosterone production.
You can find healthy fats particularly in natural unprocessed foods such as fresh meat, dairy products, certain oils, coconut and other nuts, eggs, olives or avocados.
Increase testosterone level with the right fats:
First and foremost, if you already pay attention to a balanced nutrition, your supply with healthy fats is presumably sufficient.
It is a good idea if you do not consume the majority of your daily energy from sugar or high-processed cereals, rather focus on untouched, natural foods.
Here is a selection of foods that will provide you with enough healthy fat and at the same time boost your testosterone:
- Olives and olive oil (I am a big fan of olive oil)
- Unprocessed nuts such as almonds and pecan nuts
- Organic meat from grass fed grazing animals
- Coconuts and coconut oil
- Organic eggs
- Butter from pasture milk from grass-fed cows
- Avocados
- Cold processed organic nut oils
#5 Zinc
Zinc is a mineral that is often associated with a testosterone-boosting effect.
In fact, a zinc supplement can fulfil the above-mentioned benefit, but only if you suffer from a zinc deficiency.
If you do a lot of sports, you run the risk of getting a zinc deficiency because zinc is lost while sweating. Means, the more you sweat the more zinc your body loses.
Furthermore, a zinc deficiency has been linked to low IGF-1 and testosterone levels in several studies. If you stop a zinc deficiency, your testosterone will also rise.
An increase in zinc levels above the average, however, does not increase the testosterone level.
Moreover, if you overdose zinc, you can irritate your digestive system and, in extreme cases, even damage your liver or kidney. On top of that, high zinc dosages can also lead to copper deficiency.
To conclude, in the long term, you should not consume more than the safe upper limit of 25mg zinc per day without medical evidence.
Increase testosterone with the right zinc dosage:
For people with a zinc deficiency, you should take about 25-30mg of elemental zinc each day. Elemental zinc refers to the weight of the mineral itself and not to the compound that is supposed to facilitate absorption in our bodies.
For example, 230mg of zinc gluconate contains 30mg of elemental zinc. On the compound, the elementary dosage is declared, not the total amount.
As with all dietary supplements, you should also rely on a proper quality product for zinc.
In addition, zinc should be consumed with a meal. For higher doses over 800mg, you should not take it simultaneously with other minerals such as magnesium or calcium. This is largely because the substances then compete with each other for absorption in the body.
However, at a lower dose, you can take the minerals together beyond doubt.
Note: without blood tests and medical advice, you should not take more than 25mg zinc per day over a longer period of time.
#6 Magnesium
Alike zinc, magnesium is a mineral.
Magnesium deficiency is also associated with low testosterone levels.
If you suffer from a magnesium deficiency, you can boost your testosterone by using a magnesium supplement.
On the contrary, if your body contains enough magnesium in your blood, then additional magnesium will not affect your testosterone levels.
Furthermore, as it applies for zinc, magnesium is also released through sweat which means the more physically active you are, the more likely is the risk of a magnesium deficiency. Especially for athletes, a magnesium supplement makes sense.
Increase testosterone with the right magnesium dose:
The effective dosage is in between 200-400 mg of magnesium a day. Magnesium citrate is best absorbed compared to any other form. Either you can take it with a meal or on an empty stomach.
Magnesium is part of the basic protection with vitamins and minerals.
#7 Creatin
Creatine is a small organic acid that supports the energy metabolism of our cells.
It can regenerate a cell’s ATP stores much more quickly than via supply of sugar or fatty acids.
In this way, creatine can accelerate muscle growth and noticeably increase strength in weight training.
Some studies have already examined how creatine affects male sex hormones. It appears to increase the testosterone level in young men aged 18-35 years reliably by about 20-25%.
Creatine is one of the best-studied nutritional sports supplements. So far, no side effects have been proven with proper dosing.
Due to its proven high effectiveness, creatine is part of the basic recommendations for every ambitious athlete.
Increase testosterone level with the right creatine dosage:
Take 5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily with a meal, ideally on training days before or after exercise. That’s more or less the standard dose.
I can recommend you to set specific times when you take all your supplements, this facilitates the whole process and helps to be consistent with your consumption instead of taking it every now and then.
Alternatives to creatine monohydrate are often way more expensive, but not more effective according to studies.
A loading phase, in which you dose creatine higher, is not absolutely necessary. The only advantage of a loading phase is that the effects may become active a little faster.
If you want to implement a loading phase, take 20-25g creatine monohydrate for the first 5-7 days before switching to the average dose (5g creatine monohydrate per day).
#8 BCAAs
Studies indicate that branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) can boost your testosterone, especially if you take them briefly prior to your workout.
There are BCAAs as dietary supplements, but natural foods such as low-fat quark/curd, cheese and other protein-rich dairy products also contain many BCAAs. Another excellent BCAA source is the classic Whey Protein.
Increase testosterone level with the right BCAAs:
If you already follow a protein-rich diet and rely on natural protein sources, then you do not necessarily need to use an additional BCAA supplement to optimize your testosterone levels.
It is a good idea if you first resort to natural protein sources and if necessary supported by high-quality protein powder.
#9 The bigger picture
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 implement the above-mentioned hormone tuning measures, you may think twice about whether you take the wind out of your sails by your own lifestyle.
This may sound confusing but oftentimes the biggest and most obvious solution is where don’t expect it and accordingly not search for.
Increase testosterone level by assessing your own lifestyle:
Some of you may already live a balanced lifestyle and therefore don’t have a lot or even nothing to improve on, but I assume that won’t be the average.
Other among yourselves may hinder your testosterone levels to increase by approaching the wrong things, living unconsciously or don’t even scrutinise the whole topic.
Take a look at your lifestyle. Is there anything that may cause low testosterone levels? Do you notice some areas where you can make changes and improve respectively? I highly advise you to assess your living first before you start implementing those fine-tuning tips within this article.
Micronutrients for higher testosterone levels
Let’s recap what we’ve learned today about micronutrients and minerals that can help us to boost our testosterone levels.
If you want to increase your testosterone, you can compensate for micronutrient deficiencies with the following supplements. Thereby you supply your body with all essential nutrients needed for optimal working hormone metabolism.
Consumption (effective dose per day):
- Zinc 25-30 mg
- Magnesium as citrate 200-400 mg
- Vitamin D as Vitamin D3 2,000-3,000 IU. Remember to consume it with a meal and most importantly Vitamin K2!
- Creatine as monohydrate 5g
When buying supplements, always pay attention to proper quality.
Basically, it is significant to have a balanced and healthy diet, consider exercise with regular physical activity and check which lifestyle factors you can still optimize.
Closing thoughts
After having talked quite a lot about how you can naturally boost your testosterone level, it becomes clear that once again physical exercise and a proper and healthy diet are the cornerstones of our life.
We can prevent, support and gain seemingly endless benefits when consuming the right amounts of macro- and micronutrients. All that by just consciously eating untouched, natural foods instead of highly-processed foods.
There is and shouldn’t be any supplement that can replace a naturally healthy and balanced diet.
As mentioned in #9, I highly advise you to make the first step and take a closer look at your lifestyle and assess whether you come across any areas with the potential to improve upon or not.
Having done that, then you can start to implement the fine-tuning tips from this article to naturally boost your testosterone levels.
What is your experience with low testosterone levels? Have you already tried out some of these tips? Any other tips to naturally boost testosterone levels?
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Cheers for reading, guys
Claas
