Men's Health > Testosterone > Increasing Testosterone

Increase Testosterone

Whew...it's 8:00 am and I feel like a new man. I wonder if my barber can do a good close-cropped hair cut?

So ... obviouosly after going after my previous list I do indeed have a low testosterone problem.

That could explain alot of different things.

Now what can I do to increase my testosterone ... where's that list?

Now, let's see where I was...oh yeah here's the rest of my list to increase testosterone naturally.

Skip the Fad Diets

Research suggests that eating a high protein, low carb diet can cramp your testosterone levels. High amounts of dietary protein in your blood can eventually lower the amount of testosterone produced in your testes. (there go my power bar snacks) Your protein intake should be about 16% of your daily calories. If you're the average 170 pound man eating 2,900 calories per day, you should be eating as part of that 140 grams of protein which is about the amount found in two breasts (chicken, not hers) and a 6 ounce can of tuna.

Stick with Tough Exercises

To beef up your testosterone levels, the bulk of your workouts should involve "compound" weight-lifting exercises that train several large muscle groups, and not just one or two smaller muscles (say like your eyelids). Example: studies show that doing squats, bench presses or back rows increase your levels more than doing curls, tricep push-downs, etc...even though the effort may seem and feel the same. That's why doing squats can help you build bigger biceps. If taking a squat would do the same thing, I'd be the next Hulk Hogan.

Do Five Reps Per Set

Throwing around 5 pound dumbells won't help you effect a rise in testosterone, neither will lifting 12 packs. Start off by using a heavy weight that you can only lift five times. That weight is around 85% of your one-rep maximum. A Swedish study found that this workload produced the greatest boosts in testosterone levels in men. They also found it created a hunger for Lutefisk and Volvo's.

Do Three Sets of Each Movement

Penn State University scientists determined that this fosters greater increases in testosterone than just one or two sets. Rest a full minute between sets (use this time to perform a thong-check), so you can regain enough strength to continue lifting at least 70% of your one-rep maximum during the second and third sets.

Rest Harder than You Work Out

If you overtrain - meaning you don't allow your body to recuperate adequately between your training sessions - your circulating testosterone levels can plunge by as much as 40 PERCENT as was discovered by studies performed at the University of North Carolina. The symptoms of over training aren't hard to miss: irritability, insomnia, muscle shrinkage and collecting Enya cd's. To avoid overtraining, make sure you sleep a full 8 hours at night and never stress the same muscles with weight-lifting movements two days in a row. Getting adequate rest is probably one of the best testosterone increasers underutilized by men everywhere.

OK, let's look at my planner from today: Had an erection, had morning sex, lost one pound today, quit my Adkins diet, did 5 reps of push-ups. I'm becoming a stud.

Next time, I'll try to finish my 13 ways (5 more to go) but don't push it or I'll slap ya to the ground like the girlie you are.

Sam Fields