Men: Get Your Mojo Back and Gain Muscle in the Process
Sorry ladies, this one is geared towards the Fellas! (Doesn’t mean you can’t read it anyways.)
Haven’t been feeling very energetic? Not feeling as good as you did a few years ago? Low sex drive? Not seeing the results you’ve busted your ass to get at the gym?
Well guys, if you’ve began to feel this you might be the victim of your Testosterone dropping. Every year after 30, Men drop about 1% in testosterone levels. So how can you fight nature and win?
Let’s start with what testosterone is actually:
Plain and simple testosterone is what makes you a man. Testosterone controls your body’s ability to make muscle, burn fat, produce red blood cells and sperm, and it’s vital for your sex drive. Testosterone is a hormone the body naturally produces, while your peak testosterone levels will be during your adolescence and early twenties that doesn’t mean you can’t prevent these levels from dropping. They can stay quite high into your sixties if you exercise, eat the right foods, avoid smoking and limit your body’s fat levels.
So here are some tips to help you boost your testosterone!
- Lift Heavyweights! (Do Squats and Deadlifts)
The more you tax your body, the more testosterone your body will produce. The most physically taxing exercises? Squats and Deadlifts! Compound movements will work your body harder and boost your testosterone. Aim for your 5 rep max (with proper form of course) and your body will pump the testosterone!
(You can learn both of these lifts from our experienced red deer personal training experts at 360 Fitness.)
- Do Sprints and Interval Training! (Get your legs moving!)
Short burst of energy have been shown to increase testosterone levels, not only during the activity but during the recovery as well. So ditch the long boring cardio sessions and start giving it 100% effort 10s on 20s off and watch your body change!
- More Sleep! (Go to bed already)
How important is sleep? Testosterone levels can drop 10-15% in healthy lean males who do not consistently get enough sleep (between 6-8hrs). Testosterone is linked to energy levels, and if your testosterone levels are low, your energy levels will be low as well! So instead of relying on coffee, energy drink or anything else, just sleep!
- Eat Fat! (Eat it, don’t be it)
Testosterone is produced by cholesterol which is a derivative of fat. Eating healthy fats (Like Omega-3’s) will increase your testosterone levels! What are some good sources then? Eggs (yolk and all), nuts and meats are great sources of fat.
- Eliminate Stress! (Deep breath in, Deep Breath out)
Stress creates a hormone called Cortisol. Cortisol will prevent Fat loss, muscle gain, reduce quality of sleep and lower testosterone production. Avoid stress, or find healthy ways to deal with it (Like exercise….seriously, exercise). Lower stress equals more testosterone.
- Train the right way! (Your body will thank you)
Spending 3 hours in the gym a day is ridiculous and it’s impractical. Stop chatting with your friends, cut down your rest periods and keep yourself moving. Reducing the amount of time in the gym also prevents over training your body. Over training can lead to the opposite effect of what you’re working towards. If you need help learning how to train the right way, come in to 360 Fitness and we can teach you all the tricks!
- Supplement (do it the right way)
There are 3 types of supplements that naturally boot testosterone; Zinc (essential for sexual health), Vitamin D (Stops testosterone from being changed into estrogen) and Fish Oils (Healthy fats).
Using these 7 tips will help boost your testosterone to make you feel younger, get better results, increase your sex drive and improve your overall health.
Rich Hill
CSEP-CPT
