Are there any safe ways to increase one's testosterone levels?

[LonelyFace]

I know it's kinda a dumb question, since the only way I can think of increasing my testosterone levels is through steroids, which is dangerous, but I'm just wondering if anyone knows if/how it can be done. Preferably without the use of anabolic steroids that'll just destroy my body....

Or is this one of those questions where I should just ask my doctor?

Any information will help. Thanks in advance.

 

[Bicuriousaussie]

Squats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bicuriousaussie]

Oh btw, compound excercises in general will do wonders for test

workout 3x a week (mon wed fri)

squats each workout
alternate between pullups and deadlift
alternate between bench press and ohp

 

[hothunk222]

I hear squats are good and deadlits. Exercises that use several different muscle groups at once because they raise hormone levels in your body.

I don't know if it has anything to do with the squats and dead lifts I've been doing but I recently started to sprout some chest hairs (??)

There are also natural supplements out there that are supposed to increase your testosterone but I don't know anything about them.

 

[3nipples]

Why do you need to increase your testosterone levels?

 

[Corny]

testogel ?

at least that's what the doc prescribed a buddy of mine.
and he made the mistake of telling us

 

[KaraBulut]

SRMan:

What you're experiencing is the early phase of DOMS- delayed onset muscle soreness.

Generally for any sports injury, the immediate recommended treatment is RICE:
Rest,
Ice,
Compression and
Elevation

In this case, you would probably benefit from resting your legs the rest of the afternoon and applying ice packs to your thighs.

Taking a non-steroidal antiflammatory agent (NSAID) this evening may also help- ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), naproxen (Naprosyn, Alleve), etc will help reduce the soreness in the morning.

Starting tomorrow, gentle massage, gentle stretching and a warm bath should help reduce the stiffness and soreness that tends to come with DOMS.

 

[LonelyFace]

^I totally learned about that in my weight training class! I feel smart now.

But seriously, all I need to do are things like squats and deadlifts? Good thing I do those in wt. trng. class (which is on tuesdays and thursdays for me, so I add an extra workout session on saturdays). Granted, I don't do them very much, so I'll have to make sure and do them more often. I want to try and stay away from drugs and supplements and the like if I can, but I may resort to asking my doctor about it if I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere.

I did feel a bit more masculine after doing leg exercises last night.... I think I might do more tonight, or tomorrow in class.

As for WHY I want to increase my testosterone levels, it's kinda complicated. Some of it I can't exactly remember, but I know for me, it's mostly a self-image thing, and I think I'd feel better about myself if I had higher testosterone levels (I have depression, so I think that might be a cause, or the wellbutrin causes low T-levels as a side effect or something. I dunno).

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I really appreciate it.

 

[KaraBulut]

As for WHY I want to increase my testosterone levels, it's kinda complicated. Some of it I can't exactly remember, but I know for me, it's mostly a self-image thing, and I think I'd feel better about myself if I had higher testosterone levels (I have depression, so I think that might be a cause, or the wellbutrin causes low T-levels as a side effect or something. I dunno).

In general, there's three approaches to increasing testosterone levels.

1. Health-promotion activities that increase available testosterone and DHEA levels.
2. Prohormone supplements.
3. Male hormone (or anabolic steroid) supplementation.

Health promotion activities include getting adequate sleep (the male body produces more male hormone and growth hormone during sleep), stress reduction (stress reduces male hormone production and increases cortisol production) carbohydrate reduction and weight-bearing exercise (which increases male hormone production).

Prohormone supplements - do some reading about prohormone herbals such as Tribulus terrestris. However, most men under 40 do not need prohormone supplements.

Male hormone supplementaiton - some men do have low testosterone levels which can affect their workouts.

 

[KaraBulut]

Also doesn't sexual arousal boost testosterone levels?

It does but it is a short boost. Sometimes it's hard to tell which is chicken and which is egg... are you horny because your testosterone level is up or is your testosterone level up because you're horny?

Isn't there a connection with testosterone and cholesterol? Would increasing HDL benefit testosterone levels?

There is in the sense that cholesterol is used by the body as a building block for hormone production. But the amounts of these hormones is very small and our bodies are very sensitive to them, a large quanitity of cholesterol is not needed to maintain normal levels.

There is an opposite problem, though. Body fat seems to be connected with female hormone production. So, men with large amounts of body fat tend to have higher estrogen levels.

 

[LonelyFace]

Ok, so I should do more squats and deadlifts, eat cabbage, get rid of fat (which I'm trying to do, and I've never looked better, but there's always room for improvement), and stop masturbating? How would the last one help? For some reason, I'm not making the connection on that one...

 

[KaraBulut]

... and stop masturbating? How would the last one help? For some reason, I'm not making the connection on that one...

I think that last one was supposed to be a joke.

Sexual activity (including masturbation) causes a short term increase in male hormone.

The reason that squats would be effective is that it is weight- bearing exercise. Really- any weight-bearing exercise will trigger the body to produce additional anabolic hormones (one of which is testosterone).

 

[LonelyFace]

I see. I'm kinda looking for more of a constant testosterone increase kinda thing. Working out is starting to not do it for me anymore. I mean, I'm still gonna work out and all, but I don't get the same good feeling I used to get... I think it's my depression or the pills or something. I was gonna schedule an appointment with my doctor and ask him about it, but I fuond out that he's required by law to retire when he's 61, and I guess he's that old now (weird), so I might have to find a new doctor first...