SPORTS Exercises such as squat variations trigger an elevated chemical response, pushing the body to produce more testosterone.
3 Tips To Naturally Boost Testosterone By Jonny Parr
Improving testosterone levels has huge benefits as we learn from the experts at Absolute Health & Fitness. You can expect higher energy levels, renewed motivation, enriched mood and, of course, performance in your fitness endeavours will dramatically progress.
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n essence, boosting your testosterone plays a vital role in our standard of life and overall development. Here are three tips to help you advance and make the most of this powerful hormone.
1. Exercise This is perhaps the most recognized method of increasing testosterone levels. When muscles become stimulated, they naturally release the hormone. Activities, whether in the form of resistance training, fitness classes or playing sport will all contribute to increasing natural levels of testosterone.
With specific relation to exercises you should be doing in the gym, compound lifts such as deadlifts, squat variations, bench press, overhead press and pull/chin up variations will elicit the best chemical response. Why? These movements require greater muscle activation and tension due to the multi-joint nature and demands they entail. Put simply, these are your top ‘bang for your buck’ practices that are best incorporated into a typical training day at the beginning of sessions. This is vital as they can be challenging in terms of technique. If you’re a beginner, pay close attention to your form. Perform your warm-up sets, select a weight that is low to medium, and start by performing anywhere between 3-5 sets of 5-12 reps.
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The Vitamin D found in fresh orange juice naturally boosts hormone production
the major muscle groups of the body, but again, a full-body approach is more valuable.
3. Nutrition
Bench-presses are great way to effectively improve the body's release of testosterone
By incorporating compound lifts, your testosterone levels will increase significantly and areas such as muscle mass, bone density, coordination and more, will intensify.
2. Rest And Recovery Easily the most overlooked component of improving testosterone and also refining your fitness is that of adequate rest and recovery. Everyday activities— particularly if you exercise –cause muscle fibres to break down. It’s only after this time that the recovery process begins. There are many factors you can incorporate to promote the rest and recovery process.
Nutrition is vital given any circumstance and helping boost your testosterone is no different. There are some particular key food sources you should consider – namely fats, calcium and vitamin D. • Sleep – It’s commonly recommended that you should aim for 7-8 hours every night. However, it’s fundamental that this is ‘good quality’ sleep. In other words, if you’re restless and regularly wake up during the night, you may not be getting the ‘quality sleep’ you need. Simple changes such as temperature control and even your bedding/mattress can all contribute to improved sleep. Another consideration is that of mid-day naps as many studies suggest snoozing for around 20 minutes can help recovery and therefore advance testosterone levels. The key point regarding this tip is quality of sleep, so try the above pointers if you feel this isn’t happening for you. • Care For Your Body – Much like a car, it’s vital to maintain and fuel the stresses your body experiences. Proven physical methods to achieve this are good nutrition (see Tip 3) and restoration routines such as static stretching and soft-tissue therapy. You can easily manually stretch yourself by performing a series of stretches on the whole body. Major muscle groups such as the hamstrings and quads generally require more attention but overall stretching of the full body is hugely advantageous. With relation to soft-tissue practices, massage is excellent but you can also get benefits from foam rolling. Again much like static stretching, most people will benefit from targeting
• Fats – Fat has a bad name but please don’t confuse bad fats with those that are good. As is always the case, you should aim to eradicate bad fats such as saturated and trans. Instead you should aim for a steady supply of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats which can be found in fish, nuts (i.e. almonds), soy milk, avocado and even my favourite, natural peanut butter. • Calcium – I mentioned bone density as important earlier in this article and calcium most definitely contributes to this. What’s more, calcium will also play an important role in your muscular and nervous system. Good food sources include ‘healthy’ cheese, milk and even broccoli. • Vitamin D – I thought this was a good one as Qatar can most definitely supply you with your daily dose! This vitamin is important for fighting off illnesses, colds and reducing stress. These all negatively affect your levels of testosterone. The sun is the most obvious method of getting your vitamin D but you can also get it via foods such as fish, ‘some’ fresh orange juice, and supplements. To get the most out your life, improved levels of testosterone can pay dividends both mentally and physically. Three natural remedies to tackle this issue include exercise, rest and recovery and nutrition. Try and address these issues and you can look forward to a life more appreciated, fulfilled and ultimately happy. n Jonny Parr is the founder and CEO of Absolute Health & Fitness. For more information on personal training options call 3385-2696 or visit www.absolutehealthandfitness.org.
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