Testosterone is not only about muscles and masculinity. After all, it’s about that, however it also impacts every area of your life. Getting your testosterone in check is considered one of the primary places to look if you need to optimize your health. Yet, our modern lifestyle is affected by pitfalls that may send Test plummeting. The proven fact that men’s testosterone levels are falling demonstrates this. And it is not just impacting the unhealthy amongst us. Hardcore fitness fanatics (such as you and me) aren’t proof against a few of these mistakes.
In this text, I’ll unveil the highest 8 testosterone killers you must avoid in any respect costs. A number of small changes could make a noticeable difference not only in your physique but additionally in how you are feeling on a every day basis. So, without further ado, let’s get on with it.
1. Being Obese
Being chubby is the second leading reason behind decreasing testosterone levels in males, trailing only aging. And since nobody has found the fountain of youth, it is the primary factor that you could control. It is not a recent discovery, either. Researchers have known that obese men have lower testosterone levels than lean men because the Nineteen Seventies.¹ The issue is barely more apparent now, with a better percentage of the population combating body weight.
The excellent news is that low testosterone levels attributable to obesity are entirely reversible. All you must do is keep your body lean with regular exercise and nutrition. As a young and healthy gym goer, this may not seem to be it applies to you. Nevertheless, staying lean is particularly vital for middle-aged and older men struggling to maintain their testosterone up.² Last I checked, all of us become old eventually. And once we do, it is best to accomplish that with a lean physique.
So, the underside line is that this: no matter your age, should you are chubby or obese, losing fat is step one in improving your testosterone levels. It is a two-for-one deal. Not only will you feel and appear higher from reducing weight, but additionally from the boost in testosterone.
2. Being Too Lean
I admit, after talking about how obesity lowers testosterone, I’m about to sound contradicting. Yes, being chubby lowers testosterone, but so does being ridiculously lean.
Let us take a look at natural bodybuilding to grasp the toll of maximum leanness. You have probably seen a natural bodybuilder’s physique on the day of the competition. It is a sight to behold: a deep tan, a chiseled mid-section, paper-thin skin, and almost no body fat. Bodybuilders appear like superheroes. But that is just the outward appearance. The truth inside is a distinct story.
The preparation needed to get contest lean is incredibly taxing on the body, specifically testosterone levels. A bodybuilding contest prep requires months of low calories and plenty of cardio as body fat is progressively stripped away. It is a type of controlled starvation. A classic case study on a natural bodybuilding competitor showed his testosterone declined from 9.22 to 2.27 ng/mL during his contest prep.³
How does this apply to you? You don’t have to be a bodybuilder to weight-reduction plan too hard. A natural bodybuilder goes through hell to compete, but they begin recovering as soon because the show ends. The super lean look is unsustainable. Yet, many individuals use a bodybuilder’s physique as the usual for leanness. It’s an unrealistic goal. Plus, pushing your body to extreme levels of leanness is a recipe for disaster on your testosterone levels. The guy within the case study got right down to body fat. Unless you’ll compete, you do not have to be that lean. An amazing goal for most individuals is to aim for 8-12% body fat as a person and 16-20% as a girl. Not only will you look great at that body fat percentage, however it’s , and your testosterone won’t fall off a cliff trying to attain it.
3. Eating an Extremely Low Fat Weight-reduction plan
Nutrition is a cycle, with diets gaining and losing popularity because the seasons change. Nevertheless, understanding what’s truly “healthy” could be more difficult than maintaining with fashion trends. Low-fat diets, once a trend within the bodybuilding community, have pros and cons. While they could be useful from a calorie reduction standpoint, they can even result in a drop in testosterone levels.
A comprehensive meta-analysis conducted in 2021, encompassing six studies and over 200 participants, showed a big decrease in testosterone levels amongst those on low-fat diets in comparison with high-fat diets.⁴ It appears low-fat diets decrease testicular testosterone production.
I’ll be honest. Eating too little fat is a mistake I made prior to now. The reality is I like lower-fat diets. More specifically, I enjoy high-carb diets because fat and carbohydrates have an inverse relationship; more carbs equals less fat, and vice versa. But eating virtually no fat is problematic in other ways beyond just lowering testosterone. Fat is a vital a part of your weight-reduction plan since it provides energy, improves brain health, absorbs fat-soluble vitamins, promotes healthy skin and hair, and the list goes on. Plus, there are essential fatty acids you have to get out of your weight-reduction plan. These include omega-3 fatty acids present in fish like salmon.
As with most things, balance is best. Aim for at the least 20% of your total calories to return from fat to optimize your natural testosterone production.
For instance, should you eat 2,000 calories a day, 20% of that’s 400 calories. 4 hundred calories from fat (fat = 9 calories/gram) is about 45g of fat. You possibly can eat more fat than this, but set 20% as your minimum.
4. Lack of Sleep
Ensuring you’re sleeping enough is the most effective things you may do to spice up your gym performance. It improves recovery, mood, energy, hunger signaling, and testosterone levels. It’s almost unattainable to be at your best with inadequate sleep.
The worst part is that it takes little time to see the negative impact of not sleeping enough. Research shows that even one week of inadequate sleep reduces testosterone levels in healthy young men.⁵
On paper, that is a simple one to implement. Just get your ass to sleep. Aim for 7-9 hours in bed per night. That said, it’s easier said than done.
Listed below are just a few tricks to make it easier to get more sleep.
- Get Drained: One often neglected sleep tip is the impact of physical and mental exertion on sleep quality. I’ve observed that days with hard training or high cognitive demands result in falling asleep quickly. Challenge yourself physically and mentally throughout the day to advertise higher sleep at night.
- Consistent Schedule: Sticking to a daily sleep schedule, even on weekends, is significant for regulating your body’s internal clock. Many individuals attempt to make amends for sleep through the weekend, but this could create a never-ending cycle of attempting to catch up. Go to bed and get up at the identical time daily.
- Watch Your Caffeine Intake: I’m a giant caffeine fan, however it’s a double-edged sword. While it boosts alertness and workout performance, it may hinder sleep. To administer caffeine intake effectively, consider each the quantity and timing. Stay under 400mg every day, roughly the equivalent of a Grande coffee at Starbucks or most pre-workouts. Also, be mindful of timing; caffeine’s effects can linger for as much as 6 hours, so it’s sensible to chop off consumption at the least 8 hours before bedtime, ideally by mid-afternoon and even earlier.
5. Overtraining
There was a time when overtraining was a myth. Not less than, that’s what the hardcore gym bros would inform you. Their explanations would center on not eating or recovering enough. While they’ve some extent, overtraining is an actual thing. If the training volume is simply too great or the athlete lacks enough rest, overtraining can deteriorate performance. It’s different from overreaching or super-compensation. Overtraining is beyond that.
Here’s the silver lining: overtraining is just not a priority for most individuals. The actual worry is commonly undertraining. But for those of us who thrive on pushing our limits, it’s crucial to strike a balance. We must tread fastidiously to avoid the pitfalls of overtraining. The most important concern is with cardiovascular exercise.
Research suggests that excessive endurance exercise training may cause anomalies in men’s reproductive hormones, including low resting testosterone levels.⁶ As a rule of thumb, spend twice as much time lifting weights than doing cardio. So long as you keep on with this rule, you will not have anything to fret about.
6. Drinking Too Much Alcohol
In case you take your fitness seriously, it is best to limit alcohol consumption. It’s filled with empty calories that will not do your waistline any favors. Plus, it messes together with your muscle recovery, slowing down gains in strength and size. Ever notice how you are not raring to hit the gym the morning after a giant night out? That is because alcohol also interferes together with your sleep and motivation to exercise.
I’m not breaking any news here, but downing a bunch of booze is not exactly a fitness booster. Along with every thing I already wrote, alcohol consumption can even result in a decrease in testosterone levels, particularly in men. Nevertheless, it is important to indicate that we’re discussing excessive drinking. A glass of wine or beer will make no substantial impact. Nevertheless, excessive alcohol has been shown to cut back testosterone levels.⁷
The quantity of alcohol you may get away with varies depending on aspects like age, gender, overall health, and individual tolerance. Nevertheless, moderate alcohol consumption is usually defined as up to 1 drink per day for girls and as much as two drinks per day for men. This translates to about 7 drinks per week for girls and 14 for men. So long as you’re on this range, you’re fantastic. Take into account that one drink typically means an ordinary 12-ounce beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.
7. Eating a Micronutrient Deficient Weight-reduction plan
In relation to your weight-reduction plan’s impact on testosterone levels, it’s less about searching for out exotic foods and more about ensuring you are getting essential micronutrients. Amongst these, three key players stand out: magnesium, zinc, and vitamin D.
Let’s start with the minerals. Magnesium and zinc are essential for making and regulating testosterone. Magnesium helps activate enzymes that produce testosterone, while zinc assists enzymes in converting cholesterol into testosterone and keeping its levels healthy in your blood.
Not getting enough of those minerals can lower testosterone levels, so getting them out of your weight-reduction plan or supplements is essential. Research shows that supplementing with magnesium increases free and total testosterone values in sedentary people and athletes.⁸
Living indoors could make it difficult to get enough vitamin D, which is crucial for various health advantages, including testosterone production. Like magnesium, researchers found that men with low vitamin D levels had higher testosterone levels after supplementation.⁹ In case you suspect you lack vitamin D, you may get a blood test to see where you’re. While supplements are helpful, I suggest prioritizing natural sources of vitamin D, like sunlight, and certain foods, comparable to cod liver oil, salmon, milk, eggs, and liver, to maintain your levels where they have to be.
8. Exposure to Environmental Toxins
Environmental toxins are hazardous substances in our surroundings, starting from polluted air to pesticides in our food and chemicals in on a regular basis products like plastics and cleansing supplies. Regrettably, we regularly encounter these toxins through means beyond our control.
Nevertheless, one harmful chemical we will actively reduce is bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is in plastics and other consumer products. Exposure to BPA has been linked to decreased testosterone levels, particularly in young men. Research shows that BPA exposure is linked to reduced levels of serum testosterone in male adolescents.¹⁰ By avoiding plastics with BPA, like certain food containers and bottles, we will reduce our exposure to environmental toxins and safeguard our hormonal health.
Conclusion
Okay, let’s do a fast review.
- In case you are currently chubby, losing fat is the most effective option to improve your testosterone.
- Nevertheless, should you try to keep up a shredded physique year-round, that will even zap your testosterone.
- Do not be afraid to eat some fat; it’s good for you and your hormone health.
- Sleep 7-9 hours per night.
- Avoid doing an excessive amount of cardio.
- You possibly can have a drink or two, but leave the partying days behind you.
- Ensure your weight-reduction plan is wealthy in vitamins and minerals, specifically magnesium, zinc, and vitamin D.
- Lastly, avoid environmental toxins as much as possible, especially BPA.
That about sums it up.
Making any of those slip-ups by itself probably won’t have a big impact. But once you pile all of them up, it starts to matter. The important thing? Strive for a healthy, balanced lifestyle. You do this, and it is going to keep your testosterone levels soaring.
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