Testosterone, what is the optimal level? Tips for a natural increase of testosterone
For people who are new to bodybuilding and hear the word “testosterone”, doping or steroids popping in their heads. In this post, we will look at this important hormone from a point of view of a natural bodybuilder. You will find out if your levels are optimal, what affects it negatively or positively, how is it with testosterone when training and how to naturally increase your testosterone levels.
Do you have the optimal levels of testosterone?
A natural limit is set to be around 264 – 916 ng/dl (Nanograms Per Decilitre). You can test your testosterone levels, just ask your GP. The levels of testosterone are the highest in the early morning and then slowly decreases. That is why these tests are done in the morning.
Maximise your levels of testosterone a natural way
What negatively affects your testosterone?
Not enough sleep or a bad quality sleep
There is a lot of studies but in this one it was found out that if you shorten your sleep 5 days in a row, from 8 to 5 hours of sleep, it will result in your testosterone levels going down in between 10-15%. In contrary to that, in this study it wasn’t confirmed that testosterone levels go down after 5 days of less sleep. But, the absence of sleep for 33 hours in a row (you know, partying all the time), resulted in 27% decrease of testosterone. If you are really serious about bodybuilding and your testosterone levels, make sure you get enough of quality sleep.
Caloric deficit
This creates only a temporary drop in your testosterone levels, which will come back quite quickly once you are eating enough and not in a caloric deficit. That is why it is important to include refeeds into your diet plan. The longer you go without a refeed in a caloric deficit, the lower the testosterone. A healthy male in the stage of hypogonadism (low levels of testosterone), which is caused by a caloric deficit, it is quite easy to do testosterone jumps (even 85%) in one day. That is only if you eat a lot more calories then you had till now. That does not mean it will work like this if your testosterone levels are optimal.
Higher weight or obesity
If your fat percentage is too high, it naturally decreases your testosterone levels. The tip is to keep your fat percentage optimal all year long, there is no exact number but generally, it is recommended male 10-15% and female 18-25%.
Excessive consumption of alcohol
Excessive consumption of alcohol decreases testosterone levels and may even increase estrogen in male individuals. Low consumption of alcohol may cause an immediate increase in testosterone levels. In fact, some study claims that if you have some vodka after training, it will increase your testosterone levels. But do NOT take this into an extreme or too seriously. There are very few studies about this. Also, don’t train when you’re hungover and you probably still have alcohol in your body. It only prolongs the time when your testosterone is lower. Simply, alcohol and testosterone don’t go together very well.
Overtraining
If you are overtrained, your testosterone will drop. That is why we include deloads in our training programmes.
What positively affects your testosterone?
First of all it comes down to how many calories you are consuming. Maintenance is the best way to go. Fats are in particular important. It is very individual and even saturated fats can have a positive effect. Even though they are not so healthy, we should still include them in our diet.
Another thing that positively affects testosterone are obviously women! We are not going to go into detail, because we all know this. But it was found that just looking at an attractive woman or talking to one has a positive effect.
We hope we have explained this topic clearly and that you have learned something. You can also increase your testosterone levels an easier way and that is by using supplements. We have a few to offer you. We have picked the best quality ones to make sure they will deliver the best results possible.
If you are taking SARMS, it is not essential but advised to use PCT and testosterone booster act like a PCT, so you might want to consider getting one.
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