Testosterone is the single most important bodily hormone for muscle growth in both men and women. Insufficient levels of this critical hormone will put a cap on how much muscle your body will be able to build. Plentiful levels of testosterone induces many health benefits including generally improved mood, reduction of "bad" cholesterol levels, reduced body fat, increased endurance, stronger sex drive, and greater muscle size and strength.
Considerable clinical evidence supports these facts and there is an unusually high degree of agreement in the literature from various experts with wide-ranging biases on the soundness of these basic points.
Resistance training breaks down muscle fibers and testosterone rebuilds them by synthesizing available proteins. Intense resistance training also raises the body's levels of serum testosterone, proportionally to the amount of muscle mass stimulated and the intensity of the stimulation. Therefore, the best resistance exercises are those that stimulate the most muscle with the least amount of effort.
This leads us to what are called the compound or multiple-joint exercises as they tend to simulate the most muscle mass for the effort invested in performing them. The classic compound exercises are familiar to anyone with a basic knowledge of weight lifting. The standard group includes deadlifts, squats, leg presses, lunges, bench presses, dips, rows, chin-ups, pull-ups and shoulder presses.
Aside from focusing on these multi-joint exercises, high intensity effort is also an important trigger to tell the body to release testosterone into the system. Aim for sets of 5 to 10 reps where the last couple of reps require all-out effort if you're looking to maximize testosterone production. Of course, you have to build up gradually to this level of exertion so don't push too hard if you're just starting out. Hurting yourself and nursing injuries does nothing to increase the body's production of anabolic hormones.
20% to 30% of your calories should come from fats that provide essential fatty acids as these also tend to increase testosterone secretions in the body. Eat flax oil, fish oil, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, and fish to get the right kinds of fats on a daily basis.
Another point to consider is that soy products reduce testosterone levels in men, so many researchers recommend avoiding them altogether. While certain experts minimize the importance of the testosterone-reducing effects of soy, no one seems to dispute the fact that it does increase estrogen and reduce testosterone. So if you're looking to maximize testosterone levels it does seem like a good idea to minimize your consumption of soy, though I don't believe an occasional meal of tofu or steamed soy beans presents a threat.
Keep alcohol consumption to a minimum as well, as it also has a testosterone-lowering effect on the body, along with other anti-muscle-building effects like increasing fat storage and decreasing protein synthesis.
High cortisol levels also lead to reduced testosterone so we want to minimize the amount of cortisol our bodies produce. The negative triggers that drive us to produce more cortisol include high stress, lack of sleep, and over training. So stay relaxed, enjoy yourself, and get plenty of sleep. Ha! This is easier said than done in our crazy world but at least we can agree on which way is up. Oh yeah, and take plenty of time to recover between workouts.
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