Testosterone What You May Not Know About This Hormone

• Natural testosterone levels begin dipping in men after age 20.
• According to studies, after age 30, testosterone levels in men may drop an average of 2% per year.
• Men suffer a gradual decline in testosterone levels between their late 40s and early 70s - a drop totally about 50%.
• Decreased testosterone production causes an increase in upper-body fat.
• Higher levels of testosterone are associated with good heart health, while dimineshed levels are linked to heart ailments.
• Increased testosterone levels do not trigger overly-aggressive behavior. It is the other way around.
• Diabetes can lower testosterone production.
• In the general population, men have 10 times more testosterone than women.

1. Excess fat - over 30% of your ideal body weight - can increase estrogen levels. With more estrogen in a mans body, testosterone production will drop.
2. Smoking will decrease testosterone levels.
3. Excessive intake of alcohol, including binge drinking will decrease testosterone levels.
4. Severe calorie restriction in an attempt to lose weight. Testosterone production will wane or even shut down as a nuatrual response to what the body " thinks " is a famine. Remember the starvation mode I always talk about? Yes that!
5. Skipping meals or going for extended period without food.

1. Including compound (weight routines that engage multiple muscle groups) exercises in your strength-training or body-building routine. Examples are squates, deadlifts, and bench press. One suggestion is to perform three sets of squats before upper body exercises, thereby stimulating testerone production ahead of time. I almost always suggest you do compound exercises first. This way you perform the hardest exercises while the muscles are fresh and ready!
2. Adhering to a 5-6 rep max for most weight routines. This doesnt mean stopping after 6 reps because 6 is the magic number. No, it means stopping at 5 or 6 because by then, your muscles are smoked out. Or, to see it another way, choose a weight that is heavy enough to make you want to feel like stopping by rep number 6 because you have fatigued the muscle. Always do at least 3 sets!
3. Take a 30-60 second rest in between those highly intense sets. This will be challenging, because many people take up to a 2 minute break in between a 6 rep max lift.
4. Include nuts in your diet. Some claims report that nuts boost testosterone levels. For sure, youll be helping your heart out! ;)
5. Get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If you are getting only 5-6, do what you can to add an hour or two.
6. Eat every 3 hours. This does not mean a 60-calorie apple for one feeding, and one hardboiled egg for another feeding. Give these feed times some substance. If you want to increase an anabolic hormone, snack on a chicken sandwich or a serving of brown rice mixed with chuncks of lean beef instead.