Monday, September 3, 2012

7 Steps to Higher Testosterone


High T. Everyman wants it. It means power, energy, virility culminating in the ultimate swagger man. After the age of 30 your testosterone levels begin to drop and continue to drop. Nice thought. If you are under 30 then you don't need the seven steps, just follow the first two.

The normal range is 300-1,200 ng/dL. Typically low testosterone is considered below 280 ng/dL, but most will say that if you drop below 400 you need help.

How do you achieve it? Diet and exercise of course are the platform for your launch. Decreasing fat stores and keeping stress hormones at bay also will help.

There are seven steps you need to complete in order to maximize your testosterone production and use.
Yup, “Ancient Sea Salt” would be a scientifically accurate branding for ordinary table salt.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) August 16, 2015

I'm not the most verbose dude so let's jump right in.

1) Eat for Higher T.
    Eat like a freakin man. Whole eggs, beef, nuts. Almonds, brazil nuts and
    cod liver oil. Avocados and olives. Oysters if you can handle it. The
    saturated fat is required. The body uses cholesterol to produce testosterone.
    Sprinkle in a few servings of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, kale
    and collards) keeps your testosterone from becoming estrogen. Grass fed
    beef contains higher levels of CLA which has some value for fat burning
    and anti-aromataze. Drink black tea or real cocoa they lowers cortisol.
    Add wheat germ to your shakes to get teste supporting zinc. Raw honey
    containing atleast 25mg of royal jelly.

2) Lift Heavy and Lift Late
    Heavy compound movements (either heavy 6-8 reps or high reps with
    short rest). Squats and deadlifts should lead the way. Pull-ups, shoulder
    press, bench press, bent-over rows. Why late? Because the stress
    hormone cortisol is higher in the morning and the higher your cortisol
    the lower your testosterone.

3) Increase Luteinizing Hormone (LH). 
Take one of the following. Go five days on/two days off for eight weeks, then take  two weeks off.

    Tribulus terrestris - Take 500-2,000 mg per day in 2-3 divided doses. One dose 30-60 minutes pre-workout.

    D-Aspartic Acid - 3 grams first thing in the morning

    Fenugreek Extract - Take 500-2,000 mg per day.

    Avena sativa -100-250 mg 1-2 times per day, with one dose about 30-60 minutes before your workout.
        
4) Stimulate the Testicles Leydig Cells. 
Go five days on/two days off for eight weeks, then take two weeks off.

     Eurycoma longifolia Jack (Longjax aka Tongkat ali) - 200-300 mg 2 -3 times per day.

     Forskolin (Coleus forskohlii) - Take 20-50 mg 2-3 times daily.

5) Prevent Aromatase (what good is testosterone if it converts into estrogen)
     
Chrysin (also known as 5,7-di-hydroxyflavone) - 1g with breakfast, lunch,  and the last meal of the day
     
Damiana extract - 50-500mg of three times per day in between meals

Diindole or Diindolylmethane (DIM) - 200-300mg in two or three divided doses

6) Free the Testosterone - testosterone can't enter muscle unless it's free from sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG)

    Stinging nettle root (urtica dioica) - 100-500 mg of stinging nettle root extract 2-3 times per day on an empty stomach.

    Boron - 10 mg per day was shown to increase free testosterone by almost 30% while also lowering estradiol goes down by forty percent.

    Avena Sativa - see step 3

    Eurycoma longifolia Jack (Longjax aka Tongkat ali) - see step 4
    
7) Increase Your Androgen Receptors - that free testosterone now has to enter muscle tissue.

Carnitine - 1-3 grams of  in the form of L-carnitine, acetyl-L-carnitine or L-carnitine-L-tartrate with breakfast and pre and post workout.

Oh yeah, use alcohol in moderation and have sex frequently. It may be tough to do both since they often go together but do your best.

Remember, this is just advice (like the TMW says), "Do whatever you want to do?"

Bonus information:

Take ZMA - the trio of zinc, magnesium aspartate and vitamin B6 increased testosterone by more than 30% and IGF-1 by 4%.

Blunt cortisol - Higher cortisol means lower testosterone.


Take 5-10 grams of BCAAs in the morning or 800 mg Phosphatidylserine (PS).


Additional information:

How is testosterone made?

From Muscle and Fitness
Stoppani, Jim. "The testosterone diet: finally, a meal plan with one utterly important muscle-building goal: to ramp up your body's levels of testosterone.(NUTRITION). ." Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness. 67.7 (July 2006): 150(6).

"To understand how diet affects testosterone levels, you first must understand testosterone production and its actions. It all begins in the brain. A hormone called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is released from the hypothalamus (a small section deep within the brain) and travels to the pituitary gland. From here, GnRH stimulates the release of luteinizing hormone, which travels via the blood all the way to the testes, where it activates enzymes that convert cholesterol into testosterone. What you eat can positively or negatively affect any one of these steps.

Your nutritional regimen can also influence testosterone after it's produced. Testosterone travels in the blood to muscle cells and other tissues either as free (or active) testosterone or bound to a carrier protein. Only the free kind can work to increase muscle size by entering the muscle cells. At some tissues, such as fat cells and the brain, fat can be converted into estrogens--yes, the female hormone you don't want in excess in your body, since it can lead to fat gain and inhibit further testosterone production by decreasing brain hormones. Diet can influence the amounts of both active testosterone and estrogens in the blood."
End of Muscle and Fitness excerpt.

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Aggressive Strength Testosterone Booster

Sources:
Kadey, Matthew."$#'t you can add to shakes: boost testosterone, burn fat or gain energy with a few hassle-free, supercharged additions to your regular protein drink. " Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness. 71.13 (Dec 2010): 172(5).

Aceto, Chris."Bodybuilding food alternatives: twelve surprising muscle-building foods. " Flex.   23.5 (July 2005): 90(4).

Vittek, J., and B. L. Slomiany. "Testosterone in royal jelly. " Experientia. 40.1 (Jan 1984): 104(3).

Stoppani, Jim. "Aspire to boost test: use the amino acid D-asp to raise testosterone levels. " Flex. 28.8 (Oct 2010): 113(2).

Stoppani, Jim, and Steve Stiefel. "Test drive: dramatically boost your testosterone levels and muscle gains with this six-week training, nutrition and supplement program. " Flex. 23.11 (Jan 2006): 96(9).


 Scheett, Tim. HIGHER TEST SCORES. Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness (0744-5105) 20071201. Vol.68,Iss.12;p.243-243

Stoppani, Jim. Raise test scores: an herb for higher testosterone levels.  Flex (8750-8915) 1 Sep 2010. Vol.28,Iss.7;p.109(2)

Jackson, Dwayne. "Size matters (in the gym): make sizable gains with these 10 alternatives to prohormones." Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness Aug. 2005: 142+. Academic OneFile. Web. 3 Sep. 2012.

The encyclopedia of supplements. Flex (8750-8915) 1 Feb 2012. p.270(7)

Stoppani, Jim; Brown, Jordana. TESTOSTERONE'S LITTLE HELPERS. Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness (0744-5105) 20080601. Vol.69,Iss.6;p.218-225

Stoppani, Jim. MuscleTech performance series Anotest: an up-close look at MuscleTech's 4-in 1 testosterone booster. Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness (0744-5105) 1 Jun 2012. Vol.73,Iss.6;p.88(1)

Breakfast boron capsule boosts testosterone from ergo-log.com

Naghii et al., 2011. Comparative effects of daily and weekly boron supplementation. J Trace Elem Med Bio. 25(1):54-58.