Tip #5: Don’t Skip Leg Lifts
You might see lots of people cut back on leg day or avoid lifting legs when they are tired. It isn’t all about upper body when it comes to testosterone. A recent study demonstrated the testosterone boosting importance of a full-body lifting program.
Two groups of lifters performed different lifting plans—one group only lifted arms, the other arms and legs. The total-body lifting group saw greater improvements in strength that researchers attributed to increased hormone response.
Starting with the first training session, testosterone production was significantly higher with the total body lifting group. Be sure to incorporate leg lifts into your training program and develop a total-body workout plan. Don’t skip leg day!
Tip #6: Avoid Too Much Cardio
Your body adapts to match the type of efforts you want it to do—specific training produces specific results. When it comes to long bouts of cardio exercise like cycling or running, your body lowers testosterone production.
A 2003 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research demonstrated that testosterone levels in cyclists was much lower than weightlifters. Additional studies show that exercise duration and negatively impact post-exercise testosterone production.
Cardio is a healthy addition to any weight training program, but it might cause you to lose muscle.
Because your body adapts to the type of stress you place on it, lower testosterone production levels that result from endurance oriented exercises are helpful to runners and cyclists who want to stay lean.
If you are looking to make gains in the weight room, cardio should be avoided.