Testosterone is the principal male sex hormone. Females produce it too but in very small quantities. It is a steroid hormone that helps you increase lean muscle and bone density. It is one of the main drivers for the physical changes of puberty such as increased muscle, facial hair and deep voice. Although optimal levels of the hormone are present during puberty, it is important to maintain such levels throughout adulthood. In both men and women, healthy levels of testosterone in the body are important for general health, reduced risk of disease, increased vitality and sexual function.
1. You need to warm up appropriately
Just like an elastic band, a muscle is normally more limber when its temperature is slightly raised. If you want to challenge your body to move to a greater motion range, you can practice dynamic stretching to get you warmed up for exercise. Simply do one round of each of these dynamic stretch moves to get you started.
Leg swings: Support yourself by holding on to a bar or wall then swing one leg to one side then back and across your body in front of your other leg. Do at least 10 leg swings on each side.
Bent Torso twists: Maintain an upright position with your feet wide apart then extend your arms to the sides and bed over, until your left hand touches your right foot. While at it, keep your back straight and shoulder blades pulled together. Rotate yourself until the right hand touches your left foot. Repeat the rotations 20 to 30 times.
2. Do some heavy lifting, literally
Studies have shown that it actually takes heavy weights to significantly boost testosterone levels. You need to perform 2 to 3 full body heavy lifting workouts every week to get good results. If this sounds scary because you are a beginner, you can opt to simulate some of these exercises with weight training devices and push-ups until you build enough strength and skill to perform the exercises freely. Include some of these workouts in your weight-lifting.
Dead lifts: Lift a bar with standardised weights until you are in an upright position with the bar in front of your thighs. Perform deadlifts in sets of 5, with 5 repetitions then allow a 5 minutes rest after every set.
Squats: Support the bar carrying weights with your upper back and allow your elbows to stay up for balancing. Squat as low as possible without losing your lower back arch. Do 5 sets of 5 squats and rest for 5 minutes.
Chin-ups: Hanging from a shoulder-width pull-up bar, pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar. Do chin-ups in sets of 4 and 8 repetitions.
Bench presses: Hold a bar as you lie on a bench ensuring that there is space between your lower back and the bench. Pull the bar from its resting position and pull it to your chest. When it touches your chest, press the bar back up. Eight repetitions of 4 sets of bench presses will yield great results. Allow for a 2-minute resting period.
3. Sprint
A series of very short but intense 6-second sprints can boost your testosterone levels. Do several sprints on the treadmill after weight-lifting, or head out to the park or backyard and conduct 5 to 10 short sprints. Ensure that you get full recovery after every each sprint (usually 3 to 4 times longer than your sprint time).
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