Despite all the publicity it receives, there are probably still a few things about testosterone that you don’t know. And it’s important that you do, because this hormone will help in almost every area of your life. Yes, it is your chief muscle-building hormone and this means it’s crucial for both men and women to build muscle and burn fat. But the benefits don’t end with the shape of your physique, because it also impacts your sex drive, mood, bone density and production of red blood cells.

Needless to say, it’s pretty important so to make sure you’re optimizing your levels of it in the most natural ways possible. So these are the things that you can do this week.

 

Win At Something

You don’t need a Superbowl ring on your finger to enjoy a testosterone uptick because any small victory will do the trick. By winning even a small competition, you can get a hike in your testosterone levels by as much as 14.46%, found a paper in Human Nature.

This might be a game of rock paper scissors or having a bench-pressing competition with your training partner, because that feeling of beating someone else has a massively positive outcome on hormonal levels. All of this will help hike up this vital hormone in the most natural way possible.

Get Outside

Time in the sun is complicated because too much can damage your skin but just a few minutes can make you feel great, which could be thanks to the testosterone boost.

People who supplemented with vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, had higher levels of testosterone compared those in a placebo group, found a paper in Hormone and Metabolism Research. Try taking these supplements or spend just 5-10 minutes in the sun between 11am and 3pm to top up your levels of testosterone.

Set An Alarm To Go To Sleep

It’s important to go to bed at a regular time and get a set level of sleep if you hope to optimize your testosterone levels. When people restricted their sleep to five hours per night for just one week, their testosterone levels plummeted by as much as 15%.

Your sleep schedule should be consistent, meaning you go to bed and wake up at the same time each night and this way you’ll be as rested as possible.

 

Try weaving these techniques into this week’s routine and keep a diary of how you feel and train. There’s every chance that you’ll feel better, be happier and stronger by making these simple changes.

 

 

[REFERENCES]

WINNING

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12110-018-9323-5

VITAMIN D

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21154195/

SLEEP

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445839/

Photo by Jesper Aggergaard on Unsplash