Exercise has significant health-related benefits and it is proposed to increase plasma testosterone concentrations . Although exercise increases plasma testosterone concentrations, this effect depends on many factors, including the aforementioned ones. Because testosterone therapy is not suitable for everyone, the best way to increase testosterone levels is naturally. One study found that DHEA supplements are effective in increasing testosterone levels, although it varies for different groups of people. Many vitamins are important for optimum health and testosterone levels, such as vitamin D.
Exercise is only one factor that influences hormone health. For many people, improving cardiovascular fitness can also make it easier to train harder during strength workouts, which may indirectly support muscle-building goals. Even so, cardio remains an important part of a healthy fitness routine.
Lastly, within the scope of this work, we analyzed only studies conducted in healthy men. However, analysis of the existing literature demonstrates a large degree of inter-individual and inter-study variability in hormonal changes during exercise. However, there is no evidence to prove that testosterone therapy raises testosterone in healthy males. People can boost testosterone naturally through diet and exercise or, in some cases, through supplementation. Women also produce testosterone in their ovaries and adrenal glands, but they produce significantly lower levels than men.
Participants were provided with a dietary restriction of 1,680 kcal per day that was maintained through a nutritionally balanced diet restriction program consisting of 12 weekly lectures, as previously described.(12) During the 12-week intervention period, participants kept food diaries that were monitored by dieticians who provided recommendations at the weekly lectures. Total daily steps taken were determined using the uniaxial accelerometer every day, from 2 weeks prior to the intervention period and throughout the 12-week program. Exercise intensity was set so that it increased a participant’s heart rate to between 60% and 85% of his maximum heart rate. None of the participants exercised on the day before these measurements.
Multiple studies have shown that resistance exercise can cause acute changes in serum testosterone concentrations. A 2017 study suggested that increasing physical activity was more beneficial than weight loss for improving testosterone levels. Progressive resistance training and a 29-day hiking journey showed significant increases in testosterone levels, suggesting a potential connection with rucking. Moreover, we found that the changes in serum testosterone levels were positively correlated with the changes in the number of steps taken per day and independent of changes in body mass.
However, a 45 min physiological lag between the LH pulse and testosterone production was well established , and thus LH stimulation may not be the mechanism responsible for the increase in plasma testosterone concentrations with exercise. In summary, resistance exercise appears to be a direct stimulant to testosterone production when sufficient muscle mass load is met, or when a moderate and higher exercise intensity is combined with larger muscle volume and shorter resting periods between the sets. Similar findings were also reported by Kreamer et al. further confirming the importance of a combination of various factors to mount significant increases in the post-exercise concentrations of serum testosterone. Another possible explanation for this hormonal change is the involvement of larger muscle mass, which, in addition to resistance, may be required to induce significant acute changes in plasma testosterone concentrations. A major determinant for this increase in plasma testosterone concentrations is the muscle mass used. Below we analyze the effect of the type of exercise (i.e., endurance or resistance), intensity, volume (i.e., the amount of muscle involved), obesity, and age on the acute or immediate post-exercise plasma testosterone changes. Age, body weight, and exercise type, together with exercise intensity, volume, and the involved muscle type, were studied as factors modulating these hormonal changes.
In our LPA group, it was possible that the average weight reduction achieved was insufficient to increase serum testosterone levels compared with the results in previous studies. In the present study, although the average weight reduction was similar in both groups, serum testosterone levels did not significantly increase in the LPA group. These studies implied that a large weight reduction was necessary to increase serum testosterone levels in obese men. However, after the 12-week intervention, serum testosterone levels were significantly increased in the HPA group but not in the LPA group. In our knowledge, there were no studies investigated the effect of physical activity level or calorie restriction on serum testosterone levels.