When your personal goal and to stimulate muscle growth, you need to consider different factors. This does not only concern the intensity of your workouts but also the feeding, the taking of supplements and the rest time. It is important to point out that there is another element that will determine the amount of muscle that you will be able to create: the natural levels of testosterone present in the body.
Testosterone is produced by the body and is one of the essential hormones for muscle growth. It is able to increase strength, protein synthesis, performance, lower bad cholesterol levels and improve mood, thanks to a series of biochemical reactions testosterone boosters.
The male body is able to produce about 10mg of testosterone a day. As for the female organism, it produces, on average, 0.25 to 1 mg of testosterone per day. However, with age, it is normal that the release of this hormone is not as constant as between 18 and 35 years.
WHAT SHOULD I DO TO STIMULATE TESTOSTERONE PRODUCTION IN THE BODY?
- Avoid excess aerobic workouts. Do short workouts but high intensity. Indeed, they bring more benefits and increase the production of testosterone.
- Train intensively. If you want to have meaningful results, you need to be able to go beyond your limits. The greater the effort, the more you will be able to provide testosterone to your body.
- Put on weight. A good way to stimulate testosterone production is to use heavier weights and to do little repetition. Some studies say that you have to use 85% of your heaviest load.
- Focus on compound exercises. Make compound exercises the basis of your workouts: squats, bench presses, curl bars, pumps and slits.
- Do not exercise in excess. Sleep enough to recover and avoid overtraining. Overtraining can decrease testosterone levels by 40%. If you need it, take a break of one to two weeks. Lack of sleep promotes the release of cortisol, a catabolic hormone that lowers testosterone levels.
- Eat healthy, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (omega-3 and omega-6). They are present in foods such as: peanuts, walnuts, almonds, avocado, fish, oils, vinegar and canola.
- Consume vitamin C. This vitamin is able to control cortisol levels. It is present in the following foods: lemon, orange, passion fruit, strawberry and tomato.
- Consume sufficient amounts of Zinc. The deficiency of this mineral makes it difficult to release testosterone. If she is not free in the blood stream, she will not be able to perform her duties, such as muscle anabolism for example. You can find this mineral in: nuts, chestnuts, meats, salmon and liver.
- Increase your consumption of vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, turnip, Brussels sprouts and radish. These vegetables stimulate the decrease of estrogen levels while increasing testosterone.
- To increase testosterone levels and build muscle, you have to consume protein. You must consume a quantity of protein proportional to your weight and, preferably, a quality protein. Learn to choose the best protein Whey to increase muscle mass.
- Avoid alcohol consumption. Alcohol has a negative influence on testosterone levels. So drink with moderation.
- Reduce stress. Too much stress stimulates the release of Cortisol. Practice physical and emotional relaxation (massage, acupuncture, yoga).