For men, testosterone is the holy grail of hormones—it’s what literally makes us men. Often referred to as the “male sex hormone,” testosterone drives gains in muscle mass, bone density, body hair, and changes the timbre of your voice when you go through puberty. Testosterone also regulates important functions like sex drive, muscle and bone mass, muscle strength, fat distribution, and red blood cell production.
Unfortunately, though, most men’s testosterone levels start to drop once they reach their late 30s or early 40s. After 40, testosterone levels drop about 2% a year.
Guys who are interested in bigger and stronger muscles (along with increased libido) are constantly on the hunt to find easy ways to boost testosterone. But besides taking potentially dangerous drugs or getting a prescription to inject testosterone to build up flagging levels, the only foolproof techniques to increase and maintain healthy levels are lifting weights and eating the right foods, says Thomas King, M.S., C.S.C.S., strength and conditioning coach at JK Conditioning in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
“To maintain high testosterone levels, it is best to eat foods high in magnesium, zinc, and vitamin K, like dark leafy greens for magnesium, shellfish to get a healthy dose of zinc, and plenty of egg yolks for vitamin K,” he says. “Heavy resistance training exercise protocols have been shown to increase T levels in men.”
The best exercises to build testosterone, King says, are multi-joint exercises that utilize the body’s largest muscle groups:
- squat
- deadlift
- bench press
- row
- pullup/chinup
- overhead press
- pushup
Source: https://shorturl.at/efwDI
