7 Scientifically Proven Ways to Boost Testosterone
One of the most common questions that I get asked is: “How do I boost testosterone levels?”
Why do I get asked this question so much? Well, because testosterone is perhaps the most significant difference between men and women.
Testosterone, an anabolic androgenic hormone, which means it’s responsible for muscle growth, confidence, assertiveness, a sense of well-being, energy, and libido levels.
In short, the more testosterone that you have, the better your life will be.
It’s that simple.
Unfortunately, our society is littered with things that decrease testosterone: pthalates, soy, petro-chemicals, political correctness, and a complete lack of male role models.
It’s almost like there’s a war against masculinity.
Fortunately, it’s very possible to increase your testosterone levels.
Using the following tips, I actually increased my testosterone by around 75%.
1. Do Compound Exercises
There’s no way around it. Lifting heavy weights is a must if you want to boost testosterone.
Simply working out at all will boost your testosterone levels, but as this study shows, compound lifts will increase your test levels more than machine exercises will.
The best compound lifts to boost testosterone levels are deadlifts and squats, but any other compound lift (overhead press, bench press, barbell row, etc.) will help.
If you’re new to working out, I recommend getting yourself a copy of Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. Mark Rippetoe is one of the most knowledgeable guys around when it comes to compound lifts, so his simple yet effective compound-lift-based routine is a great place to start.
2. Supplement with ZMA
ZMA stands for zinc, magnesium, and aspartate (or vitamin B-6).
These three nutrients work synergystically to help your body boost testosterone, as shown by this study.
ZMA is best taken before bed, because magnesium has a muscle-relaxing effect, which makes it easier to go to sleep.
I personally take ZMA on and off, because I get most of my nutrients from eating healthy, real, organic food and taking a good multivitamin, but when I’m training extra hard for a photo shoot or to break through a plateau I use Animal PM.
Not only does it have ZMA, but it has GABA, Valerian root, arginine, glutamine, and a whole bunch of other great stuff to help you fall asleep fast and recover while you’re sleeping.
If you do decide to try out Animal PM, I recommend cycling on and off so that you don’t build up a tolerance to the sleep-inducing ingredients. They aren’t harmful, but it’s best to give your body a break every now and then.
3. Utilize Semen Retention
This is just a fancy way of saying to stop masturbating.
Yeah, I know – most guys are going to hate this one. We’ve all been told that masturbation is good for us by psychologists, doctors, and other “experts.”
Unfortunately, however, it’s been shown that masturbation decreases testosterone levels.
You can still have sex, however – sex actually increases testosterone levels, in both men and women.
Why? Probably because your body knows the difference between an actual girl and your hand.
As if these studies weren’t enough, there’s actually a huge community of men claiming that quitting masturbation was the best decision of their lives – they claim that it gave them more energy, clarity, focus, and vitality. These are some of the effects when you boost testosterone levels, after all.
Do their stories technically count as scientific proof? Not really, but when you have over 100,000 men giving anecdotal evidence, it’s definitely something to consider.
4. Eat More Healthy Fat
Fat has been demonized by our society, but it’s actually an essential building block. Your body uses it to repair cell membranes, create testosterone, and build new neurons.
It has to be the right kind of fat, though. According to this study, you should eat monounsaturated and saturated fat to boost testosterone production.
So load up on the egg yolks, almonds, red meat, and avocados.
Despite concern over fat increasing cholesterol levels, studies have shown that consuming healthy fats is actually beneficial for your blood lipid profile (LDL/HDL, triglycerides, etc.).
And if your cholesterol is too high (300+), there’s plenty of ways that you can fix it naturally, which I’ll be blogging more about in the future. But for starters, consume 500mg of niacin every day. It’s been shown to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and raise HDL (good cholesterol).
5. Don’t Stress It
Studies have consistently shown that stress has a negative impact on testosterone.
There’s many ways to reduce stress, but one of the best ways is to meditate.
Meditation has been shown to decrease cortisol levels, which will indirectly boost testosterone levels. If you don’t know how to meditate, check out my article “A No bullshit Guide to Meditation.”
Another great way to reduce stress is to have an awesome morning routine designed to reduce cortisol levels.
6. Get Some Sleep
It’s been shown that less sleep means less testosterone.
I get it – life is busy. Sometimes you need to skate by on 5-6 hours of sleep, or even stay awake for a few days at a time. Sometimes you have to forgo sleep to push yourself to the next level or accomplish something that’s right within your reach.
Don’t make a habit out of it, though. It’s best to get around 9 hours of sleep a night. I’ll be writing an article on how to hack your sleep in the future.
Supplementing with melatonin can be a good way to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep, but beware: you only need .5-1mg, anything more will shut your body’s own production down. Also, don’t take melatonin regularly (longer than a few days in a row), or you’ll build up a tolerance.
7. Avoid soy and BPAs
Soy related products and BPA have been proven to wreak havoc on your testosterone levels.
You can avoid soy by reading all of ingredient labels on what you eat – be careful though, manufacturers often use scientific terms that don’t outright say “soy.” Avoid anything that says “hydrolized,” “MSG,” “gelatin,” or “textured vegetable protein.” You can find a more extensive list of soy ingredients here.
Avoiding BPA will probably be a little bit harder. From cups to containers to water bottles, BPA is in nearly everything that’s plastic.
When you do buy water bottles, be sure that they’re BPA-free.
Don’t store food in plastic containers. Instead buy some glass containers – your testosterone levels will thank you.
In Summary
If you want to boost testosterone levels, you need to put in some work. There isn’t a “quick fix,” aside from steroids, but even those you can’t be on your whole life.
If you want to see the benefits, you have to actually put in the work and make some permanent changes.
But, I promise you that if you put in the time and effort it will repay itself ten fold.
Until next time,
-Jon
About the Author Jon Anthony
After learning to successfully trade the market, build a six pack, start a social circle from scratch, and increase his IQ by 15 points, Jon Anthony has decided to teach others how they can, too. He plans to move to Las Vegas next year to invest in real estate and live it up.
