Does Exercise Decrease or Increase testosterone?

Question

So when I exercise does it use up my testosterone, does it produce more? or none of the above. How do I use my testosterone storage and kinds of things can decrease it?

Answer 1

This seemingly simple question is actually rather complex. I'm going to provide a list of articles to give you a good background on what it is you are asking, and then provide some highlights:

• Anabolic Workouts Revisited (anabolic means increase in testosterone, IGF-1, etc.)
• Zoning in on the Big "T"
• Quantifying the Big "T"

Some highlights that will help are:

• Not all exercise is the same. Exercise that helps you become stronger will increase your T levels more than exercise that helps you endure longer. I.e. weight training raises T levels more than marathon running.
• Training density and volume affect T levels. You have a bigger response with full body training with short sets, short rest, and lots of volume.
• There's more to building muscle than raising T levels. Testosterone is a hormone that triggers other hormones and physiological processes like IGF-1, etc. You will have a natural rise in T levels while you sleep.
• Stress and catabolic states can temporarily decrease T levels. Catabolism is a necessary process so you shouldn't try to eliminate it. However, excessive catabolism due to overworking and under-recovering can depress T levels longer. In short, you can do too much work over a short period of time.

Each of those articles has studies and further articles for you to look at and get a better picture. Like most physiological processes, it is incredibly complex.