Testosterone
Testosterone is the most anabolic natural hormone within your body. Therefore it is of great interest to any serious bodybuilder. Learn and discover why testosterone is so important, what it does and can do for you and ways to boost your natural levels.
In simple terms testosterone is produced when the hypothalamus releases the gonadotrophin hormone which stimulates the luteinizing hormone, which then goes onto encourage the testes to produce testosterone. Testosterone has many uses within the body. It increases muscle size, maintains muscle tone and increases strength to name a few. The one thing all of those functions share in common is the fact that they are all directly related to bodybuilding progress. Therefore it stands to good reason that healthy levels of natural testosterone production are absolutely essential in order to maximize your results as a bodybuilder.
By increasing your natural testosterone levels many advantages will proceed. Firstly, testosterone has many anabolic properties which lead to extremely high levels of protein synthesis. Increased protein synthesis levels equal an increase in muscle recovery and most importantly a noticeable increase in muscle size gains. As a direct result, you will experience new levels of strength which ultimately will lead to additional muscle mass as well. It has been shown that increased testosterone levels allow for increased intensity and higher energy levels. Therefore, training first thing in the morning may be a good idea, as it has been proven that this is when testosterone levels are at peak for the day. Finally, having a naturally high level of testosterone increases your basal metabolic rate. This means that your body requires more calories every day in order to survive before doing anything, therefore by having a high basal metabolic rate you can certainly expect to shed more body fat. Now you know why having a naturally high level of testosterone is essential, you need to know which ways you can increase your levels by way of natural means.
When it comes to training, seriously intense anaerobic training is essential. Further to this, compound movements focusing on the large muscle groups such as your quadriceps will do the trick. This is because the large muscle groups stimulate more production of anabolic hormones such as testosterone and human growth hormone. Very low rep training, with around 85% of your 1 rep max used can also be a very affective way of boosting testosterone levels without the use of external substances.
There you have a brief insight as to what testosterone does for you as a bodybuilder, why it is important and how to stimulate more natural production.