Is Your Exercise Routine Lowering Your Testosterone Levels?

You’ve probably seen a million ads about increasing your low testosterone levels. Awareness of Low-T is increasing and while it may seem like a scam, chronically low testosterone levels can cause a number of health issues such as erectile dysfunction, depression, a drop in fertility, decreased libido, decreased muscle mass, and increased fat storage. This doesn’t mean you should go out and buy the latest “ultra man boosting” pills, because you definitely shouldn’t. But you should be concerned about whether or not your habits are to blame. In this case, we’re focusing on endurance training.

How Can Exercise Be Bad?

Exercise is not bad, but the type of exercising you do can affect your hormone levels. In men, endurance training has been linked with lower levels of testosterone. This is likely correlated with a hormone called cortisol.

Cortisol is released when your body is under stress. While cortisol is actually a major factor in healthy weight loss, overdoing exercise can actually create an excess of cortisol. And when there is too much cortisol present in your body it may actually start eating away at your muscles instead of your fat cells. It also suppresses the output of testosterone.

How Can I Fix This?

If you are a runner, you may need to cut back on mileage. A few miles a couple times a week can be healthy, but an intense endurance training routine can be hurting your testosterone levels. What you can do to increase your testosterone levels is switch up the types of exercise you are doing. Opt for high intensity interval training – short bursts of high intensity cardio with longer intervals of low impact exercise – and weight lifting rather than long, drawn out endurance training. This will give you the intense workout you need in a shorter amount of time, which means you’ll see the results you want without messing up your hormones.

Another option for those who suffer chronically low testosterone is to make an appointment at Memphis Men’s Clinic. We offer low testosterone treatments in Jackson, TN and the surrounding areas.