TestoFuel Blog : Make Gains & Pack on the Muscle
In order to boost your testosterone levels you need to know all the best strategies — both in and out of the weights area.
In this article we ask the question: Does walking increase testosterone?
We’re covering all the major points here regarding the activity and the hormonal results, explaining points such as:
Walking is a great addition to your exercise program that compliments weight lifting really well- but unlike high-intensity activities it adds very little stress.
Alongside cycling and swimming, walking is one of the most convenient, accessible, easy to plan activities that can be enjoyed on your own or socially in groups- you can build walking into a busy lifestyle, and dependent on where you live you may have numerous different routes to take that will keep you interested and allow you to discover new areas.
It’s also a great calorie burner, and good for your overall physical and mental health- it helps to reduce the risk of certain illnesses and provides a low-impact alternative to sports or running.
The question is though whether or not it plays a part in those wanting to increase their testosterone levels naturally?
It does, in a number of ways, with the first benefit being weight loss.
Being overweight reduces not only your health and quality of life, but also your lifespan – it has drastic effects on your health and being overweight or obese decreases your T levels [1] so any physical activity that promotes weight loss will be beneficial to T levels- and walking is great for weight loss.
‘Non-exercise activity thermogenesis‘ or NEAT is energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise [2]. Anything that is not structured exercise is classed as NEAT- yard work, dancing and walking are all examples.
James Levine [3], who introduced the concept of NEAT, goes on to suggest that obese individuals have the innate habit of being seated for 2.5 hours per day, but with the inclusion of physical activities can potentially expend a minimum additional 350kcal per day- contributing to weight loss.
Key point: Walking is a very accessible past time and is classed as a ‘NEAT’ activity
There is a definite relationship between weight and T levels – with androgen levels having a significant and negative correlation with body mass index [4].
For example, a study by Strain et al [5] saw 11 obese men (100-305% above normal weight) have their testosterone levels tracked during weight loss, finding that T levels increased proportionality to the degree of weight loss over a 5-39 month period- overall T levels increased by almost 60%
Likewise, a study by Kumagai et al [6] found that 90 minutes of aerobic physical activity over a 12 week period increased T in overweight men – and these changes were very much correlated with the number of steps taken per day!
Grandys et al [7] found that moderate aerobic physical activity increased testosterone over a 5 week period (4 times per week) in 15 young and healthy man.
Lastly, a study by Vaamonde [8] demonstrated that those who are physically active subjects seem to have a more anabolic hormonal environment- this includes higher T levels as well as lower cortisol levels, suggesting a better anabolic versus catabolic status.
Key point: Walking helps you lose fat. Studies have shown by testosterone levels increase proportionally to with fat loss. To take the extra step for boosting testosterone – all you have to do is take ‘extra steps’.
Cortisol is your body’s stress hormone – it is secreted during high-intensity physical or mental tension. When you produce more of it, your body lowers your testosterone levels to keep a hormonal balance
We’ve talked a lot in previous articles about the negative impact that cortisol- it is essentially puts brake the brake on muscle and strength gains, as opposed to the muscle-stimulating accelerator of T.
As we know, heavy weight training and HIIT are absolutely brilliant at increasing T levels, and we strongly suggest that you include them in your exercise programming.
The problem is though that strength and high-intensity training is physically tiring and over time this can lead to fatigue, tiredness and ultimately over-training – this is when you are constantly tired and cant progress in your training [9].
Once you’re in an over-trained state a whole host of physical things will happen including reduced testosterone and growth hormone, and increased cortisol.
In order to reduce cortisol you need to employ activities such as walking, particularly if you have access to the outdoors- a study in the Journal of Extreme Physiology and Medicine [10] suggests that outdoor, natural environments provide some of the best all-round health benefits by increasing physical activity levels and reducing cortisol.
Key Point: Walking reduces cortisol, particularly if you walk in natural, forest areas.
Walking isn’t just great for improving your male hormone levels- here are a few other benefits of walking that you might not had thought about.
It is important to be physically active on a regular basis in order to promote an overall healthy lifestyle where your hormones can flourish. Walking is an accessible activity that can be built into a busy lifestyle and research shows a number of physical and mental benefits.
The inclusion of walking into your routine helps you to lose weight and boost testosterone, as well as reduce cortisol increases with your weight training and high-intensity workouts.
It should form part of every man’s exercise program- and remember, it doesn’t have to be at high-intensity. Enjoy yourself and have fun.
