TestoFuel Blog : Make Gains & Pack on the Muscle
Testosterone is the primary male hormone, responsible for everything from energy levels and libido, to muscle mass, strength and stamina.
But why exactly do testosterone levels fall with age? And how can you reverse the drop and reclaim your masculinity?
If you’re concerned that your hormones are taking nosedive, you’re in the right place to fix the problem.
You’ll be pleased to know that even though testosterone could drop with age, it’s not an inevitable process.
And with the right exercise, diet and supplement plan, you can drive lead a confident, lean and strong life once again.
Here’s everything you need to know about correcting low testosterone…
Testosterone (T) is a naturally-occurring steroid hormone produced by your testes. It has both androgenic and anabolic properties in men, making it your most important hormone by a mile.
Specific regions of your brain called the hypothalamus and pituitary gland work together with your testes to ensure testosterone concentrations in your blood don’t go too high or too low.
This is referred to as a hormonal negative feedback loop. And for the first 25 years or so of your life, this system works perfectly.
Responsible for stimulating and regulating secondary sex characteristics, testosterone determines the development of male sex organs before birth, and masculinity from puberty onwards.
It’s testosterone that makes your voice deeper, your facial hair start growing and your personality more assertive.
Your late teens and all the way through twenties see your hormone levels peak.
Typically, men experience T levels that fall somewhere between 300 and 1,000 ng.dL.
When testosterone is high, you experience all of the very best benefits this potent hormone has to offer, as it bathes your blood, cells and muscles in its masculine goodness:
You enjoyed the sexual liberation, lean abs and thick, muscular arms that testosterone granted you throughout your years of discovery.
But as your thirties kick in, testosterone production begins to slow down.
In fact, research statistics show us that after the age of thirty, T production slows down by around 1-2% each year.
Not only that.
Studies also tell us that testosterone levels drop by as much as 30% between the ages of 25 and 75.
And to make matters worse, the T that does eventually make it to your blood is less active, with 50% of it not being absorbed into your bodily tissues [1].
Unless you do something about it, you’ve got a 40% chance of having low testosterone-related issues by the time you hit 45.
As many as 5 million men suffer from what’s known as hypogonadism – clinically low testosterone levels.
Testosterone levels drop with age because of chemical and hormonal changes. These are pretty complex at a biological level, but can also be summed up by three simple mechanisms:
The negative feedback loop that regulated testosterone throughout your twenties worked like this:
If testosterone levels were to get too low, your hypothalamus pumps more GnRH towards the pituitary gland. As such, more LH is produced and this kick starts testosterone production up a gear or two.
If levels get too high, GnRH production slows down until the balance is restored.
Additionally, a glycoprotein called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) scours your bloodstream like a hungry shark, devouring some of the testosterone it comes across.
After SHBG has bound to testosterone, it only leaves as little as 3% available to be used by your body. And that’s in a healthy body with normal T levels!
This is referred to as ‘free testosterone’.
As you age, your hypothalamic-pituitary-gonodal system can become less efficient.
Not only can you suffer a decrease in direct testosterone production, your hypothalamus isn’t as sharp when it comes to triggering GnRH output [2].
On top of that, SHBG levels begin to increase, leading to a decrease in free testosterone availability.
These factors all add up to low stimulation of your androgen hormones. And very quickly, it’ll progress to hypogonadism if left untreated.
Hypogonadism can leave you suffering the following symptoms:
Key Point: Testosterone levels drop with age because of both indirect and direct changes to GnRH, LH and SHBG – as well as other chemical alterations.
You’ll be pleased to know that in actual fact, it could be a myth that testosterone levels drop with age.
It might actually be more to do with your lifestyle [3].
So the low T you think is to do with your age might just be the result, not the cause. And that makes it much easier to treat.
Lifting weights is one of the best ‘fountain of youth’ activities you could take part in.
Spending time in the gym using big, compound strength exercises has been shown to trigger a natural increase in anabolic hormone production.
Not only that, strength training is awesome at burning excess fat, building strong and lean muscle, and helping you build your confidence and assertive personality back to where it once was.
Eating clean and healthy all day, every day can be tough. Getting the right nutrients in your diet, in the right concentrations is difficult when you’re a busy guy on the go.
Fortunately for you, anabolic support complex supplements – or testosterone boosters – do the work for you.
Containing high quality, clinically-proven ingredients, these powerful supplements give your body the building blocks it needs to boost hormone levels and fight back as testosterone levels drop with age.
Full of hormone-enhancing nutrients such as D-aspartic acid, vitamin D3, zinc and magnesium, testosterone boosters are your number one weapon in the war against low T.
One of the silent killers of your anabolic hormone profile is stress.
Not only does it put you at higher risk of long-term illness, its also correlated with increased cortisol levels – the stress hormone that has a negative effect on T.
Aim to sleep well, reduce caffeine intake and spend time enjoying yourself.
Rest, recovery and reinvigorate yourself.
Take time out each day just for you – your hormone levels will thank you for it.
