General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Testosterone, endurance recovery, and lifting question Rss Feed  
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2009-05-06 2:50 PM

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Tyler, TX
Subject: Testosterone, endurance recovery, and lifting question

I read somewhere that lifting increases your testosterone levels.  And I understand that testosterone helps with recovery from endurance activity (think Floyd Landis). 

So, does lifting increase testosterone to levels in which one might experience faster recovery from endurance activities??

I don't currently lift, and while I have no reason to believe that my testosterone levels are unusually low for my age (46, male), I might be motivated to start lifting if I think I might recover better after long rides and runs.  Your thoughts??

Brian



2009-05-06 4:41 PM
in reply to: #2134684

Elite
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Denver, Colorado
Subject: RE: Testosterone, endurance recovery, and lifting question
Lifting also requires recovery time, as much if not more so than endurance training. Also, to get any appreciable increase in natural testosterone levels, you need to lift hard and heavy. Sorry, but 2 sets of 10-15 reps on barbell curls won't cut it. We're talking compound lifts such as bench press, squat, and deadlift done for 5 sets of 5 reps at a weight were that last rep should be hard to complete. So what you end up having is a wash. Assuming you can significantly increase T levels, the weight training would place an additional burden on your recovery ability thus possibly negating any benefits.

Then there is the question of how much can you naturally manipulate your hormone levels. Hormones are powerful chemicals and the body doesn't like to just give them out like candy. So, while it is true that lifting will increase T levels, there is a real question as to how significant are the increases. There is a reason why pro bodybuilders and athletes turn to steroid use. If we could all manipulate our hormone levels naturally, there wouldn't be a drug problem in sports.

Having said all that, I think there is value in maximizing your body's natural production of hormones before turning to exogenous sources or hormone replacement therapy. And at the risk of confusing you even further, the stuff I wrote above is based on "official scientific" writings. We know from practice that the human body doesn't always respond the way scientists think it should. Recovery ability can actually be trained to some extent, and adding more training may initial make you feel worn out, but geiven time, it may allow your body to recover better. This has nothing to do with T levels, BTW. It's just a physiological response.

So the short answer to your question is don't expect that adding weight training will turn you into Superman and allow you to walk around sporting wood 24/7. But over time, you may see some benefits.
2009-05-11 9:25 PM
in reply to: #2134684

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Jacksonville, Fl
Subject: RE: Testosterone, endurance recovery, and lifting question
Also as we age our test levels begin to drop usually starting around age of 35. Lifting weights and adding muscular weight not only increases metabolism but it does increase your test. As a male anything we can do legally to increase test levels is a good thing.
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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Testosterone, endurance recovery, and lifting question Rss Feed