I was always told as a bodybuilder, to do squats and deadlifts because they increased testosterone and helped build muscle throughout the body. I decided to try and seek out a definitive answer to these common beliefs.

Studies on Testosterone Increase in Squats & Deadlifts :

It didn’t take me too long to stumble across research studies showing that after squats or deadlifts, there was a large increase in serum testosterone levels. Not only is there a increase in testosterone levels, but in Growth Hormone and IGF-1, a couple of other important anabolic hormones. This anabolic release didn’t just happen in squats and deadlifts, but also in smaller resistance excercises, including bench press and isolation excercises. Research indicates that the larger more involved excercises, like squats and deadlifts, will have the largest increase in Testosterone and Growth hormone. Although all resistance training has this effect, a curl for example, would have only a very small increase in Testosterone and Growth hormone. A study published in (Int J Sports Med. 1991 Apr;12(2):228-35) showed this hormonal increase after weight training in both men and women.

I was glad to see there is research to back up that squats and deadlifts are good for increasing testosterone levels. However, there is one major caveat. According to studies it seems to be temporary increase, as a few hours to about a day later, your Testosterone and Growth Hormone levels drop below normal and cortisol remains high. This is where your body is recovering hormonally and people warn about overtraining.

After about a couple days your testosterone levels will return to the same or maybe even slightly higher. I couldn’t find any research that showed those who squatted or weightlifted in general, have significantly higher body testosterone levels long term. In fact, you have to be careful of overtraining. In a study published in (Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1993 Aug;25(8):929-35), strength lifters who came back from a break of weight training, had a surge in testosterone and lowering of cortisol levels. Therefore, taking a break was actually a good thing for them for restoring / increasing their anabolic hormones. If anything, it looks to be long term weight training, is more likely to cause lower testosterone levels than higher levels, if you don’t take a break from training every few weeks and watch workout volume.

Do squats help increase overall muscle mass in body?

This is a little more difficult question to answer. There is no research directly on it, but if we use some logic here, we can probably answer the question. When you do squats, your releasing a substantial amount of hormones that your whole body can feel the effect. When your testosterone increases in your blod, it reaches all parts of the body. It’s not like your arms are going to grow significantly from just a leg workout, but I believe the testosterone increase in the blood can cause muscle growth to other parts of your body. Steroids help you grow by increasing testosterone in the blood, so it makes sense that squats could have a similiar stimulus effect on other muscle parts in the body.

Testosterone levels is by far the most important muscle building factor in the body. Bodybuilders for decades have been trying to increase testosterone levels, be it artificially or naturally. Artificially it is done with the use of Steroids, but in this article we will discuss how to help maintain or increase testosterone levels through your own bodies natural production system. This article is mainly for men, although following the advices here can help women maintain healthy levels of testosterone and estrogen and other hormones, making them feel healthier and vibrant.

Ways to increase testosterone levels:

- High fat diet. Countless research has shown that fats help maintain and even increase testosterone levels. Omega-3’s, monounsaturated and even saturated fats in diet, have all shown to increase testosterone levels.

- Quality consistent sleep. Your body can’t recuperate it’s hormone levels if you dont get at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. People who work swing shifts or change the times of day they sleep constantly, also throw their hormones out of balance.

- Long term dieting. When you are in a calorie deficit, you releas cortisol and lower your testosterone levels. It also lowers other hormones such as Thyroid. During dieting, people generally aren’t as healthy or energetic.

- Don’t overtrain. Excessive weight training and other excercise like cardio, eventually leads to a gradual build up cortisol and lowering of testosterone.

- Prescription / Over the counter drugs. Find out if a prescription drug or over the counter drug interferes with testosterone or DHT. Some drugs for hair loss (Nizoral, proscar, etc), block or interfere with the conversion of testosterone to DHT and may cause side effects, since DHT is more responsible for masculinizing sex effects than testosterone in males.

- Zinc. A few years ago, Zinc was shown to boost testosterone levels in football athletes, when taken together with Vitamin B6. This led to the ZMA craze among bodybuilders, which was a proprietary blend of Zinc and vitamin B6. Zinc prevents the conversion of testosterone to dht, helping to maintain healthy testosterone levels. It is also good for the prostate and if taken before bed, very helpful for getting a good deep sleep. Most people are deficient to some degree in zinc. You can supplement with extra zinc even beyond your multi-vitamin. Taking ZMA specifically is not necessary for the benefits of Zinc, as vitamin B6 only helps aid in Zinc’s absorption.

- 6-OXO. A anti-estrogen supplement developed by the well known bodybuilding supplement chemist Patrick Arnold. Anti-estrogen supplements available on the market today help boost natural testosterone production, by lowering the estrogen in your body. They should be safe for those over 21, as long as it is for brief occasional cycles. Unlike steroids, they do not shut down testosterone production or create supraphysiological levels many times that of natural levels. Instead they increase testosterone levels to a level moderately higher than you normally would have. When you get off of anti-estrogens, your testosterone levels will decrease again as your body goes back to equilibrium.

-Warmer weather. I’ve come across studies that showed that in the cooler months, men’s testosterone levels dropped. I’m sure there is a genetic basis for this, so living in warmer weather most of the year is an advantage for maintaining testosterone levels.

- Lower bodyfat %. The higher your bodyfat % is, most likely the lower your testosterone levels will go. Your fat cells aromatize testosterone to estrogen instead of DHT. Estrogen in the body tends to decrease natural testosterone levels.

- Excercise regurly. Excercise helps keep your testosterone and other hormones at healthy levels, just don’t overtrain.

I hope you learned from this article, how to effectively increase your testosterone levels. This is the list I’ve compiled after reading research studies and bodybuilding articles for years.

Almost every male bodybuilder has wondered if ejaculating too frequently, could hurt their muscle building gains. Some have even recommended holding off for days to help boost their muscle gains.

Sex & Ejaculation effects immediately on testosterone levels

The basis for the argument that ejaculation hurts muscle gains, I believe is probably rooted from the belief that it reduces testosterone. I used to believe the same thing, until I did research on it. From looking at animal and human studies, there doesn’t seem to be any basis that ejaculation will lower testosterone levels immediately afterwards.

Animal studies show a rise in testosterone during mating and arousal. Human studies such as one published in (Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1993;18(3):205-18), have shown men’s testosterone levels rise during sexual arousal and even aggressive activies, such as holding a gun. I have only seen animal studies, that measured testosterone levels post ejaculation. Some of these studies show no changes post ejaculation, while others show a rise in testosterone. No study I have seen, has shown a actual drop in testosterone post ejaculation.

So why is it such a common belief that testosterone drops after ejaculation? I believe this is because men get tired and satisfied after ejaculation, leading people to think it lowers testosterone levels. I believe this mental effect is actually from changes in the brain after ejaculation. An interesting study at Department of Pharmacobiology, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados. measured the androgen receptor density (how potent testosterone would feel in the brain) after ejaculation. The study showed a decreased density, post ejaculation in rats. The density didn’t return to normal for 72 hours. So, we may feel like testosterone levels in the blood drop post ejaculation, but they actually don’t.

Sex & Ejaculation long term effects on testosterone levels

We have established that there is no short term lowering of testosterone levels from ejaculation, but
many think ejaculating too often can lead to lower testosterone levels long term. The only study that looks at more of a long term effect from ejacualation, was done by chinese group (J Zhejiang Univ Sci. 2003 Mar-Apr;4(2):236-40). 28 men volunteered to not ejaculate for one week. There was no change in testosterone levels for the first 6, then on the 7th it spiked by 47% on average. However, the next day while still abstaining from ejaculation, it lowered quickly back to normal. I believe this is because the large spike in testosterone shut off natural production, until testosterone levels went back to normal. This study tells me that every 6 or 7 days, there may be a large increase in testosterone, if someone abstains from ejaculation. Then testosterone will naturally balance out to normal afterwards. So, long term there doesn’t seem to be much (if any) benefit from abstaining from ejaculation.

Sex & Ejaculation effects on strength

Ejaculation may have a effect on your strength in the weight room. Testosterone has a natural stimulant and energy effect on the brain. High testosterone makes you feel stronger and more aggressive. In that study I cited earlier, it showed a lowering of androgen receptor density in the brain after ejaculation. This lowering could effect your strength because your brain perceives less testosterone, even if it actually doesn’t drop. Ejaculation also releases endorphins into the bloodstream. These are opiates that make you feel sleepy. This is not exactly the ideal conditions right before a workout. If you ejaculate hours before a workout, you might be weaker and have less energy. Since strength gains usually help muscle gains in the long run, ejaculating before a workout would not be a good idea for optimal muscle gains. So in that aspect, sex (or ejaculation) will have a negative long term effect on muscle gains.

Bodybuilders commonly assume estrogen always equals bad because it is considered a women’s hormone. While that is generally true, I believe that your body needs a certain level of estrogens for muscle gains. If you have ever taken an anti-estrogen, you may have noticed a muscle hardening effect, but it’s hard to gain a lot of muscle mass even though they boost testosterone levels significantly. Many bodybuilders on testosterone cycles have also noticed a difference in gains from using anti-estrogens, which is why some either advocate not using them or using low dosages.

Estrogen seems to probably have many different pathways it can help with muscle building. Estrogen helps with growth hormone levels, a important factor in muscle building. Estrogens also help with water retention. Retaining water helps hydrate the cells promoting protein synthesis and storage in the cells. The water retention also helps with strength gains, which should help long term muscle gains. Estrogen also has a vital role in the protein kinase cascade, which is important in the muscle building process.

While excessive Estrogen in men is certainly a bad thing, eliminating it completely through anti-estrogens isn’t going to automatically mean a large boost in gains. There are too many ways that estrogens can help your gains, that the boost in testosterone won’t fully make up for all the losses from lower estrogen.

Bodybuilders spend years building up their muscle mass. That is why most bodybuilders hate cutting because they know in the process they will lose some of their hard earned muscle while they lose fat. Most bodybuilders think that if you take off a few months from lifting or you get injured or sick, you will have to start all over again taking many months or years to build muscle back. However, this is not true. Instead you will experience a much easier time gaining muscle often called “Muscle memory”.

I’ve had personal experience with muscle memory. As a hardgainer, it took years and tons of effort to put on a lot of weight. When I got off my diet for a couple years, I lost a ton of weight. When I got back on a higher calorie and higher protein diet again, I immediately started gaining weight and muscle back quickly. Muscle memory doesn’t mean the muscle just flys on with no effort, what it means is that you will get there a lot quicker with the same effort as before.

What causes muscle memory?

There is no research studies on what causes muscle memory. I don’t think there could even be a way to measure how to even find the cause. However, I think the cause of muscle memory can be pinned down to some possibilities. Your first guess for the cause of muscle memory, maybe might with hormones, like Testosterone and Growth hormone. This can’t be the cause because studies have shown when you raise calories, these hormones goes up for about a couple weeks, but it drops again after that. Muscle memory can last months, not just a couple weeks. It wouldn’t make sense anyways, since anytime you start back on a new diet, your anabolic hormones are going to go high anyways in the beginning, regardless of what your muscle base was in the past.

Another theory could be hyperplasia. Hypertrophy is the growing of the diameter of the muscle fibers, by sythesizing new protein. Hyperplasia is the division of muscle fibers to make new fibers. Many have argued that hyerplasia doesn’t exist in humans, but from my research I believe it does. I believe muscle gains are from both hypertrophy and from a little bit of hyperplasia. Heavy weight training can help induce hyperplasia. Therefore, it could be easier to gain the muscle back in the future because you now have more muscle fibers to work with, that have potential to grow.

The most common theory I’ve seen bodybuilders explain for muscle fascia tissue is fascia stretching. There is a connective tissue that tightly hugs around muscles, called the fascia. Some theorize that fascia helps slow down muscle building because muscles can’t grow with it binding. Once you stretch the fascia, it tends not to shrink back. Some have incorporated fascia tissue stretches with weights into their weight training routine, including pro-bodybuilders Jay Cutler. These deep stretches help permanently stretch the fascia tissue. From my research I’m also a firm believer in fascia stretching to help muscle gains, so I often incorporate it into my workouts.

I personally believe muscle memory is caused by a combination of hyperplasia, fascia stretching, and maybe some other unknown factors. It may be caused by hyperplasia alone, or fascia stretching alone, we don’t know. Muscle memory is a fascinating thing and it’s good to know that if we hit a rough time and can’t follow diet and training, we can get our gains back much easier in the future thanks to muscle memory.

These days, researchers are always talking about the components of genetics that contribute to our risk of disease, personality, and ability to gain or lose fat.

Why is it so many bodybuilders I see, act like muscle building genetics is not a factor in bodybuilding?

If everyone had the same muscle building genetics, there would be no pro-bodybuilders because everyone could be one if they took enough steroids and be strict on their diet. Unfortunately, not everyone will have equal muscle building or fat loss genetics. Some bodybuilders will follow a strict diet and not drink alchohol and see their buddies drink and not be too strict on their diet and still gain muscle easier than them. It can be frustrating, but we have to face the fact that some of us will struggle building muscles more than others.

Muscle building Genetic Factors:

There are various components of the human physiology that play big roles in why have better muscle building genetics than others. The most obvious is testosterone levels. There is a wide range of levels that men have that are considered in the normal range. Some men may even be naturally teetering on low testosterone levels. Fortunately, there are ways to help increase testosterone levels naturally.

Another major component is your muscle type fiber makeup. Each person has a different percentage of type 1 vs type 2 that varies between muscles and persons. Type 1 and type 2 have very different functions. Type 2 hypertrophies (gets larger) much easier than Type 1 and also fatigue faster. Type 1 fibers are quicker and do better at endurance, but they don’t have that much potential for long term hypertrophy. Heavy weight training has been shown to induce fiber changes in sub types to act more like type 1. However, the changes are small and since all of us weight train, it’s not going to make up differences between others who lift weights.

Myostatin is another factor, rarely talked about because its a relatively new discovery. Rats were genetically modified a few years ago with lower amounts of myostatin. They turned into very muscular rats. Myostatin seems to put the brakes on muscle building and may be the biggest reason why everyone can only gain muscles to a certain point. Unfortunately, you can’t do anything about lowering myostatin levels in the body. The levels in your body is purely genetics. Supplement makers have tried to claim their myostatin products builds muscles through blocking myostatin, but they are all scams. Genetically modifying humans through myostatin, might be something of the future though. I hope I never see that because it would take the fun out of bodybuilding, if others are able to change their genetics by paying a doctor a visit.

HGH (human growth hormone) together with testosterone, plays a crucial muscle building role as a bodybuilder. It’s been a long debate in the bodybuilding and scientific community though, on how much growth hormone plays a direct role by itself in muscle building. I haven’t found any convincing bodies of research that shows growth hormone levels are directly correlated with muscle building, but there are studies that may point to it as a direct fat burner. So unless some new research comes out, worrying about how you can increase your growth hormone levels naturally in the body, isn’t likely to help build bigger muscles. However, it may help aid you in fat loss and bulking with more “clean gains”.

Below are some tips I’ve compiled over the years based on my research.

Ways to increase your natural HGH (Growth hormone) levels

No carbs before bed. The biggest releases of growth hormone by your body are in the first couple hours of sleep. High insulin levels will blunt growth hormone production. It is recommended to not have any carbohydrates before bed.

High Reps. During weight training studies have shown that growth hormone is released. During major lactic acid buildup, like with high reps done fast to get a “burn”, seem to cause the largest growth hormone spike. This has led to some bodybuilding programs promoting a high rep “burnout set” or superset, immediately after a workout set.

Supplements / Prescription drugs. There are many growth hormone supplement scams that it is hard to find the good ones. The amino acid Glutamine, commonly taken by bodybuilders for other reasons has been shown to increase growth hormone levels in blood by a large percentage. GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid) another amino acid, also has been shown to do the same. Bodybuilders used to take GHB because it helped release growth hormone, it was made illegal a few years ago as a serious drug. GABA and GHB are both inconvertible in the brain and the difference between GHB and the FDA legal supplement GABA, is that GHB can pass directly through the blood brain barrier. Most people underdose GABA, as it requires a few grams to get the growth hormone promoting effect.

Excercise regularly. Regular excercise helps maintain a healthy hormone balance, including Growth Hormone.

Avoid stress. The fastest way to kill growth hormone levels is with high cortisol levels. Cortisol and growth hormone levels have an inverse relationship, when one goes up the other goes down. People who have stressful lives, tend to have long term higher levels of cortisol, which means lower growth hormone levels.

Get a good consistent quality sleep. Not getting adequate quality sleep or constantly changing your sleep schedule, will lead to higher cortisol levels long term and less Growth Hormone produced during sleep.