Naturally Raise Test

*Disclaimer: This is a post based around improving overall health. If you suspect you have low testosterone or hypogonadism, please see a doctor for recommendations.

Fatigue, low motivation, irritability, poor stress management. All the symptoms that are tell tale signs for one thing. You can’t find your aggressiveness anymore, you struggle to even want to go to training. Could it be? Do you have low testosterone? Are you part of a growing population within the United States? Perhaps you are but here is what you can do!

Low Test

It was 2013, there was something wrong with me. My head was pounding constantly, my energy was low, I was tired all the time and I lacked any significant amount of aggressiveness that used to flow through every joint in my body. Five different doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me. One doctor wanted to put me on anti-depressants, the other doctor thought I had lupus, one doctor sent me to another doctor! It was horrible.

The result? I was diagnosed with two severe problems. I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and hypogonadism. The doctor that started to figure everything out started to recognize there was likely a massive link. My hypogonadism or low testosterone was likely caused by my Lyme Disease. For the next two years, I went through various bouts of Lyme related symptoms and more antibiotics, anti-virals and anti-protozoas than anyone could ever imagine.

One benefit? From 2013 to 2018, I got blood work done every 2-4 weeks to analyze how my white blood cells, testosterone and Lyme was progressing. It was during this time that I began to play around with many factors within my own regimen of health to see what different things would naturally enhance my testosterone. This is a direct list of my own personal research. It may help you, it may not. If you have concerns about this medical condition, you MUST go see a doctor.

Zinc

One of the coolest parts behind co-owning a supplement company is being able to directly experiment on myself. During my blood test period, I would really focus on different points of my diet to see how these things would impact my hormone levels. I knew exactly where my E2, progesterone, Test, Free test, Vitamin D, TSH, t3/t4, etc were at on a regular basis.

When I started taking ZMA Advanced, aka Forty Winks, I saw an immediate drop in my estrogen levels from 55 down to around 35, this was a significant drop. By the next test period, my estrogen stayed at 35 while my testosterone started to budge from a measly 223 to 350. This was still considered low testosterone by my doctor but an increase in over 100 points was substantial for me to see Zinc (and likely magnesium) had an impact on my rising testosterone.

Sleep

As we have covered previously, sleep has a huge impact on recovery. Sleep is one of the most important factors I have monitored in relation to my blood work. Whenever I consistently get 7-8 hours of sleep, my testosterone is much healthier! This could also be in part due to Forty Winks having a positive impact on the QUALITY of sleep I am getting but my doctor also sees the same.

Sleeping well = higher test.

Stop Being Fat

When I first got diagnosed with Lyme disease, I was 290lbs. During the first year of treatment, it was extremely difficult to drop weight. The reason? I was on antibiotics and antibiotics are associated with being fat. I also happened to be eating a shit ton of food, but let’s blame the antibiotics.

As the years passed, I stopped throwing and just wanted to be healthier. By 2018, I was down to 230lbs. The result? About every 15lbs of fat I lost, I noticed a small increase in around 25 points on my overall testosterone. The increase wasn’t massive but another 100 points put me into the mid 400 range (still low for me).

The key to not being fat? Eat well and sleep well! We have a great nutrition plan you can follow inside the Mass Builder program that will aid in this realm.

Squat More

Recently, I have spent WAY more time squatting. My muscle mass has increased substantially. Sure, I have packed some pounds back on and gotten slightly fatter while I work toward my lifetime squat goal but my quads are finally growing! Research has shown us that 6-10 sets of compound movements can have an impact of raising test levels for up to 72 hours. This is something I have noticed in my blood work. More squats = more test.

Go Outside

This one is extremely anecdotal. Every year since 2013, my charts have seen a slight increase in average testosterone levels. From May until October, my testosterone is slightly higher than it is the rest of the year. I spend a LOT of time outside during this time. Could this be an increase in Vitamin D? Very likely. Whatever it is, it seems being outside and under the sun can improve your health and well-being by an increase in testosterone.

Recap

It must be reiterated, if you feel you have a medical condition such as hypogonadism, I HIGHLY recommend seeing a doctor. If you want to play around see if you can feel better on your own, by all means try these simple tasks. These are generally simple health based guidelines! Eat well, be lean, sleep well, go outside and take a shit ton of zinc! Odds are, your test MAY increase and your overall happiness and mood will as well!