Low Testosterone Hormone Therapy

If you have fatigue, poor concentration and erectile dysfunction, Low T hormone therapy may help. Just don't call it the fountain of youth.

Want to pump up your sex drive and muscles, boost your mood and motivation, and have the concentration and energy levels of a college undergrad? It's true that for guys who have low testosterone (Low T) hormone therapy can help address symptoms such as fatigue and erectile dysfunction, but it's not the fountain of youth and it shouldn’t be treated as an elixir for men looking to reclaim the vigor of their school years. Declining testosterone levels are a normal part of aging and don't always warrant treatment.

Be Sure It's Really Low T

Are you tired, irritable, and/or disinterested in all the things that once brought you joy, including sex? If you suspect you have Low T, your doctor can order a blood test, but only after ruling out other causes, such as depression, says Robert Brannigan, a urologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and associate professor of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Many symptoms of Low T, such as fatigue and erectile dysfunction, mimic depression or present as a side effect of heart disease, obesity, or other health condition. It's important to figure out if an underlying medical condition, such as an autoimmune disorder, is causing your Low T.

Is Testosterone Hormone Therapy Right for You?

According to Brannigan, testosterone levels vary widely from one man to the next. Healthy men can have testosterone levels between 270 and 1,070 ng/dL. "There are very few absolute indications for treating low testosterone," he says.

In other words, treating is optional. In his practice, Brannigan follows the The Endocrine Society's recommendations: If a man doesn't have evidence of breast cancer or untreated prostate cancer; his testosterone levels are below 300; and he's bothered by symptoms of low testosterone, he's a candidate. While there's no doubt that treatment can improve the quality of life for men with low testosterone levels, there's no consensus on whether it's beneficial to men who aren't suffering from so-called "male menopause."

Benefits and Risks of Testosterone Hormone Therapy

Bringing testosterone levels back to normal can boost energy, muscle mass, bone density, and concentration. It can also help with erectile dysfunction. Hormone therapy may even alleviate symptoms of depression. But it's not without risks.

Testosterone hormone replacement therapy may encourage prostate growth and increase your risk of prostate cancer. Testosterone also lives up to its red-blooded reputation by driving red blood cell production. According to Brannigan, this can make the blood too thick and increase the risk for stroke. Other less-serious side effects include unwanted body hair, acne, breast enlargement, and fluid retention.

Low T Treatment Options

Several vehicles deliver the right amount of testosterone to replacement therapy patients:

    Injections, usually once every two to three weeks
    Daily patches worn on the body or scrotum
    Topical gels applied daily to the shoulders, arms, or abdomen

It takes at least eight weeks for testosterone therapy to take effect, and because there's no cure for Low T, men generally require ongoing treatment, Brannigan says. Because of the risks of testosterone therapy, you'll need to follow up with your doctor regularly.

How does training affect your sex life?

One of the key hormones in the body that affects both training and sex is testosterone, which just happens to be one of the main sexual hormones. Accordingly, it's not hard to see how these two factors would go hand in hand.
Your sex drive
The first thing to consider in this picture is your sex drive. Will training impact how frequently you want to have sex?

Let's take a closer look at the testosterone connection here:

It's no secret that a higher testosterone level in males increases their sex drive. When a man's testosterone level begins to fall as he ages or due to other health-related factors, the libido will usually start to diminish as well.

Sometimes, if the condition is severe enough, doctors may place certain men on testosterone replacement therapy to help bring their hormonal levels back up to normal. Once these levels have been increased again, libido should rise and the desire and sexual performance (sometimes low testosterone can contribute to erectile dysfunction) should improve as well.

It only stands to reason, then, that anything you can do to increase your natural testosterone production should serve to further enhance sex drive levels. This is where weight lifting comes in.

When a man participates in heavy weight training, the levels of testosterone in his body will shoot up — assuming, of course, that this program is appropriate. Do note that overtraining is one of the biggest killers of testosterone, so taking this point too far and doing a very large volume of weight lifting will actually work against you and your testosterone levels.

Getting on a proper program where you are doing 20-40 sets maximum per workout will help to ensure that you aren't going overboard. Additionally, be sure that when you are lifting, you are lifting heavy amounts. The weight is really the key here — just be sure you are still using proper form and not overdoing it.

Additionally, certain exercises will also affect your sex drive more than others will. To fully maximize testosterone, full squats are a must. These will use so many muscle fibers in the body that it would be hard not to get a good testosterone release because of them.

Aside from squats, all the other compound movement lifts will be your best allies when it comes to increasing your sex drive. These exercises include:

    Bench press
    Bent-over row
    Stiff-legged deadlift
    Lunges
    Shoulder press
    Back squat
    Pull-ups

Incorporating these movements into your workout routine would be highly beneficial to your sex drive.


Sex and strength
The next point in this scenario is how having sex will affect your strength and workout performance. Some guys are so intently focused on their training that they want to be sure that frequent sessions in the bedroom are not going to have a negative impact on their sessions in the gym.

Generally speaking, having frequent sex won't impact your weight-lifting performance. If anything, it should increase your workout performance since, once again, sex causes a release of the hormone testosterone, and the more testosterone one has circulating throughout the body, the more muscle tissue can be built.

Further examination of the connection between training and sex...
The one time it might come into play is if you have just finished having sex and then head straight to the gym. You may find your performance isn't as good, because for some men, sex can cause muscular fatigue; for others, though, it actually energizes them. This is solely dependent on the individual and his sexual aftermath.