Introduction
Many people know that Testosterone is anabolic in specific ways, but how exactly does testosterone influence muscle growth/development?
Well to put it simply, there is a process known as muscle protein synthesis, and when free testosterone reaches the androgen receptor cells it also influences and increases the ability for muscle growth and strength. This is why it’s referred to as an anabolic hormone. This muscle protein synthesis process can happen absent of any androgen hormones, however the androgen receptors in some muscle cells increase the capacity for this muscle growth and hypertrophy to take place.
Beyond the muscle anabolism of testosterone, it also prevents muscle protein breakdown, increases skeletal bone density, and also enables men to stay leaner or maintain a lower body fat percentage.
What This Means For You
Many of us have very likely felt like the guy on the left with low testosterone at some point. Men affected with low testosterone have become a silent epidemic, and if you’re wondering why your strength training or dieting is not yielding muscle gain and fat loss; testosterone levels are something to seriously consider measuring.
To optimize your muscle gains in the gym, it’s important to keep your eyes on the prize of high FREE testosterone. These are the freely available, unbound testosterone molecules that can make it into the androgen receptors of cells, like in the muscle. Many people only know their total testosterone levels in their blood, but may not know that in context their free testosterone may still be low, despite moderate or even high levels of total testosterone.
The Good News
The good news is that many causes of low testosterone can be solved naturally. There are often natural reasons why we might develop low testosterone levels. From lifestyle, to diet, to activity, chemical/plastic/BPA exposure, chronic stress, or sleep dysfunction… These are all root cause issues that need to be addressed or ameliorated to resolve the problem of low testosterone.
For further information on how to naturally solve issues of low testosterone, stay tuned to this blog and our article library.
