Testosterone is not commonly associated with endurance performance as this muscle-building hormone is more closely linked with power sports like sprinting.

However, testosterone is an extremely potent hormone, offering benefits to anyone who is serious about their physical performance and recovery, including endurance athletes.

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Elevate-your-endurance-performance-by-boosting-testosterone

More than strength

In addition to strength development, which is essential to boost our power output, testosterone plays an important role in muscle growth, bone density and recovery, which are essential for endurance performance.

It is also critical for protein synthesis1 because it is a primary growth factor – it binds to receptors on the surface of muscle cells, amplifying the biochemical signals within muscles, resulting in new tissue and growth.

Moreover, testosterone helps boost levels of other growth factors like growth hormone, further enhancing protein synthesis. It also improves insulin sensitivity2 as this state is linked to changes in testosterone-cortisol balance.

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Suppressing natural production

However, high-volume, intense endurance training can lead to a decrease in testosterone levels. This phenomenon is especially common in male athletes who engage in extended, demanding workouts, with several factors contributing to this decline.

For instance, University of British Columbia researchers found that male runners who ran more than 64 kilometres per week had noticeably lower testosterone levels compared to those who trained over shorter distances3.

In another study4, conducted at the Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo in Brazil, researchers examined the serum levels of 20 men before and after completing a marathon (42.2km).

After the run, the athletes’ testosterone levels were about 50% lower than baseline levels, and cortisol levels had more than doubled. These levels also remained elevated above baseline a day after the race.

Elevate-your-endurance-performance-by-boosting-testosterone

Hormonal Disruption

The major cause is the stress that excessive training loads place on the body, affecting the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular (HPT) axis5, which regulates testosterone production. This stress can disrupt normal hormonal balance, leading to a decrease in testosterone production.

Intense and high-volume cardiovascular exercise also elevates cortisol, a stress hormone that can interfere with testosterone production6 when the body cannot properly regulate levels.

In addition, endurance athletes often fail to meet their required daily protein intake and can regularly find themselves in a daily calorie deficit (known as low energy availability)7, especially during the middle and latter stages of a race prep training block. Unfortunately, for athletes, low energy availability and failing to meet your protein requirements can impair testosterone production.

The other issue relates to age, as testosterone production (along with other anabolic hormones like growth hormone) starts to decline gradually in men in their mid-30s and continues at an average rate of 1.6% per year8.

Other factors that can lower testosterone levels at any age include stress, illness, a lack of adequate sleep, and weight gain, particularly excess fat.

When testosterone levels fall, men can experience various symptoms, including muscle loss, decreased strength and endurance, hair loss, depression, difficulties with concentration and memory, increased body fat, and sub-optimal recovery, among others.

boosting-levels-naturally

Boosting levels naturally

However, while some athletes experience low testosterone levels, it is not a universal experience as individual responses to training can vary widely.

Fortunately, there are various ways that elite, serious or even recreational endurance athletes can safely and effectively boost circulating testosterone levels to support their performance and recovery.

One way to boost testosterone production is to consume more healthy natural fats, with research9 published in The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology finding that low-fat diets decreased testosterone levels by 10-15%.

General guidelines recommend deriving at least 30% of your calories from fat, including some natural saturated fat (no more than 10% of total fat intake), with additional omega-3 fatty acids.

Performing more heavy compound exercises during your strength training sessions can also help to naturally elevate testosterone levels while sprints during interval or track workouts have also shown benefits to natural production10.

One such study11, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, showed how running for short durations of less than two hours increased testosterone while runs over two hours suppressed circulating levels.

supplement-your-testosterone

Supplement your T

From a supplement perspective, there are various herbs, vitamins and minerals that can potentially boost testosterone production.

However, it is advisable that professional and competitive athletes use testosterone-boosting products that carry Informed Sport or Informed Choice certification.

In this regard, Biogen Tongkat Ali Testo+ is the first local testosterone enhancer to receive Informed Sport certification.

Products enrolled in this leading global quality assurance programme for sports supplements assure athletes that products carrying the Informed Sport mark have been tested for banned and prohibited substances to ensure they do not contravene WADA’s Prohibited List.

This programme offers the highest level of assurance as every batch of a certified product undergoes testing at LGC Limited in the UK, which offers one of the best risk management and certification options globally before it is released.

LGC screens every batch of a certified product for banned substances at a part-per-billion level and all manufacturing processes must meet strict quality control standards, including GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice).

The Informed Sport programme is the gold standard worldwide, which means athletes who choose certified products can train and compete with confidence knowing that their reputation is in safe hands.

If you have any concerns about your testosterone levels, it is advisable to discuss your concerns with your doctor, pharmacist or healthcare provider, who can assist with supplementation guidance or recommend appropriate treatment options, if necessary.

References

  1. Griggs RC, Kingston W, Jozefowicz RF, Herr BE, Forbes G, Halliday D. Effect of testosterone on muscle mass and muscle protein synthesis. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1989 Jan;66(1):498-503. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1989.66.1.498. PMID: 2917954.
  2. Ottarsdottir K, Nilsson AG, Hellgren M, Lindblad U, Daka B. The association between serum testosterone and insulin resistance: a longitudinal study. Endocr Connect. 2018 Dec 1;7(12):1491-1500. doi: 10.1530/EC-18-0480. PMID: 30592706; PMCID: PMC6311464.
  3. MacKelvie KJ, Taunton JE, McKay HA, Khan KM. Bone mineral density and serum testosterone in chronically trained, high mileage 40-55 year old male runners. Br J Sports Med. 2000 Aug;34(4):273-8. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.34.4.273. PMID: 10953900; PMCID: PMC1724199.
  4. França SC, Barros Neto TL, Agresta MC, Lotufo RF, Kater CE. Resposta divergente da testosterona e do cortisol séricos em atletas masculinos após uma corrida de maratona [Divergent responses of serum testosterone and cortisol in athlete men after a marathon race]. Arq Bras Endocrinol Metabol. 2006 Dec;50(6):1082-7. Portuguese. doi: 10.1590/s0004-27302006000600015. PMID: 17221115.
  5. Hackney AC, Aggon E. Chronic Low Testosterone Levels in Endurance Trained Men: The Exercise- Hypogonadal Male Condition. J Biochem Physiol. 2018;1(1):103. Epub 2018 Feb 28. PMID: 29882545; PMCID: PMC5988228.
  6. Khan SU, Jannat S, Shaukat H, Unab S, Tanzeela, Akram M, Khan Khattak MN, Soto MV, Khan MF, Ali A, Rizvi SSR. Stress Induced Cortisol Release Depresses The Secretion of Testosterone in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Clin Med Insights Endocrinol Diabetes. 2023 Jan 3;16:11795514221145841. doi: 10.1177/11795514221145841. PMID: 36636127; PMCID: PMC9830570.
  7. Cupka M, Sedliak M. Hungry runners – low energy availability in male endurance athletes and its impact on performance and testosterone: mini-review. Eur J Transl Myol. 2023 Apr 11;33(2):11104. doi: 10.4081/ejtm.2023.11104. PMID: 37052052; PMCID: PMC10388605.
  8. Stanworth RD, Jones TH. Testosterone for the aging male; current evidence and recommended practice. Clin Interv Aging. 2008;3(1):25-44. doi: 10.2147/cia.s190. PMID: 18488876; PMCID: PMC2544367.
  9. Whittaker J, Wu K. Low-fat diets and testosterone in men: Systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2021 Jun;210:105878. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2021.105878. Epub 2021 Mar 16. PMID: 33741447.
  10. Vingren JL, Kraemer WJ, Ratamess NA, Anderson JM, Volek JS, Maresh CM. Testosterone physiology in resistance exercise and training: the up-stream regulatory elements. Sports Med. 2010 Dec 1;40(12):1037-53. doi: 10.2165/11536910-000000000-00000. PMID: 21058750.
  11. Riachy R, McKinney K, Tuvdendorj DR. Various Factors May Modulate the Effect of Exercise on Testosterone Levels in Men. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2020 Nov 7;5(4):81. doi: 10.3390/jfmk5040081. PMID: 33467296; PMCID: PMC7739287.