Testosterone

[Stumble Bum]

I have a testosterone question. As related to muscle growth and strength, we understand it to be vital. But I think it packs a double whammy. Doesn't testosterone's impact upon the brain make one WANT to lift heavier and harder. I searched the forum for any thing on this, but didn't not find anything. Does anyone know of any studies that address this? If one lacks testosterone, you not only get less benefit of weight training, but also less desire to do it. So in order to get the benefits you want, you have to train that much harder, but you don't have the desire to. The reason I ask is that I have some clients with grand ideas of what they'd like to accomplish with the weights, but they just don't seem to have any comprehension of what actual hard heavy lifting is, and I'm just not getting through. Could it be chemical?

[optimum performance]

It's called "LAZY"

but you are on the right track but not so much elevated testosterone but low testosterone. Elevating testosterone beyond "normal" levels does not have an psychological effect other than felling of increased well being.

It is common these days to see low testosterone levels in the male population and also not the normal range has been lowered over the past 20 years so that less people will be tested "normal"

The same this has been done with cholesterol but in reverse to increase drug sales. It's related to the patent on drugs. They redevelop the cholesterol drugs to obtain a new patent on the drug (protecting it's over inflated prices) but this can not be done with testosterone.... testosterone is testosterone.

Ok enough raving....

[AskTheTrainer]

Originally Posted by Stumble Bum

I have a testosterone question. As related to muscle growth and strength, we understand it to be vital. But I think it packs a double whammy. Doesn't testosterone's impact upon the brain make one WANT to lift heavier and harder. I searched the forum for any thing on this, but didn't not find anything. Does anyone know of any studies that address this? If one lacks testosterone, you not only get less benefit of weight training, but also less desire to do it. So in order to get the benefits you want, you have to train that much harder, but you don't have the desire to. The reason I ask is that I have some clients with grand ideas of what they'd like to accomplish with the weights, but they just don't seem to have any comprehension of what actual hard heavy lifting is, and I'm just not getting through. Could it be chemical?

These are very interesting thoughts and maybe there are some studies related to this?

You may want to check out the National Library of Medicine Journal Database (PUBMED)

[newdawn]

My guess is testosterone has little effect on athletic "drive" for the simple reason that I don't think women are any less driven. Unless it is at our most competitive that we are utilizing our own, if smaller, reserves of the stuff.

[Stumble Bum]

Well, I think it is how you define "drive," but I'm not framing this as a male/female thing. Men's testosterone levels falls off as they age...seems their egos may keep growing, though.