Why did I say 20%?

Because that’s what I managed to increase, and the best of it, I did it unintentionally.  I’m not a fan of this body tracking frenzy.  I don’t even weigh myself.  As I said before, if you look at yourself naked in the mirror and like what you see, you’re already in the 1%.  That’s my parameter.  No, I’m not posting nudes, stop asking!

My first testosterone measurement was 520 ng/dL.  A dermatologist asked me to measure it and see if there was a correlation with my balding.

520 ng/dL is pretty standard for someone my age.  The American Urology Association (AUA) considers low blood testosterone to be less than 300 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL) for adults.  So I was ok with mine.

My changing of habits, weight training and better sleep, were due to life changes.  Yes, divorce.  You can read more here.  

How does weight training increase your testosterone?

It’s complex, but simple to understand.  Testosterone is essential to muscle synthesis.  With weight training, you mostly do micro-tears in your muscular tissues.  To repair that tissue, you need amino acids, which come from breaking down proteins (a string of amino acids) you ingest. Amino acids are the bricks.  That’s the common analogy.  Testosterone comes into play by stimulating this muscle tissue repair.

So, when you weight train frequently, your body detects the need for more muscle building, aka protein synthesis.  That’s when it starts to produce more testosterone.  With more testosterone, you build more muscle, demanding more testosterone.  It’s a virtuous cycle.  But that demands frequency.

Sleep

There was a time in my life when I prided myself on sleeping 5 hours a night max.  I just felt superior to those eight-hour-sleepers-pesants.  The problem is, I’m not one of those genetically built short sleepers.  Just a few of us are.

When I reached my 40s, I started feeling a need for more sleep, as in 7 to 8 hours.  I started to take sleeping seriously.  That meant sleeping earlier, in a very dark room.  Sometimes with a sleep mask.  Yes, very sexy.   But that was of equal importance for my ability to increase testosterone.

That’s because the majority of the daily testosterone release in men occurs during sleep.  Simple as that. 

This was, essentially, how I increased my testosterone level from 520 ng/dL to 625 ng/dL.

Does Sexual Activity Increase Testosterone?

Though testosterone is key to sexual drive, it is not true the other way around. There is no solid evidence that sexual activity increases testosterone levels.

According to this article, masturbation may have only short-term effects on the levels of testosterone.

So, the answer is: no.

How does it feel to have 20% more testosterone?

As I said. I was not looking to improve my T level. It was the aftermath of changes in habit. But I sure felt an increase in my overall vigor. I felt more energetic, willing to do more things, go outside more often, and do different activities.

Would I use synthetic testosterone?

I know Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) is rising in popularity. The problem seems to be that it is not only reserved anymore for cases of Hypogonadism, but for mood treatment or purely aesthetic reasons.

In those cases, I don’t think the risk of a blood clog ending up in my brain or heart. Not to mention the increased risk of cancer. And if I had to do it, it would be in gel form.