GH and Testosterone Are A Guy's Best Friend

Ca++ Boosts Testosterone

The effect of four weeks of calcium supplementation on free and total testosterone levels was measured in active and sedentary adult males, at rest and exhaustion. Scientists took healthy male athletes and divided them into one of three groups:

Group 1: non-exercising subjects receiving 35 milligrams of calcium/kg bodyweight.

Group 2: subjects receiving 35 milligrams of calcium/kg bodyweight, undergoing training routines for 90 minutes per day, five days a week.

Group 3: subjects undergoing training routines for 90 minutes per day, five days a week.

That is a dosage equal to 3,182 milligrams of calcium for a 200-pound person. Researchers measured testosterone levels before and after supplementation, at rest, and following a hard training routine. What happened? They found that training results in increased testosterone levels in athletes, and the increase is greater if accompanied by calcium supplementation.1 Got milk?

GH Plus T: Potent Combo

The word around the science ‘hood is that growth hormone (GH) doesn’t do much. But as with anything, it’s all about dose, duration, and what you combine it with. Heck, Batman needs Robin. The Green Hornet needs Kato. Maybe GH needs to have testosterone as its sidekick.

In this study, scientists tested the hypothesis that physiological supplementation with testosterone and GH together improves body composition and muscle performance in older men. One-hundred and twenty-two men (average age 71), with testosterone levels of 550 ng/dl or less and ‘low’ IGF-1 levels, received transdermal testosterone (5 or 10 g/d) plus GH for 16 weeks. Researchers found that lean body mass and appendicular lean tissue mass increased and conversely, total fat mass decreased— as did trunk fat. Maximum voluntary strength of upper and lower body muscles increased by 14 to 35 percent.

Researchers found that supplemental testosterone produced significant gains in total and appendicular lean mass, muscle strength, and aerobic endurance with significant reduction in whole-body and trunk fat. And these actions appeared to be enhanced with GH supplementation.2

Endurance Training Boosts T

In the very elite category of endurance athletes, some men have lower than normal testosterone levels. But let’s face it— we don’t all run 60 miles per week! For those of us who use cardio training for overall fitness and as an alternate way to burn body fat, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

In this study, 15 young, healthy men performed five weeks of endurance training on a cycle ergometer. The training program resulted in 3.7 percent improvement of aerobic power and 8.2 percent improvement of power output reached at maximal oxygen uptake. Also, there was a significant 16.9 percent increase in testosterone concentrations, a 25.7 percent increase in free testosterone, and a 7.3 percent drop in sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).

So it looks like, at least in the short-term, moderate-intensity and low-volume endurance training can significantly increase testosterone concentration in previously-untrained men.3 If I were you, I’d periodize your training such that you don’t ‘overdo’ the cardio. Unless your goal is to become a studly distance runner or triathlete, there is no reason for you to be doing the equivalent of 50-plus miles per week of running.

Adding Testosterone Helps Men With MetS

Men with the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) often have low testosterone levels. So what’s the solution? Get them lazy bastards to work out, eat well, and take supplemental T!

OK, easier said than done. But check out this interesting new study. In a single-blind, 52-week randomized clinical trial, the effect of a supervised diet and exercise (D&E), with or without transdermal testosterone, was assessed in 32 hypogonadal men (total testosterone <12.0 nmol/L) with MetS. Yep, these guys are a mess. They received 50 milligrams of testosterone gel, once daily. No glucose-lowering agents were administered prior to or during the study period.

So what happened? Serum testosterone, fasting plasma glucose, HDL cholesterol, triglyceride concentrations, and waist circumference improved in both groups after 52 weeks of treatment. The addition of testosterone significantly improved these measures further, compared to D&E alone. Did you read that? Diet and exercise is good. But adding T is even better. Stop the presses!

Additionally, testosterone treatment improved insulin sensitivity, adiponectin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. So giving these hypogonadal guys with MetS a little bit of testosterone, on top of diet plus exercise, improved glycemic control and reversed the MetS after 52 weeks of treatment.4 Wait— is this the same stuff that Congress had hearings about because a few baseball players were using androgens?

Testosterone Helps Old Folks With Heart Failure

Yes, that’s right. You’re reading that correctly. No need to buy a new pair of eyeglasses. Scientists looked at the effect of 12 weeks of administration of a long-acting testosterone on maximal exercise capacity, ventilatory efficiency, muscle strength, insulin resistance, etc. in elderly patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Seventy elderly (~70 year old) patients with stable CHF were randomly assigned to receive testosterone (intramuscular injection every six weeks) or placebo— both on top of optimal medical therapy. Baseline peak oxygen consumption and quadriceps isometric strength showed a direct relation to serum testosterone concentration. Also, peak oxygen uptake significantly improved in the testosterone group, but was unchanged in the placebo group. Insulin sensitivity also significantly improved in the testosterone group. Muscular strength significantly increased in the testosterone but not in the placebo group.

So what do we have here? Long-acting testosterone therapy improves exercise capacity, muscle strength, and glucose metabolism— and in men with moderately severe CHF.5 Wait, isn’t this stuff supposed to increase your risk of cardiovascular disease? You would think from reading the pabulum published in mainstream newspapers that taking androgens (at any dose) will cause ‘roid rage, increase your risk of heart attack, and eventually kill you. Yet, the evidence is mounting that the proper use of certain androgens, at specific dosages and durations, can in fact be good for you.

Nothing is inherently good or bad. Goodness or badness has to be relative to something else. So far, the only thing ‘bad’ I’ve seen is the awful reporting and articles written by mainstream journalists with about as much science know-how as a chimpanzee on Valium.

Jose Antonio, Ph.D., is vice president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He has a Ph.D. in muscle physiology and is chief executive of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

source:musculardevelopment.com