It is well established that testosterone is linked to building muscles and strength. Testosterone is the primary hormone responsible for developing muscle mass. It is also true that working out helps in increase in testosterone production. Working out at gym or at home or anywhere not only increases testosterone but also in other hormones like cortisol and growth hormones. Leg day, out of all is considered the best for increasing testosterone. But it is a valid question to ask, why does leg day increase testosterone?
While there is synthetic testosterone available in the market to take, it is better advised to not take them without proper knowledge or without consulting a doctor or a dietician. If working out can increase your production of testosterone, there is no need of taking synthetic testosterone.
Let’s discuss ‘why does leg day increase testosterone’ further.
The role of testosterone in our body
Testosterone is a hormone produced in our body. It is primarily produced in the testicles in men and in smaller amounts in women’s ovaries. Testosterone is responsible for many critical functions in the body, including the development of muscle mass, bone density, development of secondary sexual traits in males and sex drive. Testosterone levels are highest in men during adolescence and early adulthood and gradually decrease with age. In women, testosterone levels are much lower, but they still play a crucial role in maintaining overall health.
Low sex drive, underdeveloped sexual characteristics in male and lethargy are all liked with low testosterone. Whereas, high testosterone helps in maintaining energy, improving muscle mass and improving overall strength and health. If lifting weights can increase the testosterone in body, what’s stopping you from stepping in the gym and going all in?
How leg day workouts increase testosterone levels
Working out itself produces some amount of testosterone in our body. Engaging in any exercise puts stress in the muscle involved. This leads to microtears and contraction in muscles. These tears lead to production of lactic acid. This sends signal in our body to help recover and strengthen the muscle involved during the movement. As a result, body produces testosterone to help body recover and strengthen.
Now, that it is clear, the question arises ‘why does leg day increase testosterone’. And why is it better than other group muscles in producing more testosterone. Here are some of the ways in which leg day workouts increase testosterone production:
1) Activation of Large Muscle Groups: The leg muscles, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, are some of the largest muscles in the body. When you engage in exercises like squats, deadlifts, and lunges, you activate a large number of muscle-fibers in these muscle groups. This muscle activation stimulates testosterone production.
2) Heavy Weights and High-Intensity Training: Leg day workouts often involve using heavy weights and performing high-intensity exercises. This can further stimulate testosterone production. Studies have shown that high-intensity resistance training can lead to a temporary increase in testosterone levels.
3) Increased Energy Demand: Leg day workouts require a significant amount of energy, which can increase metabolic rate and stimulate testosterone production. The increased energy demand can also lead to increased muscle growth and strength, which can further enhance testosterone production.
4) Mental Focus and Concentration: Leg day workouts can be quite challenging and require a lot of mental focus and concentration. This mental demand can also lead to a temporary increase in testosterone levels.
5) Rest Post Leg Day: Leg days demand good rest the following day. A good sleep can help in stimulation of high testosterone along with the other factors.
Tips for maximizing testosterone production levels from leg day workouts
Yes, leg days (exercises) performed correctly can help increase testosterone in high amounts. Here are some tips to consider to maximise testosterone production levels from leg day workouts –
1) Focus on Compound Exercises
Compound exercises, such as squats, deadlifts, and lunges, work multiple muscle groups simultaneously. These muscles include the legs, back, and core. These exercises are more effective at stimulating testosterone production compared to isolation exercises that only work one muscle group at a time. Deadlift being one of the best among all.
2) Use Heavy Weights
Using heavy weights can further stimulate testosterone production during leg day workouts. Aim to lift weights that are challenging but still allow you to maintain proper form. Try to do progressive overload. This means, with every next set, try to increase the weight than the previous set. Be careful, don’t increase the weight too much on every set. Try to increase it gradually.
3) Do High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
HIIT involves performing short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by brief periods of rest. When combined with resistance training, this has shown to stimulate even more testosterone production.
For example, do 20 squats followed by 20 second rest, then 20 front lunges. Do 5 sets of these with 20 seconds break every time.
4) Get Enough Rest and Recovery
Lack of sleep and overtraining can also hinder testosterone production. Make sure to give your body enough rest and recovery time between leg day workouts and aim for at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Nothing better than a goodnight sleep after leg day.
5) Eat a Balanced Diet
Your diet can also impact testosterone production. Make sure to consume enough protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates to support muscle growth and overall health. Zinc and vitamin D are also important nutrients for testosterone production. Not only on leg days, this is recommended every day.
6) Stay Hydrated
Dehydration can impact testosterone production, so make sure to drink enough water throughout the day and during leg day workouts. Leg days are more tiring and sweatier. Your body will demand for water on its own but it is recommended to have 4-5 litres of water every day.
Does only leg day produce testosterone?
Well, the answer to this is ‘No’. Our body produces testosterone every day. It is although, increased when we involve in physical exercise. While it is true that testosterone is produced during all workouts, it is also true that leg day stimulates more testosterone production.
Compound exercises stimulates more muscles and muscle groups compared to isolation exercises. It is then obvious that compound exercises will lead to more testosterone production than the counterpart. Legs having bigger and larger muscles will lead to big muscle engagement and hence more testosterone production.
Which are the best leg workouts to boost testosterone?
Although, there are many leg workouts that can be performed on leg day, some surpass the other when we talk about more muscle engagement. It is very important to engage more muscle groups to help boost testosterone in out body. Here are the best leg day workouts of this –
1) Deadlifts – Deadlifts are one of the best compound exercises. The main muscles involved are hamstrings, glutes, back, core, trapezius. Working out deadlifts also involves many other samll muscles. Activation of the large muscles due to deadlifts, leads to more testosterone production.
You can perform this exercise with barbells and dumbbells as well.
2) Squats – Squats are again one of a good exercise that involves most of the legs and core. It involves all glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, adductor, hip flexors, calves. Other variations include sumo squads, barbell squats etc.
3) Lunges – Lunges are a must exercise on every leg day. They are tiring and very engaging for whole legs. The muscles affected are quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, glutes, core (abdominus rectus). Other variation of this exercise can be goblet lunges, where you do the regular lunges but carrying weights.
4) Burpees – Burpees are great compound exercise. It can be done anywhere. This movement involves almost whole of the body muscles. This can be really helpful for stimulating testosterone production. Do at least 25 of them each time.
Conclusion
To conclude on the question ‘why does leg day increase testosterone’, it is clear that the bigger and larger the muscles you engage while exercising, the more testosterone your body will produce. Also, the more muscles you engage while exercise the better it is for testosterone production. Leg day incorporated more of those larger muscles as well as other muscle groups in our body. This is why leg day increase more testosterone than any other leg day. Mixing leg day with resistance training is the best way to pump those muscles and therefore testosterone.
Also, it should be noted that many other factors play an equally important role in the testosterone in an individual body. It is also true that doing only leg exercises should not be only source for the testosterone. Diet plays an equally important role, if not more. A healthy lifestyle is very much required for better testosterone health in our body.
