Boost your Testosterone and Growth Hormone Levels Naturally

February 1, 2009

Using illegal steroids and growth hormone (GH) injections to increase your levels of testosterone and GH, has more bad side effects than positive returns. This is why I speak against these illegal drugs. Through proper strength and conditioning, an athlete can naturally stimulate their bodies testosterone and GH levels. The reason for athletes increasing these levels is to grow bigger, stronger, faster, which means your body is healing faster than it is breaking down. This is very beneficial for pitchers, because quicker recovery between appearances, will result in more velocity, better consistency and less chance of injury. This is why the Michell Report was full of professional pitchers using these illegal substances. These pro pitchers were looking for the hormonal edge but going at it in the wrong direction. Thank you to the strength and conditioning world, we have now learned that the hormonal edge can be obtained naturally, through a proper strength and conditioning program.

I am not talking about hormone levels like body builders talk about hormone levels. I am speaking for athletes who are always looking to grow more athletic. Your hormone levels are a major component to your athletic ability, so it is essential that you learn about your Endocrine System. The chart below comes from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. This chart describes how to manipulate your hormone levels naturally to gain athletic benefits.

How Can Athletes Manipulate the Endocrine System with Resistance Training?

General Concepts

The more muscle fibers recruited for an exercise, the greater the extent of potential remodeling process in the whole muscle.
Only muscle fibers activated by resistance training are subject to adaptation, including hormonal adaptations to stress.

To Increase Serum Testosterone Concentrations

Serum testosterone concentrations have been shown to increase by using these methods independently or in various combinations.

Large muscle group exercises (e.g., deadlift, power clean, squats)
Heavy resistance (85% to 95% of 1RM)
Moderate to high volume of exercise, achieved with multiple sets or multiple exercises
Short rest intervals (30-60 seconds)

To Increase Growth Hormone Levels

Growth hormone levels have been shown to increase by using either of these methods or both in combination.

Use workouts with higher lactate concentrations and associated acid-base disruptions; that is, use high intensity (10RM, or heavy resistance) with three sets of each exercise (high total work) and short (1-minute) rest periods.
Supplement diet with carbohydrate and protein before and after workouts.

To Optimize Responses of Adrenal Hormones

Use high volume, large muscle groups, and short rest periods, but vary the training protocol and the rest period length and volume to allow the adrenal gland to engage in recovery processes (secreting less cortisol) and to prevent chronic catabolic responses of cortisol. This way the stress of the exercises will not result in overuse or over training.

What this chart teaches us athletes is that performing lifts that recruit major muscle groups and as many muscle fibers as possible, will cause more muscle fiber damage overall. In return the body is forced to heal this massiveÃ‚Â event of controlled muscle damage as quickly as possible, to prevent damage from continuing. The body then sends out and army of natural occurring anabolic hormones to heal up the damaged muscle fibers.To make sure this event doesn’t continue, the body builds more muscle fibers for future events.

The difference in training muscles without recruiting as many groups of muscle fibers per repetition, like with aerobic conditioning or light weight training, is the body dumps only a small about of testosterone and GH to heal the small amount of damage. This is why body builders are bigger and more powerful than long distance runners.

To take advantage of this new information, it is important that you train smart. Training smart is not going one extreme to the other. So DO NOT take off with this new information and start throwing on weight that you can’t handle and perform 1-2 reps a set. That is unsafe. Just like pitching everything must be controlled and you must make small adjustments for a healthy career. This information should motivate you to start working for quality lifts instead of quantity. Another important piece of advice is not to take this mentality of bigger, stronger, faster into the weight room while in season. This is an off season mentality only.

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