Testosterone is a male hormone and it's a big deal. High testosterone is largely associated with high sex drive, success, muscle, facial hair, wide shoulders, dominance and the will to win. It is the essence of being a male.

It's testosterone that turns a fetus into a boy and a boy into a man. 

If you're reading this article you probably already know the benefits of having healthy levels of testosterone. This article will show you how to naturally boost your testosterone levels. Let's jump straight in.

Weight Lifting

One of the best ways to increase testosterone is to follow a weight training programme. There are many styles of weight training including:

• Bodybuilding
• Powerlifting 
• CrossFit
• Strength & Conditioning 
• Olympic Lifting

All of the above are going to raise your testosterone levels, but you need to lift heavy and often. Compound lifts are going to give you the most testosterone boost and these are Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Overhead Press and Pull-Ups. If you're an advanced and confident lifter then adding the Snatch and Clean & Jerk are going to help too. The bigger and more complex the movement the more effect it has, so a barbell snatch is going to raise your testosterone levels more than Bicep Curls or Bench Press. 

Lifting the weight once and then leaving the gym isn't going to work, you need volume and consistency. The easiest way is to follow a programme. The internet is full of programmes and forums that will help you.

I recommend getting a personal trainer or joining a club where you can be pushed. They're not expensive, and the return on investment is going to help you achieve your goals faster. 

Diet 

Your diet plays a massive part in your testosterone production. This is a massive topic and it ranges from what to eat, right across to the 'meat vs vegetarian' diet debates. Therefore, we will only touch on the subject. 

My advice is to seek out a professional dietitian. There are too many poor sources on the internet giving diet advice boldly stating: "backed up by studies" without referencing any of these studies or scientific research.

A good healthy diet is required to enhance your testosterone levels. You'll need an adequate balance of carbs, protein, good fats and vegetables. 

So in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger: "Put that cookie down, NOW." All joking a side, while a healthy diet is going to give you stronger testosterone levels and while you shouldn't gouge on fast food, you still need to enjoy life. A cookie or doughnut isn't going to harm you.

Most of the time you should be eating quality protein, complex carbohydrates and vegetables. While it's okay to use dietary supplements and vitamin supplements, these should be to enhance your diet, not as a substitute. 

Sleep

Sleep is good for you and it has a massive effect on your testosterone levels. More sleep equals more testosterone. Getting more sleep depends on your lifestyle and who you are. Generally you want to be getting between 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night.

Thank you to social media there is now a culture of working non-stop and sleep never. People brag how early they get up and how late they went to bed. In my experience, this is a load of egotistical rubbish. The benefits you get from working late and getting up early are great for finishing projects over a short period of time. However, this is not sustainable long term. Your productivity goes down as you are tired through the day and you lose concentration. You also become sicker more meaning days off. Therefore, you simply lose all the benefits of the extra hours by sleeping less, because you can't physically or mentally use the time to work. I know this because I've done it to finish projects. 

Not only do you become useless when you're sleep deprived, your testosterone suffers too. So you want to be getting your sleep in. Here are some ways to enhance your sleep:

Blackout curtains - you'll sleep better in complete darkness, so get some blackout curtains.

Turn off technology - stop playing on your smartphone, kindle or watching TV before bed. It's too much light and stimulus for your brain. Give yourself the time to wind down. Also by turning off the TV you'll avoid the news, which is usually negative and that can affect your sleep.

Comfy bed - your bed is an investment and if it causes you back pain and broken sleep your work will suffer. Get a decent mattress.

Magnesium - magnesium is a calming mineral and it'll help you sleep better. Magnesium actually changed my life.

Competitive sports & winning

Playing competitive sports increases testosterone and when you win it spikes your testosterone levels even more. However, losing causes your testosterone to drop, so make sure you don't lose.

In fact, watching your favourite sports team win also increases your testosterone, but if they lose it also lowers yours. 

Does it matter what sports you play? Yes, doing a class of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts or Thai Boxing is going to raise your testosterone levels far more than going long distance running. If you compete, expect a spike in your testosterone levels. However, as I said earlier if you lose your testosterone drops. Don't take that too seriously though. Competing is fun and you can't live your life restricting yourself to situations where you can only win. You need to take risks and lose to grow your experience and to grow as a person. Not just in sports, but also in your general life.

Attractive Women

It should come as no surprise, but being around attractive women will boost your testosterone. According to the Telegraph (2009), just a five minute conversation with an attractive woman boosts testosterone by 14 percent. However, spending the same amount of time around men resulted in a testosterone drop of up to seven percent. Studies have also found testosterone levels of married men and those in long term relationships is lower than single men. 

The conversation doesn't need to be flirtatious, just a normal conversation. You should get into the habit of talking to people while you queue in the supermarket, who stand next to you at the bar, or in a coffee shop. Not only will this boost your testosterone, it will enhance your confidence and personal skills too. You also never know what opportunity might arise from the conversation.

What about married men and men in long term relationships? My personal belief is that you should still be doing this. Like I said, it doesn't need to flirtatious, just a conversation. Testosterone a side, the self development benefits of speaking to random people are fantastic. I think men in relationships can sometimes become withdrawn due to worry they're seen as cheating or due to laziness. You're not cheating you're just talking. Communication is a vital skill to succeed in life, so don't lose it.

I hope you enjoyed this article on how to raise your testosterone naturally. These are all easy things that you can implement now, so good luck and leave us a comment below if you have any questions. 

References

1. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/6243292/Meeting-pretty-women-makes-men-feel-good.html