{"id":4251,"date":"2018-01-12T16:54:33","date_gmt":"2018-01-12T16:54:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.testofuel.com\/tf\/?p=4251"},"modified":"2018-01-15T16:53:14","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T16:53:14","slug":"does-working-out-legs-build-testosterone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.testofuel.com\/tf\/does-working-out-legs-build-testosterone\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Working out Legs Build Testosterone?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article we’re answering the important question –\u00a0does working out legs build testosterone?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n

Hands up. Who skips leg day?<\/em><\/p>\n

Are you one of those “I’ve got a bad back”<\/em> or “I’m just too tired man”<\/em> kind of guys who uses every excuse they can muster to avoid going ass-to-grass with a bar?<\/p>\n

Or are you one of those guys that’ll take every opportunity to pull up his shorts and squat ’til you drop?<\/p>\n

Next time you’re in the gym, take a look around. The guys who are curling and benching might have strong upper bodies – but what are their wheels like?<\/p>\n

Now look at the squatters… they’re just plain jacked.<\/p>\n

We know that working out legs gives you more benefits than just a huge pair of quads. In this article we answer the question –\u00a0does working out legs build testosterone?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The Benefits of Leg Training<\/h2>\n

As painful and unpleasant as leg training can be, it does provide you with a number of benefits that upper body training alone just an’t give you.<\/p>\n

Here are the ones you need to know about.<\/p>\n

Aesthetics<\/h3>\n

There must be hundreds of thousands of memes and images poking fun at top heavy guys.<\/p>\n

Those people who have respectable shoulders, strong traps and thick arms… but scrawny legs that look like they might buckle under the mass of the gym bro that owns them.<\/p>\n

If you skip leg day you’ll miss out on a more balanced physique. Your shoulder width will overpower your overall silhouette and you’ll just look downright out of proportion.<\/p>\n

Sports Performance<\/h3>\n

When it comes to producing power, speed, strength and all-round athleticism, leg training is a must.<\/p>\n

According to leading researchers and coaches, “the legs are the primary source of power in many sports”\u00a0<\/strong>[1].<\/p>\n

Without functional leg strength, there’s no link between the floor and upper body. This means that even in upper body sports such as boxing and javelin, your performance will suffer.<\/p>\n

Have you ever tried to throw a javelin or a punch while sat down?<\/em> That’ll tell you how important ‘ground reaction force’ and lower body strength is.<\/p>\n

Higher energy expenditure<\/h3>\n

Training legs burns a ton of calories. Period.<\/p>\n

One of the main reasons many of us try to ditch leg day is that it’s so damn hard.<\/p>\n

Your lower body holds around 45% of your total muscle mass (in women it’s higher at 56%) [2]. It’s also where some of your biggest muscles are located too – you glutes in particular.<\/p>\n

Training your legs once or twice per week ramps up your energy expenditure and given you’re monitoring your calorie intake, can help to speed up fat loss.<\/p>\n

You can eat more after training legs<\/h3>\n

There’s nothing finer than a good meal after leg day. You feel energized, content and recovered.<\/p>\n

And if science has anything to say, you don’t need to feel guilty for the post-lower body cheat meal either.<\/p>\n

A study in the\u00a0Journal of Applied Physiology\u00a0<\/em>[3] found that after a solid leg training session, nutrient absorption efficiency and insulin sensitivity are both optimized.<\/p>\n

The result?<\/em> More nutrients directed to the muscle and less stored as fat.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

How Does Working out Legs Build Testosterone?<\/h2>\n

One thing’s for sure – working out legs does build testosterone. It also increases other anabolic hormone in the blood too such as growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1).<\/p>\n

Does Working out legs build testosterone?<\/h3>\n

A study published in the\u00a0European Journal of Applied Physiology\u00a0<\/em>[4]\u00a0found that performing lower body strength training prior to arm training resulted in more muscle growth.<\/p>\n

In the study, 9 male athletes were asked to take part in 4 single arm workouts per week for 11 weeks.<\/p>\n

During 2 of those sessions, they first performed a series of leg presses, leg curls and leg extensions, followed by a bicep workout for their right arm only.<\/p>\n

On the other two days they trained their left bicep without any leg training beforehand.<\/p>\n

What did they find?<\/em><\/p>\n

After the 11 week training program had finished, the scientists found that anabolic hormone levels were higher during leg and arm training compared to just arm training.<\/p>\n

Both testosterone and growth hormone levels had spiked because of leg day.<\/p>\n

And they found out something remarkable too – the right arm was significantly larger and stronger than the left. Leg training had led to more muscle mass in the upper body.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Which lower body exercises boost testosterone most?<\/h3>\n

Hopefully by now you’re coming around to the idea of putting a leg day into your current rotation.<\/p>\n

The next question is which exercise should be your testosterone boosting go-to<\/p>\n

According to research from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research [5] the exercise that best increases anabolic hormone levels is squats.<\/p>\n

Compared to leg presses, “f<\/strong>ree weight exercises seem to induce greater hormonal responses to resistance exercise than machine weight exercises using similar lower-body multi-joint movements and primary movers”.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Focusing on large muscle mass exercises and supplementing these with isolation lifts is a surefire way of ramping up testosterone.<\/p>\n

That’s because compound, multi-joint exercises are far superior for hormone optimization [6].<\/p>\n

Go hard or go home<\/h3>\n

Once you’ve chosen your leg day lifts you need to think about your program content.<\/p>\n

Going heavier on leg day will turn the dial on your anabolic hormones to 11. Studies have found that ‘heavy resistance exercise protcols’ (HREPS)<\/em> are the most effective when it comes to does working out legs build testosterone.<\/p>\n

How heavy?\u00a0<\/em>Aim for 5 to 10 reps per set, keep your rest times low and most of all… lift as heavy as you can for your reps [7].<\/p>\n

Now’s not the time to go light.<\/p>\n

\n

\"squats-and-testosterone-production\"<\/p>\n

\n

Sample Leg Workout<\/h2>\n

If building impressive wheels is your game you’ll need a challenging. but rewarding strength program.<\/p>\n

And we’ve got just the thing…<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Number<\/th>Exercise<\/th>Reps<\/th>Sets<\/th>Rest Time<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1<\/td>Back Squat<\/td>5-8<\/td>3<\/td>1-3 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>Romanian Deadlift<\/td>5-8<\/td>3<\/td>1-3 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>Bulgarian Split Squat<\/td>8-12<\/td>3<\/td>1-3 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>Lying Leg Curl<\/td>8-12<\/td>3<\/td>1-3 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>Leg extension<\/td>8-12<\/td>3<\/td>1-3 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>Standing calf raise<\/td>5-8<\/td>4<\/td>1-2 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n
\n

References<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Gambetta, V.\u00a0Leg strength for sports performance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>http:\/\/elitetrack.com\/article_files\/gambettastrength.pdf<\/li>\n
  2. Hegge, AM et al.\u00a0Are gender differences in upper-body power generated by elite cross-country skiers augmented by increasing the intensity of exercise? <\/em>PLoS ONE 10(5): e0127509<\/li>\n
  3. Hansen, PA et al.\u00a0Increased GLUT-4 translocation mediates enhanced insulin sensitivity of muscle glucose transport after exercise.\u00a0<\/em>J Appl Physiol. 1998 85(4): 1218-22<\/li>\n
  4. Ronnestad, BR et al. Physiological elevation of endogenous hormones results in superior strength training adaptation<\/em>. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011; 111(9): 2249-59<\/li>\n
  5. Shaner, AA et al.\u00a0The acute hormonal response to free weight and machine weight resistance exercise.\u00a0<\/em>J Strength Cond Res. 2014 28(4): 1032-40<\/li>\n
  6. Fahey, TD et al.\u00a0Serum testosterone, body composition, and strength of young adults.\u00a0<\/em>Med Sci Sports. 1976; 8(1): 31-4<\/li>\n
  7. Kraemer W. J et al. Hormonal and growth factor responses to heavy resistance exercise protocols.\u00a0<\/em>J Appl Physiol.\u00a01990; 69(4): 1442-1450<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In this article we’re answering the important question –\u00a0does working out legs build testosterone?\u00a0 Hands up. Who skips leg day? Are you one of those “I’ve got a bad back” or “I’m just too tired man” kind of guys who uses every excuse they can muster to avoid going ass-to-grass with a bar? Or are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[54],"tags":[615,616,614],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDoes Working out Legs Build Testosterone? - TestoFuel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you one of those guys that skips leg day? If you are then you need to read this as there are a number of strength and muscle mass benefits you're missing out on. 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