Why is testosterone important?
Are you feeling constantly drained?
Brain fog?
Holding on to body fat no matter how much you workout?
The facts are the pace of our lives, and all the stress that comes with it, is effecting your natural biology. Testosterone is critical in male sexual behavior and reproduction, but also has important beneficial effects on muscle mass and strength, body fat, bone density, energy and well-being.
Need a little boost? Here are 5 Habits to naturally kick your body back into gear!
Hate reading? Get the cliff notes! Scroll down to the bottom.
HABIT 1: Get some sleep!
This one is FREE and you can start TODAY. And possibly the most important habit of them all.
Did you know that the majority of the daily testosterone release in men occurs during sleep? In older men, morning testosterone levels are partly effected by total sleep time. For example in one study, a sample of men restricted 5 hours of sleep each night for one week resulted in 10%-15% decreases in daytime testosterone levels. And that is just ONE WEEK. (source)
Not only will your daytime levels benefit, but you can also turn on your nighttime rise of testosterone while you sleep if you get a continuous, uninterrupted sleep. (source)
What about some growth hormones? Deep sleep is also where your natural growth hormones really thrive and do their work. Do you want to boost some natural growth hormone production and reap all the benefits from that workout you just did? Get some zzzzzs. With more sleep, you turn off cortisol and turn on melatonin—which tell growth hormones to turn on!
During your sleep recovery phases, your natural growth hormones go into overdrive to repair and build muscles and other tissues that get worn down. According to Shawn Stevenson, in his book Sleep Smarter, the optimal bedtime window is between the hours of 9pm and 10pm for best sleep benefits of maximum growth hormone release during the night. Its our number one habit in the Clean Kitchen program for a reason, and we get our clients consistently getting more sleep!
Need some help in settling in for bed? We recommend trying a magnesium supplement. Not only does it help calm your mind, but also aids in muscle recovery and some awesome sleep.
Sleep heavily influences release of hormones. The more quality sleep you can get, the more daily testosterone you will release.
SLEEP HABIT
HABIT 2: Exercise and lift weights.
Its no secret. Exercise increases testosterone levels. In fact, a resent study found that men who exercised regularly had a higher levels of testosterone than those who solely focused on diet restriction of certain foods. (Source)
Any type of exercise can help, but the most effective type to boost long term levels of testosterone is weight training and high intensity interval training. Believe it or not, you can start boosting rather quickly. In a recent study, it was shown you can benefit from the boost of exercise very quickly within an 8 week period of consistent training. (source)
Where can you start? Don’t just join a gym where you have to rely on yourself to program your own workouts and motivate yourself to go. Get a coach. Join a strength and conditioning class with a coach who can lead you. Don’t have time to get in a gym? Join an online program like VOLT, versusonlinetraining.com today and don’t waste any time. VOLT offers up real coaches and real gains to be made. All the clients of the Clean Kitchen 12 Week Challenge get access to VOLT workouts for 3 months FREE.
Consistent exercise with weight training and high intensity is one of the most effective ways to naturally boost testosterone.
MOVEMENT HABIT
HABIT 3: Eat enough food!
If you have a lot of body fat to lose, you probably think you need to go on a “diet.” We don’t think so in Clean Kitchen. Don’t try (or unknowingly) restrict calories for too long. Many guys we coach often do not eat ENOUGH. They workout all the time, but never make the gains they seek. More often than not, we are coaching our guys to eat a lot of food and watching the fat fall off. And they don’t eat salads.
You don’t have to follow a meal plan or even count calories. You can eat “habits” based on your hand-size. We coach 5 Big Habits in the Clean Kitchen Program (not all are eating habits). Here are two of them:
Protein habit: 2 palm size portions every meal — this goes for any protein source. Like CK Baked Drumsticks, Italian Sausage meatballs, Sloppy Joes, or Buffalo Chicken Burgers…just to name a few.
Plant Habit: This just means add any kind of plant to your plate. About two handfuls will do! Like potatoes and CK Sweet and Spicy Collard Greens. Or try a meal like the Sweet Potato Lasagna or Asian Beef and Noodles that combines the Plant Habit and the Protein Habit in one dish. Add in a side of Roasted CK Salt n’ Vinager Okra (cookbook) for good measure. Check off that habit!
Eating enough real food so your body gets enough micronutrients from your macronutrients to recover from stress and exercise is essential to optimal body composition changes.
EAT REAL FOOD HABIT
HABIT 4: Go easy on the booze.
We are not saying cut out all alcohol. It is very likely moderate drinking is not going to cause severe damage, but over doing it could wreck your hormone health.
Many studies have proven the the link between long-term alcohol consumption and lower testosterone levels. But it is not as simple as “alcohol lowering testosterone levels.” There are a couple of more steps before which really cause the lowering of testosterone.
It appears that alcohol’s damaging effects on the male reproduction system are brought about at all three levels of the male reproductive system: the hypothalamus, pituitary, and testes. Each one produces hormones that signal the next step to ultimately stimulate the production of testosterone. And alcohol has been shown to stunt the signals of hormone production in all areas. Think of it like this: If one hormone doesn’t turn on, then the next doesn’t turn on, and along the chain hormone levels sink lower and lower. (source)
Main take away— you don’t have to be the Fun Police, but be aware of how much you drink each week. Moderate would be 3-5 drinks per week. If you identify with the symptoms of low testosterone, you may want to think about how many drinks you take in each week!
Alcohol has been shown to stunt the signals of hormone production in all areas. Think of it like this: If one hormone doesn’t turn on, then the next doesn’t turn on, and along the chain hormone levels sink lower and lower.
MODERATE ALCOHOL HABIT
HABIT 5: Drink more Water
Drinking your calories instead of eating them is one of the major factors in weight gain these days. Reason being is drinks do not fill you up. So while you could not technically “eat” a lot of meals, you could very well be drinking them, thus causing unwanted weight gain.
Further more, water’s role in the body is crucial. Water is the transporter of nutrients and responsible for moving waste out the body. A well hydrated body means muscles are less sore, your fascia (the tissue that holds everything together) is not as tight, you can move better, and your digestive system is moving right along.
One of the 5 Big Habits of the Clean Kitchen coaching program is to “Drink more water.” You don’t have to drink a gallon a day, you just have to start to drink more than you did yesterday. And guess what happens? You naturally start drinking less of your calories and then the magic starts to happen. Besides being zero calorie, it’s free and readily available right now. So grab a bottle and filler up!
A well hydrated body means muscles are less sore, your fascia (the tissue that holds everything together) is not as tight, you can move better, and your digestive system is moving right along.
WATER HABIT
Hey, you article schemers—here are the the cliff notes!
The Clean Kitchen program is all about teaching you simple daily habits that make a big impact on your quality of life, and for guys, your testosterone levels control a big part of how you feel through out the day. You don’t need a massive overhaul of everything in your life to make a big impact. You can start simple and that’s how we help our clients. After all, a healthy body is a good-feeling-body, and a good-feeling-body has a vibrant, energized life! Testosterone plays a major part in a man’s biology— muscle mass, strength, body fat percentage, energy and well-being. Give yourself a boost with these 5 natural-boosting-habits:
HABIT 1: Get more sleep - try cutting out technology 30 minutes before bed and get to bed between the 9pm - 10 pm hour for optimal sleep.
HABIT 2: Get a little more exercise - weight training or high intensity interval can help boost faster, but any type of movement is great to start with.
HABIT 3: Eat more real food- no counting calories, just focus on adding in more real food and eat enough of it. No starving and no salads needed.
HABIT 4: Go easy on the alcohol - moderate drinks during the week should not hurt too much, around 3-5 drinks per week.
HABIT 5: Drink more water - no you do not have to drink a gallon of water everyday. Just think “drink more water than I usually do” and start there. Don’t “like” water? Try flavoring it with something and work towards the ultimate goal of drinking plain water
These are all some simple habits you can start off with. We know it works because we have coached hundreds of people in the Clean Kitchen Program, just like you, who have proven simple changes add up to big results. Don’t make it complicated!
Need some guidance in getting started? Check out our next Clean Kitchen 12 Week Program.
