While the endocrinology involved in a thorough and accurate answer to this is beyond the pale of my layman's knowledge, in basic terms I'm curious just how positively correlated testosterone levels are to hypertrophy. I'm curious for a few reasons:
If it is true that high levels of free testosterone are a necessary prerequisite for any kind of significant hypertrophy, then it's hard to make sense of the phenomenon of natural female bodybuilders. While obviously I can't know for certain that they're all natural, many women in the gym seem to have a healthy level of body fat and a sizable amount of musculature (in many cases building up to this and not just having it by default), particularly in the lower body. As I understand it, though, women naturally have very low levels of free testosterone, relative to men. If that's true, then wouldn't it stand to reason that this is not an all-important factor, even if there undeniably is a strongly positive correlation?
Secondly, I seem to put on decent quality mass fairly easily and quickly, although don't self-consciously exhibit many of the traits associated with especially high test levels. That could be psychological and not hormonal, however. For instance, while I do naturally feel and act masculine, have a deep voice, and in most life scenarios feel socially confident and competent to figure out what I need to do and get it done, I am personally mild mannered, introspective, and not aggressive by default. Also, since leaving my teenage years, my sexual appetites feel like they’ve leveled out and are a lot less than they were. (That’s what gets me the most, still being early on in my twenties.) Once again, not sure how much of this is psychological rather than strictly hormonal, even though those are mutually related facets of behavior. The majority of the time, if I’ve slept and eaten well, most days I feel strong and healthy, but it’s more of a calm and pleasant feeling of latent confidence, definitely not some kind of sex-crazed aggression, even though I guess it would tend toward both of those things depending on the situation.
Out of curiosity if nothing else, I’m thinking about seeing an endocrinologist, but what would you all say from your own life experience and what you’ve seen and heard?
Thanks!
--
Tl;dr, is a high level of free testosterone necessary for gaining a lot of lean mass? If so, how are women able to do this?
Can high testosterone coexist with a calmer personality and low/moderate libido, or is this necessarily a sign of low T?
If it is true that high levels of free testosterone are a necessary prerequisite for any kind of significant hypertrophy, then it's hard to make sense of the phenomenon of natural female bodybuilders. While obviously I can't know for certain that they're all natural, many women in the gym seem to have a healthy level of body fat and a sizable amount of musculature (in many cases building up to this and not just having it by default), particularly in the lower body. As I understand it, though, women naturally have very low levels of free testosterone, relative to men. If that's true, then wouldn't it stand to reason that this is not an all-important factor, even if there undeniably is a strongly positive correlation?
Secondly, I seem to put on decent quality mass fairly easily and quickly, although don't self-consciously exhibit many of the traits associated with especially high test levels. That could be psychological and not hormonal, however. For instance, while I do naturally feel and act masculine, have a deep voice, and in most life scenarios feel socially confident and competent to figure out what I need to do and get it done, I am personally mild mannered, introspective, and not aggressive by default. Also, since leaving my teenage years, my sexual appetites feel like they’ve leveled out and are a lot less than they were. (That’s what gets me the most, still being early on in my twenties.) Once again, not sure how much of this is psychological rather than strictly hormonal, even though those are mutually related facets of behavior. The majority of the time, if I’ve slept and eaten well, most days I feel strong and healthy, but it’s more of a calm and pleasant feeling of latent confidence, definitely not some kind of sex-crazed aggression, even though I guess it would tend toward both of those things depending on the situation.
Out of curiosity if nothing else, I’m thinking about seeing an endocrinologist, but what would you all say from your own life experience and what you’ve seen and heard?
Thanks!
--
Tl;dr, is a high level of free testosterone necessary for gaining a lot of lean mass? If so, how are women able to do this?
Can high testosterone coexist with a calmer personality and low/moderate libido, or is this necessarily a sign of low T?
from Bodybuilding.com Forums - Nutrition https://ift.tt/3cQdzME
0 comments:
Post a Comment