Testosterone is responsible for regulating the libido of men, as well as the production of red blood cells and sperm. It is the main hormone produced by the male body, and its secretion, whether that’s low or high, can have significant effects on the body.
The amount of testosterone produced by the body can also be affected by external and physical factors. Testosterone levels can increase by or decrease based on a person’s lifestyle and habits; testosterone booster and other things will have effects that will in turn affect the body as well.
One of the things that can significantly affect testosterone levels is your lifestyle, whether you are living a sedimentary lifestyle or you are leading an active one, the amount of movement and type of movements your body is doing on a regular basis can affect the production of your testosterone.
This leads us to the question of which physical activities boost or reduce testosterone levels.
So, can cycling increase testosterone?
The short answer is… it depends!
Endurance Training
Athletes who go through exhaustive endurance training are likely to have lower testosterone levels for up to 72 hours after the exercise. Cortisol, the hormone opposite of testosterone, increases during endurance exercises, the more of these activities you do the more you are likely to break down muscle tissue, which is the opposite of what testosterone does.
It doesn’t necessarily decrease as you cycle for a long time but because the body is going through an extended workout, then it is likely to produce more of the opposite hormone and decreases the levels of testosterone in the body.
Strength Training
Exercises that involve weightlifting and strength-targeted training have been proven to boost testosterone levels in the male body. Weightlifting builds muscles and develops muscle mass which increases metabolism, this is caused by an increase in hormone production.
High-intensity interval training or HIIT and other resistance training are also some workouts that can help boost testosterone. These exercises burn a lot of fat in a short amount of time which means that calories are also burned and help to develop muscle mass.
So, if you want to use cycling as a means of exercise while also boosting your testosterone, then you can do so in a way that gets your heart pumping faster quickly instead of steadily for longer. You can add some resistance to your cycling, like biking quickly up a hill.
Exercising helps boost your testosterone levels, that’s for sure. You just have to be mindful of which ones to do so you can get the results you want. In the case of cycling when you can get either of the two outcomes, you need to be aware of how you can utilize the exercise to increase your testosterone levels instead of decreasing them.
Just remember that quick and short workouts work better than slow and long ones. If done right, your metabolism will also improve making you burn fat and calories quicker as well. This can be achieved through doing the right workouts.
