Does Testosterone Make You Stronger?

There are a lot of different factors that play a role in how strong someone is, how big their muscles are, and if they can gain strength easily or not. The hormone testosterone is one of the biggest factors, alongside nutrition, exercise, hydration, and sleep.

Testosterone is a hormone produced in the testes of men that is essential for male growth and masculine characteristics. It is produced in women as well, but in much smaller doses, and doesn’t play as big a role in female characteristics.

It plays a major role in muscle mass, bone mass, facial and pubic hair, voice, sex drive, mood, memory, and thinking ability.¹ As men age, the production of testosterone naturally declines (around a 2% decrease per year), leading to lower muscle mass, increased body fat, and/or erectile dysfunction.¹

Other life factors can also affect testosterone levels, like not getting enough sleep, inadequate food intake, living a sedentary lifestyle, lack of strength training, and poor weight management. Certain medications and medical conditions can also play a role in your testosterone levels, causing them to decline regardless of your age.

Testosterone and Muscle Mass

So, how does testosterone play a role in muscle growth?

Whether male or female, testosterone binds to a receptor protein in your muscle that signals the muscle to start the process of increasing muscle mass.² Usually, this happens after a workout, so as a result, the muscle grows and you gain strength.

If there is inadequate testosterone present in the body, this process can’t happen, or it happens much slower. When this process doesn’t happen in men, the muscle doesn’t grow, and they lose muscle mass and a subsequent loss in strength occurs. Female strength isn’t as affected by this process, so a loss of testosterone doesn’t seem to affect their muscle size.³

Testosterone is also attributed to lower body fat for men. When muscle mass increases, your body learns to burn fat more efficiently. This results in a leaner body, more muscle mass, and quicker fat loss.

Testosterone and Muscle Strength

Testosterone is an anabolic hormone, which means it assists in building up new tissues, like how it helps grow muscles. This is because testosterone plays a big role in muscle protein synthesis, which is the process of building and repairing muscle.

Overall, the short answer to our main question is yes, your body's testosterone supply is attributed to your ability to gain muscle and strength. Though, as you age and testosterone levels drop, your ability to gain muscle and strength can also drop.

If you have low levels, then it may be a good idea to consult your doctor to see if you need to get replacement therapy to regain testosterone production or take a testosterone supplement.

However, ensure you aren’t taking too much testosterone, as this potentially leads to further issues and might cause you to lose muscle and strength gains.

Testosterone Levels

There is a fine line between too little, the right amount, and too much testosterone, and this difference can change the role testosterone plays in muscle and strength gains.

Low testosterone levels are common among men, especially as they age, as natural production slows down. Symptoms included loss of hair, loss of muscle mass, low sex drive, increased breast size, hot flashes, depression, irritability, and brittle bones.²

Strength and muscle gains can occur with low testosterone, but it’s much harder and will require more effort to keep it up. Incorporating more strength training into your exercise routine has been shown to naturally increase testosterone levels, so it may help if you are experiencing low testosterone.

So, how can too much testosterone be a bad thing? It is not common to have too much natural testosterone, but it can happen. It happens when men have low natural testosterone, so they seek testosterone therapy and end up with high levels; or if they end up using testosterone as an injected growth hormone.

Extremely high levels over a long period can lead to low sperm count, heart muscle damage, liver disease, acne, swelling of the body, shrinking of the testicles and muscles, headaches, stunted growth, and major mood swings.¹

Thus, having too much testosterone can cause a loss of muscle and strength if the high level is upheld for too long or reaches an extremely high level.

For women, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition where high testosterone levels can cause ovarian cysts, reduced fertility, excess hair growth, depression, weight gain, and anxiety. For women, it can also cause deepening of the voice, a loss of breasts, and overall, more masculine characteristics.³

Conclusions: Does Testosterone Make You Stronger?

While testosterone can play a big role in muscle and strength gains, it is largely down to a combination of everything you are doing.

Making sure you are consistently strength training 2-3 times a week, alongside your normal workout routines, is the best place to start to help naturally increase testosterone levels and jump-start muscle protein synthesis.

What you eat also plays a role. You need to make sure you are eating enough to fuel your body, consuming adequate protein and carbohydrates to assist your gains. Your body relies on these macronutrients for muscle protein synthesis!

Rest is also very important. Our bodies need time to recover after a workout, and without proper rest, your muscles don’t have time to repair themselves entirely, leading to a high risk of injury and minimal muscle gains.

If you do think you’d benefit from a testosterone supplement, we recommend Testo Lab Pro!

This testosterone booster provides the highest quality testosterone support in pill form to boost testosterone in men who are aging and naturally losing their supply.

Three capsules daily provide you with increased muscle gains and strength, accelerated fat loss, higher stamina, more focus, desire, and virility.