People who exercise are generally healthier than their untrained counterparts, correct? They enjoy more muscle mass, lower body fat, and higher testosterone levels than their lazy friends, right? Not always? Well, at the very least, we can take solace in the fact that our testosterone levels are the same... I mean, there is no way that for some trainers, exercising actually lowers testosterone levels, right? NO? It’s true... A recent study showed that men who participate in endurance sports often have testosterone levels that are significantly lower than that of their untrained peers... Long-distance runners, marathon runners, and swimmers often subject their bodies to hours of rigorous training per day... As we all know, intense training impairs the immune system... This may be the connection – long-term impairment of the immune system causes the pituitary gland to halt some production of testosterone... Or, it could mean the body simply doesn’t have the resources available for testosterone production after all that exercise... This news doesn’t affect bodybuilders, right? MAYBE? Yes, it’s true... Many bodybuilders, particularly those completing hours of cardio each day to prepare for a show, often see their muscle deteriorate at a very alarming rate... Is this because they are doing their cardio at too high an intensity? Obviously, studies won’t be completed on the effects of bodybuilders for quite some time... If it took this many decades to examine the testosterone levels of runners, it’ll probably be a bit longer until researchers get around to looking at the average local bodybuilder... And even longer before professional bodybuilders agree to sit down with researchers and come clean about everything in their bodies... For now, we’ll have to stick to looking at the research performed upon high-intensity and long-distance endurance athletes and try to see how it will affect us personally... Which brings us to the next question… How does this affect you, a beginner or intermediate bodybuilder? Well, from minute one you should always do your cardio at low-intensity levels... “More minutes, less intensity” needs to be your mantra... It might be more fun to raise your incline, jack up the speed, and really push yourself when doing cardio... However, when you’re working that hard, your body may be losing testosterone levels, and therefore losing muscle...
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-TRAINING IS THE ENGINE... -PROTEIN IS THE GASOLINE... -AND JUICE IS THE NITROUS OXIDE... Pain is temporary, glory is forever,
