Erone's: boost the effectiveness of your natural testosterone levels with these four strategies and make big gains in size and strength

Muscle & Fitness, June, 2008

If the Beatles said it, it must be true: "I get by with a little help from my friends." Indeed, everyone could use a little help--even testosterone. Sure, it's not a person but a powerfully anabolic hormone, the one that builds muscles, decreases fat stores, increases strength and happily offers the mental boost you need to attack the weights with a ferocity that'll produce the results you want. I Obviously, having high testosterone levels is important. But if you're boasting 1,000 nanograms of test and your body isn't funneling every single one of them to your muscle cells, then you're wasting this valuable hormone. The following four strategies (and the supplements detailed in each section) will provide that "little help" needed to create the most favorable environment for the T you're producing.

POSTWORKOUT WHEY-CARB MEAL

We recommend eating 40 grams of whey protein and 40-100 grams of fast-burning carbohydrates after workouts to drive protein to your needy muscles and replenish glycogen stores. But there's a little something we haven't told you yet: Eating postworkout has traditionally been linked to a drop in blood testosterone levels. Freak-out time, right? Well, thanks to a study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise in October 2006, you can rest assured that we haven't been leading you astray.

University of Connecticut (Storrs) researchers found that subjects who drank a protein-carb shake after lifting weights experienced a rise in the amount of testosterone leaving the blood and entering muscle cells. That explains the drop in blood testosterone levels. They also found an increase in androgen receptors, the parts of muscle cells that bind with testosterone and allow it to do its job, namely, initiating muscle growth. The more receptors you have, the more testosterone can be taken from the bloodstream and used to build mass.

Test Tip: Be sure you get your 40 grams of whey and 40-100 grams of fast-digesting carbs immediately after workouts, when blood testosterone levels are high. The other time of day that test levels soar is when you wake in the morning. M&F suggests having a 20-40-gram whey protein shake and 20-40 grams of fast carbs (or an equal amount of carbs from fruit) as soon as you wake to stop overnight catabolism and put that testosterone to work in your muscles.

CARNITINE

Carnitine is one of our favorite compounds because its primary job in the body is to transport fat into mitochondria (the furnace of cells), where it's burned for fuel. That explains why carnitine has always been a popular fat-burning supplement, but it can also aid testosterone. The aforementioned UConn study included carnitine in its research on androgen receptors and found that taking supplemental carnitine also increased the number of these receptors in muscle cells. Adding this fat-burning power house to your regimen could help you uncover your abs sooner and make your muscles bigger.

Test Tip: Supplement with 1-3 grams a of carnitine as L-carnitine, acetyl-L- i carnitine or L-carnitine L-tartrate first tf thing in the morning when testoster- 7 one is high, as well as with your pre- [pounds sterling] and postworkoutpostworkoutposfworkout shakes.

EURYCOMA LONGIFOLIA JACK

One of the greediest binders of testosterone is a protein called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). We can't really fault SHBG, though--it's just doing its job, which is to transport T around the body. But if we could just reduce the amount of SHBG in the body, there'd be less to run off with all the testosterone. Funnily enough, the men of Malaysia have a traditional remedy for boosting sexual prowess. It's an herb that goes by exotic names (eurycoma longifolia jack or tongkat ali), and when scientists studied it, they found that it could actually increase virility by reducing SHBG, thereby increasing free testosterone.

In the first American study involving eurycoma, conducted in 2006, researchers gave subjects either the herb or a placebo and then had them perform intense exercise. Those who took eurycoma had testosterone levels that were 16% higher than the members of the placebo group. Incidentally, the eurycoma group also experienced a significant drop in cortisol levels, which is also linked to higher test levels. But more on that later.

Test Tip: Take 100-300 mg of eurycoma in the morning, 30-60 minutes before workouts and before bed. Cycle eurycoma for eight weeks, then take 2-4 weeks off before repeating.

FORSKOLIN

Forskolin is up there (along with whey protein and creatine) on our list of most effective supplements. Why? Because it has been shown to do two of our favorite things: burn fat and boost testosterone. This active component of the plant coleus forskohlii amps T levels in two ways. First, it kick-starts an enzyme that plays an important role in testosterone production. Second, it appears to break the bond between testosterone and SHBG, increasing the amount of, yes, free testosterone in your bloodstream. And it works. A study published in a 2005 issue of the journal Obesity Research found that when subjects took forskolin for 12 weeks, they experienced a decrease in bodyfat and an increase in free testosterone levels compared to the group that took a placebo.