In order to build muscles as effectively as possible, we need testosterone, which plays an essential role in muscle growth. This hormone of course offers a lot of other impressive benefits for men ( if you want to know more about this benefits, read the article 8 Amazing Benefits of Testosterone).

But what many people do not know is that we can stimulate the production of testosterone by strength training itself. It is even one of the most effective methods to naturally increase our testosterone levels, regardless of age.

And not only the production of testosterone is increased, but also that of growth hormones. This cocktail of testosterone and growth hormones works wonders and we want to take advantage of its benefits.

But not every form of strength training has the same effect on the release of this hormone cocktail. To get the maximum out, you have to do it right.

1. No fear of heavy weights

Of course I have to say in advance that especially beginners should not overdo it when it comes to weight. Our locomotor system consists not only of muscles, but also of bones and joints with their ligaments, tendons and cartilage. All this has to get used to the new challenge and strain when we are new to strength training. We don’t want to risk getting seriously hurt. That wouldn’t help us in any way. Beginners don’t have to worry so much about how they can optimize their muscle growth anyway, as they have the beginner bonus, which means that beginners see results and success very quickly and easily. Stagnation in muscle growth can only occur when you are more experienced and trained.

But once you’ve gotten used to it, I strongly recommend the following: Don’t be afraid of heavy weights. Only a progression in the load can lead to a progression in muscle growth. If you stop at a weight and the strain on your body is moderate and manageable, then there is no reason for your body to build more muscles. More muscles would then only be unnecessary ballast, which must be supplied additionally.

But training with heavy weights has another effect, which brings me back to the topic of this article. If we really go to our limits and train hard to failure, a signal is sent that we need more testosterone and more growth hormones to ensure the much needed muscle growth. The greater the load, the greater the impulse. Of course, this also has natural limits. And we don’t want to turn our minds off and run the risk of injury.

2. Compound Exercises

The second point we have to consider in our training if we want to provoke the release of testosterone and growth hormones is to address as many and as large muscle groups as possible.

This means that we should include at least one big exercise in every workout. By a big exercise I mean whole body exercises or compound exercises.

Through these exercises we intensify the effect of hormone release.

The really cool thing is that not only the muscles that are strained during the exercise benefit (and that are quite a lot, as you’ll soon see), but the entire musculature. The hormones do not act in isolation locally, but systemically throughout the entire organism.

If we train in this way, we will soon notice a significant change in our entire appearance. And of course we will also benefit from the other impressive advantages of testosterone. If you incorporate compound exercises into your workout routine, you should make sure that you start with these exercises because you need a lot of energy for them.

Here are a couple of full body exercises in detail:

Squats

Squats are an absolute must for every serious strength athlete. This exercise requires very large muscles. But beyond that, more than half of the total muscle mass of the body will activate. At this point I will only mention the muscles that are mainly used:

Musculus quadriceps femoris

Musculus erector spinae

Ischiocrurale Muskulatur

Musculus gluteus maximus

If you don’t have squats built into your routine yet, then you should definitely start with it.

Pull-Ups

Pull-ups are also a wonderful exercise that many unfortunately neglect. For those who do not make a single pull-up, most gyms also offer pull-up machines where you are pushed up by an adjustable counterweight. In this way you can gradually be introduced to the pull-ups. So there are no excuses. The main muscles involved are:

musculus latissimus dorsi

musculus teres major

musculus pectoralis major

musculus pectoralis minor

musculus biceps brachii

musculus brachialis

musculus trapezius

musculus triceps brachii

musculus brachioradialis

Deadlift

Deadlift is hated by some and loved by others. I can confirm from my own experience that you can go from hate to love. So hold on and give the deadlift a chance and it can become one of your most valuable compound exercises. There is also nothing wrong at all to do a workout with just doing deadlift.

Musculus biceps femoris

Musculus quadriceps femoris

Musculus gluteus maximus

Musculus erector spinae

Musculus adductor magnus

Musculus semitendinosus

Musculus semimembranosus

Musculus triceps surae

Musculus trapezius

Latissimus dorsi

Dips

At some time a friend told me that I should definitely use weights on my dips. You probably know these dip belts, where you can attach weight plates to a chain that dangles between your legs. At first I thought that this would be nothing for me and I would be happy if I could do my dips with my body weight. After all, I got into it and what can I say. It went surprisingly well. And I got used to it quickly and could increase the weight very fast. Today I can’t imagine workout-life without dips with weights.

Musculus triceps brachii

Musculus deltoideus

Musculus anconeus

Musculus pectoralis major

Musculus pectoralis minor

Musculus serratus anterior

Bent-over row

The bent-over row or barbell rowing is done in standing, bent over. Make sure that the hips are bent and the back itself remains straight.

musculus latissimus dorsi

musculus teres major

musculus biceps brachii

musculus brachialis

musculus brachioradialis

musculus deltoideus

musculus trapezius

musculus rhomboideus

musculus erector spinae

Bench Press

Everybody probably knows bench press and probably everyone is practicing it. And with good reason.

Musculus pectoralis major

Musculus pectoralis minor

Musculus deltoideus

Musculus triceps brachii

Isolation Exercises

A word about the isolation exercises. Of course, isolation exercises may also have a place in our regular workout. But they shouldn’t play the leading role. They are good for better defining or highlighting individual muscles or muscle groups. And in this respect you can also be very effective. But when it comes to maintaining this hormone cocktail and achieving a general effect, the big whole-body exercises are simply irreplaceable.

Fat Melting

I know that many athletes do not have an easy-going relationship to whole-body exercises. They are a very special challenge. These are the exercises that really make us sweat and get the heart racing. But exactly that brings us to another advantage of these exercises: They burn a lot of calories. Many muscles are strained, large muscles are strained and this causes our cardiovascular system to be strained. All this makes our fat melt, just like a high testosterone level, which also makes our fat melt.

So your key to rapid and massive muscle growth is heavy weights and compound exercises.