Low T And Endurance Sports: Understanding The Connection ... And Its Impact
Surprisingly common among male endurance athletes, Low-T reduces athletic performance, delays recovery and correlates with a number of health concerns

By Andy Moran


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Remember Ryan Hall?

As America's fastest marathoner with a personal best of 2:04:58, and also the first American to complete a half marathon in under an hour (59:43), he was poised to dominate the sport for many years to come.

Yet, surprisingly, he announced his retirement just over a year ago (January 2016), citing declining performance and the sport's negative effect on his body.

More specifically, he talked about his chronically low testosterone (or "Low T"), and how it played a critical role in his decision to retire from racing at the age of just 33.

He attributed severe fatigue and his longstanding performance plateau to low T ... and rightfully so.  

Testosterone very strongly correlates with athletic performance (which is why anabolic steroid use is so ubiquitous among professional athletes of all types ... anabolic steroids are synthetic "analogs" of testosterone), and even small dips in testosterone can negatively affect performance.  

You see, the significance of Ryan's story transcends mere sports trivia ... properly considered, it should compel all male endurance athletes, particularly those over 30 who want to remain healthy and competitive for many years to come, to have an action plan in place for insuring against sport- and age-related testosterone deficiency.

So, with that goal in mind (developing an action plan), let's dive a little deeper into exactly how Low T impairs your performance, the likelihood that YOU are being affected by it right now (the odds will surprise you), and what you can do to correct it.
(NOTE: Given what is known about testosterone trends after age 30, plus the affect of long-duration endurance activities on T levels, it's quite possible that if your performance is trending down or you're stuck in a rut, sub-optimal or low testosterone is a major contributor.)  
What Is Testosterone, And Why Is It So Important?
Testosterone is the master male hormone.  It is responsible for determining whether an embryo, at approximately 7 weeks, will develop into a male or female fetus (if present, then male sex organs will form; if not, female organs will form)...

...It is responsible for all of the masculine features of a male: facial and body hair, low voice, muscle mass development and physical strength, and other male sex characteristics.

...It is vital to confidence, motivation and competitiveness.  

...In fact, it's even crucial to mental clarity, memory, decisiveness and more...

It's also essential to male health, including cardiovascular fitness, bone density and strength, muscular performance and repair, etc.

Clearly, you see the importance of testosterone to athletic performance in general. 

But what about endurance specifically?

Here are just a handful of ways testosterone is critical to endurance: 
  • improved bone and joint health -- stronger bones means fewer injuries, less joint pain and improved mobility
  • increased muscular strength -- stronger muscles equates to lower rates and degrees of fatigue
  • faster rates of recovery -- muscle and joint tissue damage from strenuous workouts repairs faster and to a greater degree, translating to a higher training capacity (and better outcomes)
  • boosted red blood cell count -- absolutely vital to endurance athletes, red blood cells deliver oxygen to working muscles ... more red blood cells correlates to increased oxygenation and less fatigue
What If Your Testosterone Is Low?
Low T is an increasingly common problem, affected nearly 1 in 4 men over age 30, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

This problem, alarmingly, is worsening at a rapid pace ... today's generation of adult males, on average, has one-third less testosterone than the previous generation, at the same age!

What's worse, studies consistently show that high-volume endurance exercise can depress testosterone (and other "androgen hormones") 20 to 40 percent or more, just as with Ryan Hall ... regardless of age.

One reason this is thought to occur is because long-duration endurance exercise produces sustained elevations of the key stress hormone, cortisol.  

Over time, high cortisol output by your adrenal system leads to an impaired stress response, which strongly correlates with lower testosterone production.

So, what can you expect when your testosterone drops significantly?
  • marked drop in energy and motivation
  • loss of bone density and strength
  • decline in muscle mass and muscular strength
  • reduction in red blood cell count (and faster fatigue)
  • drop in confidence, competitiveness, decisiveness and cognition
  • low vitality and drive
  • plethora of health complications, including cardiovascular disease, increased risk of certain cancers (particularly prostate, a leading killer), diabetes, metabolic syndrome, etc.
  • body fat accumulation, especially abdominal fat
  • in the long run ... osteoporosis can result
What You Can Do About Low T (Treatment And Prevention)
Your doctor who determines you have low T (typically diagnosed with a blood test, showing a level below 300 ng/dl) will likely suggest one (or both) of two options:
1. If it's training-induced (based on a review of your training protocol), then simply back off the training.
 
2. If it's not training-induced, or you're unwilling to halt training, then drug-based hormone-replacement therapy ("HRT") might be suggested.
Unfortunately, for most of us, neither of those options is particularly attractive, nor even acceptable.
 
Cutting back on your training will almost certainly affect your performance, leading to a catch-22 scenario in which you're attempting to improve performance by increasing testosterone, but the mechanism for doing so (halting training) will likely offset the gains from higher T.

HRT, on the other hand, will increase testosterone without necessarily requiring a reduction in training volume or intensity, but unfortunately comes with a milieu of potential negative health consequences (not to mention, if you're a marathoner or triathlete, it would also likely constitute "doping," taking it off the table).

Just a few of the associated health consequences of HRT include:
  • liver damage
  • sleep apnea
  • prostate enlargement
  • gynecomastia (enlarged breasts)
  • blood clots
  • acne and other skin conditions and reactions
  • increased risk of heart disease
  • if you're a competitive athlete, doping concerns
It's important to note that the reason for the above, formidable list of side effects is because HRT relies on introducing outside testosterone into your body. (It is for this same reason that it would be considered doping.)

Often, such solutions are either transdermal gels that you rub onto your body, or injectables that are injected intra-muscularly (such as via your thigh or buttock).

Suffice it to say, any time you introduce outside chemicals into your body, you disrupt your body's natural homeostasis, setting the stage for potential side effects that must be periodically monitored, and sometimes treated with other drugs.  This can produce a slippery slope of dependency on pharmaceuticals that lasts a lifetime.

Thankfully, there is a better way ...
A New And Improved Solution
As an endurance athlete, I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of nutraceuticals.
 
These are particular nutrients (or nutrient complexes) whose desired affects on the body are so significant, that they're often compared with pharmaceuticals.

Unlike synthetic drugs, however, nutraceuticals are typically natural, safer alternatives to OTC or prescription drugs, given that they're derived from healthful foods (often plants that have been used for centuries for their medicinal properties).

Well, as it turns out, there are a number of nutraceuticals that quite effectively increase testosterone naturally (by stimulating your body to produce more and/or increasing the activity of existing testosterone), eliminating the aforementioned side effects associated with HRT, which relies on injections of outside testosterone.

Also, because they are natural dietary supplements and do not constitute controlled (or banned) substances, their use is compliant with endurance sport guidelines.

Perhaps the most remarkable of these T-enhancing nutraceuticals was discovered some years ago by renowned biochemist, H. Leon Bradlow, Ph.D., in concert with the Strang Cancer Prevention Laboratory in New York.

This novel (but little known) phytonutrient, it would later be determined, appears to dramatically improve hormone balancing in both men and women.
 
Based on this research, the sports nutrition company, Emergent Nutrition, undertook an effort to build on Bradlow's discovery and develop a powerful testosterone enhancing formula that could be offered to trained (and over-trained) athletes to improve athletic performance and overall health.

The result is a complex of nutraceuticals that when combined, in a very precise way, form a powerful matrix included in an innovative dietary supplement that triggers the body to increase active ("free") testosterone, naturally and safely.

Called TEST-XL, this all-natural supplement is designed specifically for athletes (though the company is quick to point out that it will work for any 30+ male).

In one case study, for example, which is chronicled on the next page, a sedentary, middle-aged man saw his testosterone increase 119% (from "low" to "normal") in just 51 days. It's probable that his results would have been even better if he'd been a trained athlete.

Since inception, thousands of others have confirmed positive results as well.

You can read more about this novel nutraceutical on the next page (including exactly what's in it and how it works), as well as find out how you can try it for yourself, risk-free, while taking advantage of a one-time promotional offer that makes it extremely cost effective ... especially relative to the gains in performance and recovery you can expect.

Click here to learn more and find out how you can try it risk-free.
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