T estost eron e Blue p r i nt
The 4 Pillars of Naturally Increasing Your Testosterone
Table of Contents
Part 1: Understanding Testosterone
Part 2: The Four Pillars of Testosterone
Part 3: Pillar 1: Diet
Part 4: Pillar 2: The Right Type of Exercise
Part 5: Pillar 3: Supplements and Vitamins
Part 6: Pillar 4: Lifestyle
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Part 1
Understanding Testosterone
Testosterone is a male hormone. It is also a kind of buzzword that is misunderstood
by many men.
When you hear someone talk about “testosterone,” what comes to mind? It
is usually associated with large muscles or an alpha male attitude, right? Most
people see some ripped dude who is aggressive or outspoken, and they will say
stuff like “there’s a lot of testosterone over there.”
But testosterone is not just something
that makes you appear “manly” to other
people. It is a hormone that affects the
quality of life of every man on earth. If you
have enough of it in your body, you will
feel stronger, you will have more energy,
and you will perform better in bed. So in
reality, physical appearance (muscles) and
outward attitude are only a SMALL part of
what testosterone does.
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Having the right balance of testosterone in your body will help you inwardly
more than it will help your outward appearance. By that I mean: with the right
amount of testosterone, you will feel stronger, you will feel more energy, you
will be more in control and more confident. In short, you will feel like an alpha
male without having to put on an act. You see, a lot of what people perceive as
testosterone, is actually just posturing. Even having a lot of muscles does not
mean that you have a high level of testosterone. In fact, one of the things I am
going to show you when I talk about exercise is that you can actually train in a
way that will increase your testosterone much faster than a bodybuilder who has
been lifting weights his whole life.
Understanding testosterone
I’m writing this book because I want to share what I learned from my own efforts
to grow my testosterone levels. Through my own efforts, I realized that there are
many different areas of your life that affect your hormones. I also learned that if I
brought all these areas into play and worked on all of them, I could maximize my
testosterone production and feel results much quicker than if I had just focused
on weight-lifting or just focused on taking certain supplements.
Once I understood and once I was able to maximize the amount of the hormone
that I was producing (naturally, of course), it was life-changing. I’m not just
saying that for hype. My energy levels, my confidence, my sex life, all these
things were better than they had ever been before.
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So I want to show you how to master the different areas of your life to grow your
testosterone levels exponentially...and totally naturally. If you bring all the areas
into play, you will see results very quickly. Once you start producing the right
amount of testosterone, you will feel more energy, you will feel more confident
in the process that I am going to show you, and you will want to continue.
Shortly, I am going to show you how I broke down my testosterone-building
program into four areas. I call them the Four Pillars. But first, I want you to know
exactly what role testosterone plays in your life as a man. This is just because
there is so much misinformation out there.
What is testosterone actually?
Testosterone is a male growth hormone known as an androgen. It is not the
only androgen, but it is by far the most well known one for good reason: it is the
one androgen that most affects the male body.
Testosterone is one of the many hormones that your pituitary gland (in your
brain) tells your body to produce. As you might have guessed from its name,
testosterone is produced in your testes. The production is a natural process that
occurs on some level in all men. However, some men produce a lot more than
others.
You can provide your body with the right conditions for making more
testosterone. Unfortunately, on the other hand, you can also create a situation
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where your body has a more-difficult time making testosterone, and actually
produces more of the main feminine hormone, estrogen. That’s right, men also
produce estrogen, and, if the conditions are right, the male body will produce
much more estrogen than it needs. Each of my Four Pillars will help you avoid
this emasculating situation.
How do you know if your testosterone
levels are lower than they should be?
A general lack of energy is the biggest clue
that you have low testosterone. Most men
with low T notice the problem when they
realize that they no longer feel interested in
sex or may not be able to perform in bed
when the times comes.
The lower your testosterone, the lower your
energy levels and the lower your sexual
performance and desire. This can lead to a general disinterest in life. You
don’t want to do things, you don’t want to exercise, you think “why bother.”
The “why bother” when it comes to exercise or eating right or having sex can
lead to other “why bothers” at work or with your hobbies or your social life.
This lethargy and depression can add to the actual biological problem of low
testosterone.
And the more sedentary your lifestyle, the less you want to work out and do
things, the more weight you gain. Gaining weight when you already have low
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hormone levels is pouring gas on the fire. This is because the more fat you
have, the more your body actually produces the biggest killer of testosterone:
estrogen.
Men who have a higher level of body fat produce more of the type of enzymes
that promote estrogen production and that convert testosterone into estrogen.
The result: all those negative issues that come from having low testosterone
levels are amplified.
I’m talking full-blown erectile dysfunction, complete
lethargy, clinical depression, dangerous body fat ratios, and even the dreaded
man-boobs.
Part 2
Understanding Testosterone
How to turn it all around
Increasing your testosterone levels can be one of the most important keys to
turning it all around, even if you are currently overweight. If you can take it
step-by-step and get all the different parts of your life that affect testosterone
production working together, then you will be able to see results quite quickly...
much faster than if you decided to only “eat better” or decided to “go to the
gym three times a week” while neglecting the other part of your life that affect
testosterone.
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I’ve broken down the testosterone-building paradigm into four different areas.
I call them the Four Pillars. Whether you are overweight or you just want more
energy or a better sex life or more confidence (or all of the above) here are the
four main areas that you need to focus on.
1. Diet
2. Exercise
3. Supplements and vitamins
4. Lifestyle
A closer look at the Four Pillars
Changing your DIET is the most natural - and easiest - way to increase your
testosterone levels. The key to a hormone-building diet is balance. You need
low-fat foods, you need vegetables, and you need protein. Your body even
needs a certain amount of cholesterol so that it can produce testosterone and
a certain amount of calories so that you can have enough energy to burn when
you are working out. The key is to balance all these elements together so that
you are not getting too much or too little of any one. In the Diet Pillar chapter, I
am going to show you how to do this and give you some insight into how certain
types of food are perfect “man foods.” These can help your testosterone levels
skyrocket if you eat them in addition to exercising, taking supplements, and
making good lifestyle choices.
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The right kind of EXERCISE is also a key component to a male-hormone-building
program. Getting a bodybuilders physique is not going to automatically give
you manly testosterone levels. In fact, a balanced regimen with weights and a
cross training routine will help you grow your testosterone levels exponentially
more than a standard circuit of the weight room (no matter how much weight
you can lift). IN the Exercise Pillar chapter, I’m going to show you exercises that
will have you not only losing weight and looking for fit, but also feeling better
because of rapidly-increasing testosterone levels.
Besides exercise, most guys focus their testosterone-growing efforts on
SUPPLEMENTS and, to a lesser extent, VITAMINS. Yes, a good supplement
and the right vitamins can make it easier for your body to facilitate testosterone production or shut down estrogen production. But, no matter what the
marketing materials for any supplement tells you, no supplement is going to
take the other three pillars out of play. I will show you what natural ingredients
you should look for in your supplements and how certain vitamins and minerals
can enhance the effect that these natural ingredients have on your hormone
production. I’ll also tell you about some ingredients that many supplements
have that you should avoid and how you can find natural extracts that will help
you avoid all those expensive and ineffective powders and shakes that are
marketed so aggressively.
Most guys sabotage their testosterone-building efforts by making poor
LIFYSTYLE choices. This pillar goes beyond not smoking and not drinking too
much. The state of your sex life, how you deal with stress, how much you sleep,
and how you spend your free time can all directly relate to your testosterone
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Part 3
PILLAR 1: DIET
levels. Also, lifestyle is a major aspect of the testosterone-building end game.
The whole reason why you work on the Four Pillars is so that you can have a
more enjoyable lifestyle and get more out of your life.
You’ve heard it from your mother, from doctors, and even from complete
strangers: what you eat affects your health. The problem is that there is a lot of
conflicting advice about what is “good for you” and what isn’t. If you do some
research, you will find tons of advice, but for everyone who tells you what you
should be eating, there is someone else who tells you that you should not be
eating exactly the same thing.
The bottom line is that you have to create a diet or an eating philosophy that
works the best for your goals. And if you are reading this, then your number
one goal is to boost your testosterone.
Certain foods have chemical compounds, enzymes, minerals and vitamins that
can spur the production of hormones. If you know what to eat, you can grow
your testosterone levels with virtually no additional effort. You already go to the
store and buy food, right? I’m just going to tell you to buy different foods than
you usually buy.
Raising your testosterone levels with food is arguably the easiest steps of this
program, but admittedly, it can also be the trickiest.
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Here’s why: You can’t simply decide to eat more vegetables or skip the Big
Macs at lunchtime. You have to follow a diet that is specifically designed for
testosterone growth. Some foods that you have always through of as “healthy”
can actually spur estrogen growth, which will have the negative effect on your
goals and can erase the gains you make in other areas.
You can even run into problems after you have weeded out these “feminine
foods” and created what you think is the perfect testosterone-building menu.
Growth hormones and antibiotics found in meat and pesticides and fertilizers
used for growing fruits and vegetables can erase any testosterone you have
gained from your diet. If you are ingesting them in high amounts, these unnatural
elements can also undo what you have gained from exercise, from supplements,
and from general lifestyle changes.
Luckily, it is easier than ever to avoid these pitfalls. Organic foods are everywhere.
You don’t even have to go to a specialty store because even regular supermarkets
are getting in on the organic fad.
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Why did I make DIET the first
of my four pillars?
Especially when you are starting out, your diet is the most important building
block.
- It is the easiest pillar to get started with. Yes, it will take some
willpower to cut out those foods that you shouldn’t be eating, but
you have to buy food anyway. It’s not like your diet is creating an extra
expense or causing you to do something that you haven’t been doing
before. It really is as easy as going down a different aisle at the store
and maybe taking a few minutes on Saturday to plan the next week’s
menu. I’m going to show you exactly how to eat and how to balance
all the food groups in a little while. But for now, just trust me. Once
you understand which foods you should eat and learn to balance your
diet, it will take almost no effort to eat in a way that will grow your
testosterone levels exponentially.
− Your diet is usually the first area where you can actually feel the
results (and be sure of them). What your mom told you when you were
little was true, if you eat well, you will feel better. This is especially
true with a testosterone boosting diet. You will notice a rise in energy
rather quickly once you adopt the kind of diet I’m going to teach you
about. I’m also going to show you how your body gives you little cues
that will tell you that your diet is working. For example, if you are not
sure if you are eating enough of the right kind of calories, all you have
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to do is look under the covers when you wake up in the morning. A
healthy erection is the best sign that everything is in balance and your
testosterone levels are where they should be.
A make-or-break concept:
Balance
The key to diet is balance. I could simply give you a checklist of what to eat and
what not to eat, but that won’t give you all the information that you need. You
also have to learn to balance your diet and personalize it to fit your exact needs.
A lot of guys associate testosterone and muscle growth with protein. Yes, lean,
organic protein is a major part of a testosterone building diet. But overdoing it,
even a little bit, can overload your system and shut down hormone production.
The same goes with carbs, sugars, and even natural chemical compounds that
you get from fruits and vegetables.
So the most important thing in each of the food groups I’m going to talk about
is BALANCE. This even applies to drinking. I’m talking about liquids like water
and juice, not beer and whiskey (although I will talk about alcohol in the lifestyle
section of this book). Something as simple as not drinking enough water can
have serious negative effects on your testosterone levels.
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I am going to go through the basics of what to eat, when to eat and how much
to eat. Some of this is going to be new to you, and some of it is going to seem
like common sense. But I am going to cover it all because as I just told you,
diet is the simplest component of a hormone-building program, but if you don’t
do it right, you are sabotaging your efforts, and whatever exercises you do,
whatever supplements you take, and whatever lifestyle changes you make are
not going to have the effect you want.
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Get your protein, but don’t overdo it
Protein is essential for building muscle mass. Bodybuilders like load up on lean
proteins (chicken, low-fat beef, eggs, even tofu and beans). Protein shakes and
powders are the best sellers at many nutrition stores.
Protein will help you build muscles, but too much can have a negative effect on
your testosterone levels by simply overloading your body. Remember, you are
after testosterone, not just big muscles. So stick with the principle of balance
when it comes to protein. Put that Muscle Milk back on the shelf for a second
and store that two pounds of lean ground beef that you are going to eat for
dinner in the freezer. In a minute I am going to tell you how much is enough
protein. But for now, just realize that going all out in your pursuit of protein can
have negative repercussions both on your testosterone levels and your general
well-being.
First of all, though, there is another important issue to deal with. Lots of people
have been jumping on the organic food bandwagon. You can think whatever
you want about the “natural living/organic lifestyle.” This book is not about
fads like that, but it is about avoiding things that can hurt your body’s balance
and your testosterone levels. Certain types of meat have additives (growth
hormones and antibiotics, especially) that can actually harm your testosterone
levels as well as having a negative effect on your overall health. Two of the best
meat protein sources, chicken and beef, are among the worst offenders.
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Grass-fed beef is a great protein source for testosterone building. It is leaner
than factory-raised beef, and it is chemical-free. And grass-fed beef also has a
lot of one more important element that is necessary for testosterone growth:
zinc. Zinc is a mineral that helps facilitate testosterone production. A deficiency
of zinc can cut your testosterone levels in half. So grass-fed beef is a great way
to avoid the negatives of non-organic meats and also get an extra dose of zinc.
Organic free-range chicken is best for similar reasons to the grass-fed beef.
Admittedly, both of these meats are more expensive than their factory-raised
peers, but the cost is not that much more, especially if you buy whole chickens
and cut them up yourself at home. Organic eggs (sometimes called cage-free
eggs) are another good source of lean protein. What’s more, eggs, eaten in
moderation, provide the kind of cholesterol that your body can actually convert
into testosterone. (So yes, there is something to those scenes where Rocky
downs raw eggs before his morning run. I just hope they were cage-free).
Another meat that you need to consider is fish. Fish is very lean, so you avoid
the problem of packing on estrogen-producing pounds. Species like salmon
also have good dietary fats like omega-3, which can enhance testosterone
production. Farm-raised fish have the same problems as other types of meat
(antibiotics, especially), but actually many of fish on sale in your local
supermarket are wild-caught. You’ve probably heard about chemicals like
mercury contaminating tuna fish. Yes, there is some truth to this, but if you are
eating a balances diet (fish twice a week, chicken twice a week, beef twice a
week, for example), then the level of mercury will not be an issue for your health
or your testosterone levels.
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Finally, raw oysters, long held as the ultimate aphrodisiac for men, are a kind
of testosterone superfood because they provide protein and huge amounts
of zinc. So maybe there is something to the image that oysters enjoy as the
“Viagra of the sea.”
So we have learned so far that the best protein sources are lean, chemical-free
meats. Remember that “grass-fed,” “free-range,” and “wild-caught” are the
keywords to look for on the label when you are shopping.
But now for the dirty details:
How much meat is enough and
how much is too much?
The
“official”
US
CDC
recommendation for males is
56 grams of protein per day.
Since you will be exercising as a
part of your T-building program,
though, you will need more than
that.
Recommendations for
athletes who are working out every day range from 0.7 to 0.8 grams per pound
of body weight. I would say that this is a good guideline, roughly three-fours
of a gram per pound of body weight. Some experts recommend as much as a
gram per pound. I don’t want you to get carried away with having a EXACTLY
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correct amount of protein every day. But if you can keep it in that sweet spot
between 0.7 to 0.8 grams per pound, you will be in great shape. If you are
working out hard, you can even go as high as 1 gram per pound without any ill
effects.
You need to make sure you are using the right weight to measure the gramsper-pound ratio. Especially if you are overweight, you should know your lean
body weight (also known as lean body mass weight). This the weight of your
bones, organs and muscles, but not the weight from fat. There is an equation
that can help you figure out your lean body weight, although some sites online
have apps that can do it for you if you just plug in your variables.
Calculate your lean body weight
1.
Take your total body weight, in kg, and multiply it by multiplied by
0.32810. (Your weight in kilograms is your weight in pounds divided
by 2.2).
2. Find your height in centimeters (2.54 times your height in inches)
and multiply it by 0.33929
3. Add the answers from step #1 and step #2.
4. Subtract 29.5336 from the answer to step #3.
This will give you
your lean body weight in kilograms. Multiply by 2.2 to get your lean
body weight in pounds.
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5.
You can then use the answer to #4 in pounds to multiply by any
number from 0.75 to 1 to make sure that you are in the protein
sweet spot.
It is worth the effort to do this equation because you can take your body fat out
of the picture. The last thing you want to do is feed your fat because that is
going to increase your testosterone-eating estrogen.
Counting Calories and Carbs
You’ve often heard about people counting calories. That is one of the cornerstones of dieting. If you are significantly overweight, you can consider some
sort of calorie-counting diet like weight-watchers. The one thing that you don’t
want to do, and that people who are on such diets are often prone to doing, is
to starve your body of calories. You need calories to burn when you exercise,
and your body needs calories to produce testosterone. When it is not getting
enough, you are burning fat, but your system is also under stress, and the
energy and biological resources that could
be used to produce testosterone are going
to be used to produce other hormones that
are meant to help your body cope with the
lack of calorie intake. If you master the Four
Pillars, the weight will come off, and you will
feel better doing it than if you simply starve
yourself.
So what I am going to tell you here is similar
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to what I am going to tell you about proteins. Don’t get carried away with exact
calories counts or with planning your carb menu. Just be aware that there is a
range that you should be in for calorie intake.
You can use the lean body weight that you just figured out in the previous
section. The generally accepted guideline is between 14-16 calories per pound
of lean body weight. If you are exercising regularly, however, you can afford
to eat even more calories. Personally, I put the sweet spot between about 16
and 18 calories per pound. If you are putting good calories in your system (the
proteins I just mentioned and the carbohydrates, fruits and other foods that I am
going to talk about shortly), don’t worry to much about the exact calorie count.
If you are concerned about weight, one thing you can do, is check your overall
body weight against your lean body weight. If you start seeing a divergence
in these numbers (overall weight goes higher versus your lean weight) you can
lower your calories per pound sweet spot (to the 14-16 range instead of the 16
to 18 range).
Before we get into the foods that I consider testosterone-boosting super-foods,
I want to give you a word about carbohydrates. Like calories, carbs are often
misunderstood. Yes, you can overdo it, but your body needs a certain amount of
carbohydrates to function properly. And as with calories, carbs are an important
source of energy for people who are working out regularly or doing some sort
of strenuous activity.
The day before a big race, such as a marathon, there is often a pasta dinner. At
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this meal, you will see the runners load up on huge plates of complementary
pasta and other carb-heavy foods.
Now, you aren’t going to be running a marathon every day, so I’m not giving
you an excuse to go carb-wild and gorge yourself on garlic bread and spaghetti
every night, but I am telling you not to believe in those diets that tell you to
avoid carbs. Always remember: Balance is key.
Here is what you need to know to hit the carb sweet spot: About half of your
overall daily calories should come from carbohydrates (multiply the ideal calorie
count that you just figured out by 0.5).
Fruits, Veggies and other
Plant-based Foods
Everyone
from
your
mother
to
your doctor to the talking heads
on television tell you to eat more
vegetables.
You probably learned
(and hated) the “food pyramid” in
elementary school - you know the
one? It told you to eat at least five or
six servings of vegetables per day.
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There is definitely something to the idea of eating more vegetables and more
fruits. Of all food groups, plant-based edibles contain the most vitamins, the
most “good” sugars, and are the least likely to make you gain weight.
But before you change to an all-salad diet, you should know that there are some
vegetables and fruits and other plant-based foods that are not good when it
comes to building testosterone. Some plant foods, including one that is actually
very popular in all sorts of diets, can stimulate the conversion of testosterone
into estrogen.
Also, certain pesticides and fertilizers that are used to grow fruits and vegetables
faster or to protect them from disease can throw your body’s hormone production
system out of balance.
Also, you can’t get carried away with some of the testosterone building
vegetables. Stick to the core principle of this book: balance these plant foods
with the protein, carbs and calories that you need to grow your hormone levels.
Even though some of these foods can really spur your testosterone growth and
have you feeling healthier and more energetic quickly, you have to fit them into
the framework of your total diet plan, which I will tell you exactly how to do in a
second.
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Above all, avoid the bad stuff
First, we have to deal with pesticides. The easiest way to
do this is to buy certified organic fruits and vegetables
all the time. Yes, sometimes organics are expensive
compared to their factory-farm peers. The prices have
gone down significantly in recent years though. Check
your local supermarket; they should have an organic
food section. The more organic you can buy the better for your general health
and for helping you avoid pesticides and fertilizers that have been shown to
increase estrogen levels.
In general, fruits and vegetables that you can peel are less likely to absorb
pesticides, while things like peppers, leafy greens, broccoli, tomato and even
apples (unless you peel them) can carry pesticides. Bananas, carrots (if peeled),
onions and squashes are examples of foods that have lower pesticide levels.
Which vegetables can grow
your testosterone levels?
A few plant-based testosterone champs include onions, garlic, celery, spinach,
kale and broccoli.
Garlic and onions help to neutralize free radicals in your testes, allowing for
better testosterone production. Both, but especially garlic, are also great
immune system enhancers. If you want to go hardcore, you can eat a couple of
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cloves of raw garlic per day. Or you can just add either ingredient to whatever
you are cooking for dinner. As a general rule, the less-cooked a vegetable, the
more of its testosterone-boosting properties remain (so the more potent it is).
Celery (remember that this is one vegetable that you should buy “organic”
whenever possible) has compounds that are very similar to the androgens that
men have in their body naturally. These compounds can further spur testosterone growth as well as help kidney and prostate health. You can eat a couple
of stalks per day, which will add up to about one bunch per week (the leafy part
of the celery is also good, though a little bit bitter).
Leafy greens are high in antioxidants (for general body health)and also in natural
chemical compounds that help to reduce estrogen levels by eliminating the
free radicals that get in the way of testosterone production. Unfortunately,
things like kale, spinach, collard greens and chard are more rich in these helpful
compounds than the kind of cheaper lettuces that are used for making salads.
Try to make two of your vegetable servings per day these types of greens. Or,
since they also have the same kinds of vitamins and compounds, you can opt
for broccoli or cauliflower.
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Don’t forget about your nuts
Brazil nuts have a high amount of
selenium, an antioxidant that can
significantly boost testosterone levels and
also enhance sperm production. Other
types of seeds and nuts also have similar
positive properties. Pine nuts, for example,
contain androstendione, which is used to
produce testosterone. Try to eat a serving (a small handful) per day. Or at least
replace your potato chip and other snack food supply with some Brazil nuts or
pine nuts.
Watch out for these plant-based foods
And now, here is the main plant-based food that you should avoid: processed
soy. Products like tofu are staples of many low-fat diets and a huge protein
source for vegetarians. However, this food interferes with the receptors that
sense when it is time to produce more testosterone. Non-processed soy beans
and other types of beans do not have this effect on your hormone production,
so you can eat them, occasionally, as a protein source.
If you need an overall guideline to make sure that you are getting enough
vegetables...I kinda hate to say this...but think back to that food pyramid in
your elementary school class room. You should be at around 5-7 servings of
vegetables and 3-4 of fruit per day. AT LEAST half of your vegetables should be
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of the testosterone-boosting kinds I just mentioned (the more the better) and all
should be pesticide free (either from peeling or buying organic).
What to drink
Keeping yourself hydrated is very important for a well-functioning body. Almost
no one drinks enough water. Especially if you are exercising regularly, you need
to keep hydrated (I’m talking water here, not Gatorade or Red Bull). A general
guideline for water consumption: try to drink half your body weight (measured
in pounds) in ounces every day. So if you weight 200 pounds, you should try to
drink about 100 ounces of water per day. If you want to multitask, you can juice
some of your fruits and vegetables and use that as one of your water servings.
You don’t even need a $300 juicer: a regular blender is strong enough to make
a testosterone-boosting shake.
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Timing your meals
You will want to spread your eating out throughout the day. Your testosterone
production will vary depending on the time of day, but you always want to
make certain that you are giving your body the peak conditions for producing
hormones. That means spreading your meals out so that you have four, five, or
even six smaller eating sessions per day rather than the usual three.
Doing this can also help you maintain your ideal weight. You will also want to
avoid too many of your carbs, calories and fats at night time, so dinner should
not necessarily be your biggest meal.
Here are some general rules for meal time:
1. Spread your calories out evenly throughout the day.
You don’t
have to totally rearrange your schedule, but just supplement your
main three meals with in-between eating sessions and then eat less
during meals.
2. Get more carbs earlier and fewer late.
The same with proteins and
fatty foods.
3. Figure out how many ounces of water you need and spread that
out throughout the day, drinking more after exercise.
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Mastering the Diet Pillar - Checklist
1. Go organic with all your meats
2. Use the main safe protein sources: fish, grass fed beef, free-range chickens,
organic eggs, oysters
3. Find the protein sweet spot (0.7 to 0.8 grams per pound of lean body weight)
4. Count your calories (16-18 per pound of lean body weight, or as little as 14
per pound if you are trying to lose a little extra weight).
5. Up to half your calories can be carbohydrates.
6. Eat 5-7 vegetable servings and 3-4 fruit servings per day, with as many
testosterone-boosting plant foods as possible (at least half)
7. Avoid processed soy at all costs
8. Drink enough water (half your body weight in ounces per day)
9. Eat 5-6 smaller meals per day instead of the usual three.
10.
Go organic whenever possible.
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Part 4
Pillar 2: EXERCISE
Not everybody has ambitions to look like Arnold in his prime, but almost every
guy will tell you that possessing well-defined muscles is an important part of a
masculine image. And, of course, many men, even if they don’t say it out loud,
think that there is some sort of secret math equation that says: more muscles
equals more girls who will want to jump in bed with you.
The idea that bigger muscles leads more sex is a myth (mostly). Yeah, some girls
find beefy guys attractive, but a lot would rather be with a guy who is generally
physically fit instead of getting it on with Mr. Steroid.
Here is another myth about muscles: the more ripped you are, the more manly
you are. If you measure manliness by the amount of testosterone that you
produce, that is a false statement.
In fact, I’m going to show you in a little
while that the common bodybuilding
practice of focusing on one single muscle
at a time could actually hurt your testosterone levels. Other types of exercises,
with and without weights, can not only
increase strength and fitness, they can
also increase your testosterone levels
much more than the kind of single-motion
weight training that most guys do.
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How exactly does exercise affect
testosterone levels in your body?
Most people think of testosterone only as a “muscle” hormone. That’s partly
true, but testosterone is also affected by body fat levels. Overweight guys
have more of an enzyme called aromatase in their body. Aromatase causes the
conversion of testosterone into estrogen. The more body fat that you have,
the more aromatase you have (and, therefore, the more estrogen and the less
testosterone you have).
This lack of testosterone can cause a kind of a downward spiral. The more
estrogen and the less testosterone you have, the more lethargic you feel, and
the more difficult it is to motivate yourself to get to work exercising so that
you can burn that excess fat and start shutting down those testosterone-killing
enzymes.
There’s good news, though. When you exercise in the right way, your body
naturally produces testosterone. To put it in really simplistic terms, exercise is
the way to tell your body that it is time to produce more testosterone.
You’ve probably heard some people say that they really enjoy exercise. That’s not
just bluster. Regular hard workouts (of any kind, weights, bodyweight calisthenics,
even cardio exercise) releases endorphins in your body. Endorphins are natural
chemicals that interact with your brain. They are meant to block the sensation
of pain, but they also bring about a general positive feeling of well-being. This
release of endorphins can indeed make the process of exercising pleasurable.
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Our forefathers were more
manly than we are
Testosterone production was much easier for our male ancestors. They were
active all the time because they had to be. So they were continuously asking
their bodies to produce more and more testosterone in response to the day to
day physical tasks that they had to do. Not only were there no computers or
television, but exercise was simply built into their lives. From chopping firewood
to pushing a plow or hunting, these guys were always in the move.
For a lot of us, though, hunting, gathering and farming have been replaced by
computers, offices, and desks. So natural testosterone production requires a
little more effort.
So you know you have to exercise...
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But HOW should you exercise?
A lot of guys don’t give their body enough credit. They pick a workout and
they stick with it. This can create an unforeseen problem. If you are doing the
same stuff over and over again, your body will eventually adapt. It will learn
how to accomplish the tasks you are giving it with the least amount of work,
the least amount of stress, and, most importantly, the least amount of hormone
production. If you always do the same kind of exercises, this adaption will
happen pretty quickly.
Guys who do this might see larger and larger muscles, but they will actually be
producing less and less testosterone every time they work out.
How do you fight through this roadblock?
Easy: you switch it up. Create a diverse routine. Use weights, body weight
exercises, and cross training techniques that work multiple muscle groups and
also give you a good fat-burning, estrogen-killing cardio workout as well. I’ll tell
you which exercises can help you build the most testosterone, but first I want to
point out one more fact:
Compound movements in ALL
your exercises is key
The more muscles you work out with a specific exercise, the more testosterone
you will build. If you want to simply “work the biceps” with some basic curls,
you are in fact wasting valuable testosterone-building time. If you involve your
whole body in each exercise, you are asking your system to produce testosterone
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for multiple muscle groups, so you are getting a much much higher rate of
hormone growth compared to standard single-muscle weight exercises. You
are also saving a lot of time.
Weights and bodyweight exercises that
can give you a testosterone spike
The key to exercise - and I’m going to repeat this a number of times when I am
writing about this pillar - is creating a streamlined and manageable exercise plan
that you can stick to day after day, week after week, and month after month.
Yes, I am going to show you how to really maximize your gains, so that you can
actually FEEL the results of increasing testosterone levels in your body. But if
you don’t maintain these levels, they will fall of very quickly. So, you need to
focus on consistency above all else.
Using compound exercises is the most important key to streamlining your
workouts so that you can keep going for the long haul. Yes, that’s right: the
same exercises that can boost your testosterone levels can also help you lower
the amount of time that you have to workout each week.
If you work your arms one day, your chest and beck the next and your abs and
legs the next, your body will work to produce testosterone to cover each group
of muscles on the day that they are worked. If these muscles are at rest, your
body won’t think that they need any hormones. So not only are you spending
three days to work your whole body, you are giving your body three days to
produce testosterone to cover the strain that you are putting on your body.
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If you are working all your muscles each time you work out, even if you are
not putting as much strain on them, your body will react by producing enough
testosterone to cover all the muscles that you worked: your entire body.
So think about it this way: if you include all your muscles in every workout (and
in every exercise that you do during the workout), you will be producing one
body’s-worth of testosterone every time that you work out, instead of producing
one body-s worth of testosterone every two or three times that you work out.
What’s more, your body is always looking for the most efficient way to operate.
It doesn’t want to produce any more testosterone than it needs to. If you
are doing the same exercises over and over each workout, especially if these
exercises only focus on one muscle group, you body will learn how to respond
in the most efficient way possible. This means it will produce the minimum
amount of hormone that it needs to cope with the stress of the exercise.
This is less of a problem with exercises that work multiple muscle groups. With
a little effort, you can create a whole list of compound movement exercises that
can work the same muscle groups in different ways.
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The king of compound
movement exercises
The perfect example of the compound movement exercise using weights is the
dead lift. This is the kind of lift you see during weightlifting competitions at the
Olympics: the bar starts on the ground and the lifter hoists it first to his chest and
then above his head. During the process of the lift, you work legs, chest, back
and arm muscles.
You are not going to want to just do dead lifts every day, but you definitely
want them to be a part of your workout routine as long as your knees, shoulders
and back are up to it and if you know the proper technique (you can start with
just a weight bar, with no weights on it in the beginning). Dead lifts are the
perfect example of a compound movement exercise. Combine them with other
multiple-muscle-working exercises and you can really get a spike of testosterone
every time you work out.
Personalize your routine
(and don’t overlook bodyweight exercises)
Workouts can be very personalized. I am going to give you enough ideas and
insight so that you are can create a complete testosterone boosting workout,
but I am not going to say “do five dead lifts three times per week followed by
two sets on the bench press.”
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People are at different levels of fitness, not everyone can afford a gym
membership, and a lot of guys have had past injuries that make certain exercises
less-than-ideal (and even dangerous).
What I did, and what I tell everyone else to do, was to start with basic body-weight
exercises (also known as calisthenics), and then move up from there once you
have built a solid base of physical strength. Not as sophisticated as what you can
do in the weight room, bodyweight exercises are ultra-practical, because you
can do them anywhere: in your office, in your bedroom, in a park, or anywhere
else where you can find a few square feet of open space. Even though I use
weights each time I work out nowadays, I still include calisthenics in my workout.
Here are some of the best compound movement bodyweight exercises that
you can add to your regime (whether or not you also plan to do weights).
1.
Hindu push-ups: standing up, spread your legs until your feet
are more than shoulder width apart. If you can spread them wider,
that’s even better. Keeping your feet (at least your toes) on the floor,
drop forward onto your hands and then arch your waist upward. Your
body should make an up-side-down V. You then “swoop” down and
forward. Your head should move forward and your chest should move
both forwards and towards the ground, followed by your hips. To get
the most out of this exercise, don’t rest any part of your body on the
ground. When your entire body is parallel to the ground “swoop” back
into the inverted V position and repeat. This is the perfect example of
a compound bodyweight exercise: your arms, shoulders, chest, and
back are all involved.
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2. Basic weigh-free squats are also a good bodyweight exercise for
beginners. All you have to do is start standing, with your feet about
shoulder-width apart. The move down into the squat position while
keeping your back as striaght as possible. You can add a jump at
the top of the squat to work your calves (and give you a little burst of
cardio) and you can hold your arms out in a cross position to work your
shoulders and upper back while you are doing the squats.
3.
If you do sit-ups or crunches, do them on an incline board, if
possible, and never touch your back to the board. This will give your
abs and your back muscles a workout at the same time. You can add
more muscles to the exercise by touching your elbow to your opposite
knee at the top of the sit-up to work your oblique muscles.
4. You can even riff on weight training exercises like the aforementioned dead lift. You can go through all the motions, keeping the
same posture as you would if you had a weight bar. You can even add
the bar, without any weight, if you feel like you need a little bit more.
You can start right now with calisthenics
Your testosterone production system does not care what you do to work out
your muscles, it only cares that you are working them out regularly. Calisthenics
are the easiest way to start doing this RIGHT NOW no matter where you are or
what your situation is.
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Like I said before, gym memberships can be expensive, and so can home gyms.
And I think a lot of guys just don’t want to deal with the flexing and macho
posturing that goes on in most weight rooms. Starting wi9th bodyweight
exercises can take cost and insecurities out of the equation. Remember, the
Four Pillars are all about increasing your testosterone levels so you can have a
better quality of life. You are not doing this so that you can fit in at the gym.
Almost any exercise can be made into
a compound exercise
Let’s go back to the hindu push-up example I just gave you. The other point
I want to make about this is example is that it illustrates how you can take a
common exercise (the push-up), even if it is already a compound movement
exercise, and make it more effective. Take pull-ups as another example of this.
You can vary your grip with each set to bring your shoulders or your back into
the exercise. Or you can bring your knees up to your chest at the bottom of
each pull-up to bring your abs and lower back into it.
How often should I work out?
You will still need recovery time and you don’t want to burn yourself out or
create a workout schedule that you won’t be able to stick to after the months
and weeks. Even with calisthenics, I would suggest starting at three times per
week and not working out more than every other day. As I’ll discuss in the next
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section, you will want to keep it at 30-45 minutes per workout, both because
this is a practical time frame and because it is the best amount of working out
for testosterone production purposes.
Bring it all together: cross training,
short burst training
Cross training is an old term. You’ve probably seen commercials on television
for cross training’s younger cousin: short burst training. There are some serious
advantages to this kind of intense workout.
First, doing short intense bursts of exercise, followed by short periods of rest, is
a great way to make sure that you get your workout done in the right time frame.
Even if you are doing multiple sets of the same exercise, the intensity level and
the shorter rest breaks mean that you will be able to get a lot done before your
system is too stressed and starts pumping out cortisol instead of testosterone.
Cortisol (aka hydrocortisone) is used in its synthetic forms to treat inflammation
and also as a steroid used as a performance enhancer. In its natural form, it is
released by your body in response to extreme physical stress. It has no use for
boosting your testosterone levels and can un-balance your system if you have
too much of it.
Second, short burst workouts also burn fat and calories like crazy. Depending
on how hard you work out, your exercise session can have a cardio element as
well. This means that you will be both boosting testosterone and burning your
body’s estrogen-producing fats at the same time.
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Third, you can vary the exercises that you do so that your body does not “learn”
your routine and start producing the minimum amount of testosterone each
time you work out.
Fourth, you can get a great workout without any weights whatsoever. There are
a number of videos and programs that teach this kind of intense cross training
workout. A few require weights, pull-up bars, resistance bands, jump ropes
or things like that, but others simply use calisthenics that put a premium on
compound movements. Yes, you can spring for one of these programs (some
are actually quite expensive) or you can simply create your own workouts based
on the same principles of short bursts and compound movement exercises. I’ve
seen these programs call this type of workout things like short burst training,
burst bout training, and interval training. No matter what the term, these are all
generally similar.
You should know that a lot of these programs are heavily marketed as
“breakthrough workouts,” but cross training is nothing new. You can get all
the information that you need to create a personalized testosterone-building
workout for free at your local library or on the internet.
Whether you are creating your own workout regimen or you are using the
advice of a personal trainer or video workout program, you need to consider
the following things. (Always remember that your ultimate goal is to boost
testosterone through exercise).
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1. Make sure that every exercise that you are doing involves compound
movements. If you are only working one muscle group during an
exercise, you are wasting your time.
2.
Do the more intense exercises (the ones you find the most difficult)
first during the session. This will allow you to do them with the most
intensity (which will spur on your body to make more testosterone).
Less intense exercises will still put a strain on your muscles, especially
after they are already fatigued from the first intense bouts of exercise
during the session. This strain, even though it is not as violent as your
first few bouts of exercise, will still be telling your body to produce
testosterone in response to the stress. Personally, I start with weight
lifting exercises like the dead lift, and then move to calisthenics for the
later portions of my session.
3. Make sure you are working your whole body during each workout
session. Remember that the more muscles you involve, the more
testosterone your body will produce. If you are focused on using
compound exercises, then this should prove pretty easy. But make
sure that you are working your abs and your legs as well as your upper
body. A lot of guys pay too much attention to the upper body at the
expense of other.
4. Keep it in the 30 minute to 45 time frame.
If you are working out
for more than an hour and you don’t yet feel like you are done, you
are not exercising with enough intensity. On the other side though, if
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you are completely spent before 20 or 30 minutes have elapsed, you
might be going at it too hard. Shoot for the sweet spot of about 30 to
40 minutes. (If you are just starting out, you can lower the minimum to
as short as 20 minutes if you feel like you need to).
5. You will want to work all your muscles each session, but, as I have
said, you don’t want to give your body a chance to “learn” your routine
because it will then respond by producing the absolute minimum of
testosterone. Try not to do any one exercise more than twice per
week.
6. Consistency! The biggest factor in continuing to build testosterone
is consistency. You should be exercising at least three times per week.
Especially if you are just starting out with an exercise program, you will
feel a bit sore after you are done. But if you are so sore that you can’t
exercise again after a recovery day, you will probably need to scale
back the intensity.
Point #6 is important.
Luckily, it is easy to scale this kind of training
to fit your needs. If you are just starting out and you haven’t exercised in a long
time, you don’t want to kill yourself with the first workout. Yes, you should be
tired and ALL your muscles should be fatigued and a little bit sore. But if you
are sore to the point that your regular day-to-day movements are affected, then
you are working out too intensely. If you want to continue to grow your testosterone, you need to be able to work out again and again and again. Extreme
soreness can put your exercise schedule on hold and, worse, an injury can delay
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your pursuit of your testosterone-producing goals for weeks or even months.
With short burst training and cross training, you can easily turn up the intensity
slowly, giving your body time to adjust to exercise. Trust me, if you are honest
with yourself and not afraid to push yourself a little bit more each session, then
this kind of short burst workout will have you both burning fat and growing
testosterone levels in now time.
Mastering the Exercise
Pillar: Checklist
1. Find exercises that use compound movements
2. Switch it up, don’t do the same routine every time you exercise
3. Focus on testosterone building, not on the size of your muscles
4. Work out at least three times per week or not more than every other day
5. Design a workout that you can do anywhere, at any time.
6. Shoot for the time-frame sweet spot of 30 - 40 minutes per workout.
7. Don’t overdo it. Remember that consistency is key. Don’t get so tired or sore
that it takes you more than a day to recover.
8. Avoid cortisol production by keeping your workouts under one hour.
9. Don’t forget the Diet Pillar. If you aren’t eating right, your workouts are not
going to produce those high testosterone levels that you want.
10. Start right now, don’t wait until you can afford a gym membership or until
you have lost X amount of pounds.
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Part 5
PILLAR 3: SUPPLEMENTS AND VITAMINS
This is the pillar that causes the most confusion. Supplement companies create
a lot of hype around their products. And since it may take time for you to
actually feel the effects of a supplement, there is a real danger that you will
spend time and money on something that will not benefit you at all. What’s
more, some supplements actually have ingredients that can slow down your
hormone production or put unnecessary stress on your system so that you stop
making testosterone at the levels that you want.
The Supplements and Vitamins Pillar is all about educating yourself. In this
section, I am NOT going to tell you to buy a certain brand of supplements, I
am going to tell you what ingredients your supplements should have and what
ingredients you should avoid at all costs. Then you will have the knowledge you
need to read the fine print and cut through the hype and advertising and find
out the truth about what you are taking.
No matter what their advertising promises, a good supplement alone will not
be enough to get your body to produce the level of testosterone that you want.
But, used in the right way, a few of these products can magnify the gains you
make with the other pillars.
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Do you absolutely need to take a
supplement or vitamin?
The short answer is “yes.” Certain vitamins and minerals are essential to
testosterone production and it is much easier to get these substances through
a supplement or a vitamin than to chase down the foods that contain them.
Would you rather eat a dozen oysters EVERY DAY or take one zinc pill?
There are also certain vitamins that help your system recover from exercise
batter and return your testosterone production to the right levels after sex. If
you have had to much to drink or indulged in a little too much of the wrong
kinds of foods, vitamins like C and B6 can help your body return to a state of
balance faster.
There are also some natural ingredients that can have a positive effect on your
testosterone levels IF (a big if) they are taken in the right dosage. Also, these
natural substances can help you achieve greater gains when you first start out,
so that you start feeling results faster and give yourself the momentum that you
need to continue exercising and eating right.
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Keep it All Natural
There is one more important thing that you absolutely have to keep in mind at
all times when you are dealing with supplements. Anything synthetic should
not be part of the equation. You hear about athletes using steroids and other
synthetic drugs to reach a higher peak of performance. Obviously, the long
term side effects of these kinds of products make them a terrible option for
anyone. But there are even some less potent, but equally synthetic ingredients
in some over the counter testosterone and muscle building supplements.
I am not going to recommend a specific brand of supplement to you. I’m sure
a lot of guys will read this and say: “Come on. Just tell me which supplement I
should take...give me a name and I’ll go pick it up on the way home from work
tonight.”
I have some good reasons for not recommending a certain supplement brand:
1.
Formulas change.
Supplement companies add or subtract
ingredients from their formulas all of the time. This usually has to do
with cutting costs or with some sort of “new” research that says that
some other ingredient is better. Often, the company isn’t even sure if
this new ingredient works. They only want to ride the fad and use this
new ingredient as a buzz word in their advertising. I want you to know
the dirty details of supplement ingredients so that you can protect
yourself from these changes if you choose to use a supplement.
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2. Things that enhance testosterone growth don’t change.
I want to
give you the knowledge now, so that 10 or 20 years from now, you can
still know what things you need to take to enhance your testosterone
growth.
3. You can save money.
Sometimes, not always, you can find generic
versions of the supplements that you want to take or you can find
pure extracts of the most potent ingredients and avoid a packaged
supplement altogether. These options can be much cheaper than
buying a brand name. Sometimes you can also go to health food
stores and find the raw ingredients for a low price and create your own
all natural super-testosterone formula.
4. The truth about many supplements is that they are nothing more
than a product of hype and marketing. Good copywriters can make
a compelling case connecting their product with some obscure study
that was published in a scientific journal that is only ever read by a
handful of endocrinologists. There is no real scientific connection, but
most people are won over by the official sounding reference and they
buy without looking any further.
5. Finally, you can avoid redundancy.
If you follow the diet advice I
gave you in the Diet Pillar section, you may already be getting certain
testosterone-friendly nutrients. Or perhaps you are taking a vitamin
or mineral like zinc (which many people think of as testosterone’s best
friend) so you would be overdoing it if you also were taking zinc as part
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of a powdered supplement. If you understand which ingredients you
need and in what quantity, you can avoid overdoing it or spending
extra cash on a supplement that will be completely redundant.
So with that said, let’s go ahead and break down supplements, vitamins and
minerals so that we can see what you need and what you don’t.
Indispensable minerals and vitamins
Remember is the previous section I called zinc “testosterone’s best friend.” Zinc
is great at controlling an enzyme in the body known as aromatase. Aromatase
converts testosterone into estrogen. Less zinc in your system (known as being
“zinc deficient”), means more aromatase and therefore more estrogen. Popping
a zinc supplement daily - 25 -30 mg depending on how much you are getting
from other sources - can keep your estrogen levels in check. To see exactly how
much zinc you need, you need to go to your doctor and have a blood test. If
you are zinc deficient, your doctor may tell you to take 50 mg or even more
every day. However, 20-30 mg is more than sufficient for most men.
Selenium is an antioxidant.
You may remember that I mentioned it
before when recommending that you eat Brazil nuts in the Diet Pillar. Antioxidants
like selenium can reduce the amount of free radicals in your system and help
foster that all-important balance. If you take an antioxidant supplement make
sure that it contains selenium, since it is the antioxidant that is the most important
for your testosterone growth. If you want to take selenium on its own, you can
find 200 mcg tablets at most health food stores. The upper limits of tolerance
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is 400 mcg per day, so you will probably want to stick to one tablet, especially if
you Brazil nuts and avocados (both selenium-rich foods) are a part of your diet.
Vitamin A and Vitamin C
are two vitamins that you might consider
taking. Vitamin C promotes general immune system health, while Vitamin A has
been shown to decrease estrogen production
in men.
The key with any of these vitamins is to take
your diet into account. If you are eating the
right kinds of foods in the right balance, then
you may be getting enough of the vitamins
and minerals without a supplement. Zinc and selenium are the two that I would
recommend supplementing , but both in doses that take your diet into consideration as well.
Vitamins are always better in their most natural form. Avoid brands that use
preservatives and also avoid multivitamins that combine the things that you
want to take with many other vitamins and minerals. The different elements
of these compounds can sometimes act against each other, canceling out the
effectiveness of your target minerals and vitamins altogether.
There is one exception to this rule: zinc is
sometimes paired with magnesium and B
vitamins. Magnesium and B5 and B6 also aid
testosterone growth and do not interfere with
zinc, so this is a worthwhile combination, as long
as there are no other ingredients in the pill.
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All natural testosterone boosters
Things get a little muddier when you start talking about natural ingredients that
are supposed to boost testosterone. Everyone has a favorite powder or shake
or capsule that they tell you that you absolutely have to try because if you take
it, you will have testosterone coming out of your ears.
Most of these powders are a waste of time. Some might not be, but you have
to use your judgement about that. If you do take one, make sure of two things:
it does not have any synthetic ingredients and taking it will not cause you to
overload on a certain vitamin, mineral or testosterone-building compound that
you are already getting from your diet or from other supplements.
There are a few of all-natural testosterone producers that I think are worth
considering, either on their own or as a part of a supplemental.
1. Ginseng.
This root is used extensively in Chinese medicine to
give patients extra energy and to treat impotence. Ginseng increases
the blood circulation (the reason why it is used for impotence) and
it also stimulates the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus connects the
nervous system to the endocrine
system, which, in turn, produces
hormones.
Ginseng is best in
its powered form, though some
more-concentrated extracts (in
liquid form) are also good.
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There are supplements in health food stores that you can mix with
water and drink. Capsules with the powdered form are also OK, but
pressed pills the punch of other forms of ginseng. American Ginseng,
Korean or Red Ginseng and Siberian Ginseng are all good varieties,
though Red and American are the two that are most associated with
testosterone growth. If you opt for some sort of multi-ingredient
testosterone supplement, make sure it includes powdered ginseng
root.
2. Pine Pollen.
This plant-based testosterone builder has natural
androgens. It is also thought to promote general immune system
health and to aid liver function. It should be noted though that many
people who are allergic to pollens should not take pine pollen. Even
if you do not have a violent allergic reaction to it, it could be effecting
your body’s balance by causing less-noticeable allergic reactions that
can throw your immune system out of balance. If you are unsure
about an allergy, go to the doctor and get a simple blood test to
check for allergens in your blood. All
that aside, however, for most guys pine
pollen is a great and completely natural
testosterone booster.
It is best taken
as an extract in liquid form (follow the
recommended dosage on the bottle) and
is usually measured out with a dropper.
Powdered forms of pine pollen are also
available, but they are not as potent.
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3. The third natural testosterone booster is bulbine natalensis.
A
mainstay in Indian and Southeast Asian traditional medicine, this plant,
when ingested, has the ability to convert cholesterol into testosterone.
Beware though! Bulbine natalensis has received a lot of buzz lately, so
it is used in many of the testosterone boosting supplements out there.
If you purchase one of these, look very carefully at the other ingredients
and also at the dosage. Like I warned you before, a company may use
the name bulbine natalensis as a buzz-word to sell their product, but
they may not use enough of it to be effective or they may use other
ingredients that can have adverse effects on your testosterone levels.
It is better to get this product in pure powdered or liquid extract form.
Another catch to bulbine natalensis is that it is more expensive than
the other two natural T-boosters I mentioned above. An amino acid
called D aspartic acid has also been proven to convert cholesterol into
testosterone. It is generally cheaper than bulbine natalensis and most
people find it just as effective in the long run.
What to avoid
When it comes to supplements, what you avoid is almost as important as what
you take. This is because some common substances can actually block the
testosterone production process, and others can throw your body’s endocrine
system out of balance.
1. Beware of muscle building supplements.
Remember that your
main goal is to increase your testosterone so that you can enjoy the
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benefits: more energy, a better mindset, a more exciting sex life. A
lot of testosterone boosting supplements are tied to muscle gain.
For this reason, many products are packed with protein powders
and substances that are meant to mimic testosterone’s effect on the
muscles, thus lowering your body’s need to produce the same levels
of testosterone during exercise. Hopefully, you are getting the right
amount of protein from your diet, so you won’t need to supplement it
with a powder.
2.
A number of herbal remedies often show up in supplements.
These have not been proven to have an effect on testosterone levels.
Yohimbe, a popular African evergreen herb that increases blood flow, is
often used for erectile dysfunction or to enhance sexual performance.
It is sometimes billed a testosterone enhancer as well. However, there
is no proof of this.
3. Saw palmetto is another controversial herb.
Some experts will tell
you not to take it because it blocks the conversion of testosterone into
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Others will say that this is a necessary
substance for older men only because it helps them retain more testosterone and is also thought to help with prostate health and sexual
performance. My first thought for any type of supplement with this
much conflicting information is to avoid it. If your doctor tells you to
specifically take it, then by all means follow his advice. But, there are
other options out there that it would be foolish to take something like
this that may hurt your testosterone efforts overall.
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Mastering the Supplement and Vitamin
Pillar: Checklist
1. Make certain you are getting enough zinc
2. Take selenium and consider an antioxidant supplement for general
health
3. Keep it all natural
4. Keep it simple. Avoid extra ingredients and synthetic ingredients
in all your supplements, vitamins, and minerals
5. Don’t buy into protein shakes and powders or other supplements.
These are supposed to grow muscles, not testosterone.
6. Use ginseng (American and Red/Korean ginseng are best for testosterone growth
7. Try pine pollen
8. Consider bulbine natalensis or D aspartic acid if you need an extra
boost
9. Avoid saw palmetto, yohimbe, and any other substances that are
not proven to increase testosterone
10. Avoid redundancy. Don’t take something if you are already getting
enough through food or through other supplements
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Part 6
PILLAR 4: LIFESTYLE
Lifestyle is another important part of a testosterone-building program. When
it comes to lifestyle choices and your health, most people immediately think of
things like smoking, drinking alcohol, exposing yourself to sexually transmitted
diseases, other dramatic things like that.
Yes, these issues do play a part in your overall health and in your efforts to boost
your testosterone, and I will be discussing them in this chapter. But they are not
the only lifestyle factors that will influence your testosterone building goals.
Things like sleep and stress play a big
role in the overall well-being of your body
and therefore in your efforts to naturally
grow your testosterone levels.
Even
things like unintentional exposure to
chemicals can slow down the results that
you enjoy from the other three pillars.
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You can’t do it without good
lifestyle choices
You can increase and enhance your efforts with good lifestyle choices. However,
changing your lifestyle alone is not going to give you skyrocketing levels of
testosterone. But getting this pillar wrong can certainly break you. You probably
have noticed that balance is one of the key themes in this book. You will have to
balance what you do in this program with what you do in the “real” world. You
are not going to be exercising, eating, and taking supplements in a vacuum.
You are going to be doing it in the real world, balancing it with work, the other
demands on your time, your relationships, and the things that you need to do
every day (like sleep).
For one thing, if you are always stressed out at work or constantly worried about
a relationship or about something else that you think is important, then you
won’t be able to maintain the discipline to continue doing the things that you
need to do to master the other pillars.
Also, stress actually puts a strain on your body. Your blood pressure isn’t normal
when you are under stress. So, you see, that stressed feeling is actually more
than a feeling, it is an actual physical response to the way that you are reacting
to what’s happening in your life.
Sleep is another area of your life that can affect your testosterone building
efforts. If you are fatigued all the time, then exercise, especially the kind of
regular exercise that you need, is going to seem very difficult. The whole point
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of the other pillars is to get your body to naturally make more testosterone.
Without a natural sleep cycle, yo are sabotaging your efforts.
In this section, I am going to give you some tips about how to lower your stress
and regulate your sleep patterns so that you are able to maximize your testosterone growth. And, yes, I am also going to talk to you about balancing alcohol
and late nights out with a healthier lifestyle. (But don’t worry, I’m not going to
tell you that you have to give up beer and nightclubs completely).
Perhaps most importantly, I’m going to discuss how a healthy sex life can actually
help you boost testosterone levels, and how you can use sex as a motivation to
continue your program and also as a measuring stick to allow you to see how
your efforts are helping you progress.
Get enough sleep
(Yes, I know, it’s easier said than done)
One thing that is missing from many men’s lives is a sufficient amount of sleep.
If you are like most guys, as the week goes on, you get more and more tired
each morning.
Of course, this can
affect your short term energy levels and
can make it more difficult to complete
your exercise regimen and do the other
things that you need to do to succeed
in your testosterone-boosting goals.
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But lack of sleep does more than make you feel fatigued. While you sleep, your
body doesn’t have to deal with the stresses that you put on it during the day, so
it is free to work on creating that all important balance. That includes, among
other things, the production of hormones like testosterone. Yes, studies have
shown that testosterone production varies throughout the day, and that it is at
its peak while you are sleeping. So it makes sense that the less time you give
your body to focus on testosterone production without any other distractions,
the lower your testosterone levels will be.
This is at once the easiest and hardest fix in this entire book:
All you have to do is get enough sleep. Most experts recommend at least seven
uninterrupted hours a night. Older men may need less, younger men may need
more, but seven is a good average (8 is better, but let’s be realistic here).
At the same time, there are so many things that can make a healthy sleeping
pattern difficult. You don’t live in a vacuum. You experience stress, and you
have work and relationships to deal with every day of your life. When a lot of
guys get into bed and all the other distractions of the day stop, they are left with
thoughts about all their problems and they can even start daydreaming about
future stress-inducers. Many people just don’t get into bed until very very late
because they have “so much shit to do.”
Yes, getting enough sleep is easier said than done.
This is the reason that lifestyle has its own pillar. If you want higher testosterone
levels and all the awesome benefits that come with them, you have to make
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some fundamental lifestyle changes. Otherwise everything that you are working
towards in the other three pillars will be undone by simple problems like sleep
deprivation.
So what can you do?
Put a premium on sleep.
You may have to organize your life so that you have enough time for some
quality shut-eye every night. And you may have to find ways to deal with stress.
I’m going to giv you some ideas for how to do this in a second. Don’t resort
to pills unless you absolutely have to (unless you have tried everything else
and your doctor has no other options). Even then, natural supplements like
melatonin may work better than prescription sleeping pills.
You could also try things like:
1. Practicing meditation
2. Cutting out sugars and caffeine completely from your diet.
3. Exercising earlier in the day
4. Not eating or drinking right before you get in bed.
5. Using your bed only for sleeping (and sex) and keeping all other
activities out of your sleeping space.
For a lot of guys, getting enough sleep is as simple as making sure you are
relaxed before you get into bed and setting aside enough time for for some
quality zzzs. Occasionally, there are more factors at play, but it is never more
than you and your doctor can deal with.
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Reduce stress by learning
how to deal with it
Stress is a part of life for everyone. If you are alive, then you feel stress, on some
level, every day. People may tell you to avoid stress, but unless you are ready to
completely drop out of life and move to a Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas
or something, that is not realistic or helpful advice.
You have to learn how to deal with stress...because it is not going anywhere.
Most people are not good at dealing with stress. They drink or smoke or overeat
to get some temporary relief. Some people over-exercise or avoid exercise
altogether and check out of reality in front of the TV for the entire evening.
Some of these ways of dealing with stress or more benign than others. As a
general rule, you don’t want to upset that balance of your body by dealing with
stress in an unhealthy way.
Remember in the exercise pillar, I talked about your body responding to the
stress you put on your muscles during exercise by producing more testosterone. Well, the kind of emotional and mental stress I am talking about now
also causes your body to react in a certain way. This is most noticeable by
things like elevated blood pressure, clinical depression, and other things that
can totally throw your body out of balance and partially shut down the systems
that produce testosterone.
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The good news, of course, is that there are studies that show that increased
testosterone levels can positively effect your emotions and your abilities to deal
with stress. So by making gains in other areas of the four pillars, you can make
dealing with real or perceived stress easier. The bad news, of course, is that if
you don’t deal with stress, you can undo whatever you have done in the other
three pillars.
Here are some ideas for fighting stress
1. Meditation - you can get into various forms of meditation and even
dabble in things like yoga or tai chi. But you don’t have to get that
involved to see positive results on your outlook. Meditation can be
as simple as sitting quietly for 15 minutes and trying to focus on your
breathing while removing all other thoughts from your mind. Some
meditation teachers tell their students to gently shake their heads
when any thoughts, stressful or otherwise, come up so that they can
remind themselves to go back having an empty mind and focusing
only on their breathing
2. Focus on things that you like to do - One of the most drastic ways
to find happiness in your life is to find a job that you enjoy. Of course,
this is not always practical, though I do encourage people who are
unhappy at work or stressed out by their job to consider a career
change if at all possible. Another way to do this is to not focus on work
but on things outside of work that you like to do. Find a hobby, a
sport, or anything that makes you excited and interested enough that
you don’t think about anything else while you do it.
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3. Make your home a sanctuary - Don’t bring your stress home with
you. If you have extra work, stay at the office to do it, or, if possible,
do it somewhere besides your home. This will help you think of home
as a place to rest and relax....a place where you can avoid stress.
4. Find other stress releases - Listening to music on the way home
from work, for example. These releases are different for everyone.
The key is to find things that you can easily make part of your day.
Cooking is another popular option. And of course, sex, if that is a
possibility for you.
Stress can not only interfere with your
testosterone levels by taking away energy
you need to exercise, but it can also affect
the end-game of your efforts to master the
Four Pillars. The reason you want to increase
your testosterone is so that you can enjoy
a better quality of life. Unresolved stressinducers can take away from whatever
newfound happiness increasing hormone
levels bring to you. Always keep the end
game in mind, it will make it easier to put
in the effort that is required to become a
master over the stresses in your life.
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Bad habits? Alcohol and cigarettes
Alcohol, tobacco and recreational
drugs are popular ways to reduce
stress. But, as anyone who has
ever smoked can tell you, these
practices can quickly become
habits. The effects of cigarettes
and drugs are well known. The
threat of cancer is enough to get
most people to at least consider
quitting. Smoking cessation programs are easy to find nowadays, so there is no
reason to not give it a try if you are a smoker.
Tobacco also creates an excessive amount of free radicals in the body. This
effects your immune system and can also slow hormone production.
Alcohol, meanwhile, also inspires high levels of free radicals in your body when
you drink in excess. There is also another negative for alcohol that is directly
related to hormone production: one of the main ingredients in beer is hops.
Hops have strong estrogen-producing properties. Drinking beer in excess will
actually cause your body to want to turn your testosterone into estrogen. So in
an ironic way, a cold brew is one of the most non-manly drinks you could have.
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Now, take what I say next however you want. If you want to be hardcore
about boosting your testosterone, then, by all means, avoid alcohol altogether.
Personally, I enjoy a few beers and maybe even a shot or two with friends on
Saturday night. I have no problem drinking moderately in a social setting (never
when I am by myself) on the weekends. Many guys are able to control their
drinking (note cigarettes are more habit-forming, even to people who consider
themselves non-addictive personalities, that is why I, and everyone else,
recommend quitting or avoiding cigarettes altogether). This kind of moderate
enjoyment has more benefits that drawbacks for me. In the big picture, a few
beers isn’t going to hurt your testosterone building goals. Heavy drinking more
than a couple of days per week will, however, damage your long term efforts.
(Note: if you drink, taking an extra dose of B and C vitamins can help your body
return to a state of balance more quickly. Drinking an extra serving or two of
water after you are done drinking alcohol can also help).
Let’s talk about sex
A better sex life is one of the main goals of many men who want to produce
more testosterone.
It is true, of course, that having the right level of testos-
terone can have a positive effect on your libido. Men with more testosterone
have higher sperm counts and harder erections. They also have a healthier sex
drive. Lack of desire for sex is one of the surest signs, for men of any age, of low
hormone levels.
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Because it is so tied to your body’s
testosterone levels, sex is the perfect
indicator of the progress that you have
made in raising your testosterone
levels. It is also one of the best ways
that I can think of to help you reduce
stress.
So – this is probably the advice you will most want to follow in this entire book Do it often, if you can. But do it safely. Nothing destroys balance in your body
like an infection or virus. Wearing condoms might decrease your overall level of
enjoyment, but if you are with a new partner, it can protect you from an illness
that could set your testosterone-building efforts back months, if not longer. A
few sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and herpes can affect you for your
entire life (though they can be managed with medication). Both serious and
curable STDs are not as much of a concern if you know the health status of your
partner or partners.
There is one other concern about sex as it relates testosterone. Sex requires
zinc. If you are doing it frequently, you will lose zinc both through perspiration
and through semen. I wouldn’t tell you to not do it in order to preserve your zinc
levels, but you should consider a supplement of zinc if you are having sex more
than a few times per week.
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One final thing: you can actually use your erection as a barometer. If you have
sufficient levels of testosterone, you should wake up with an erection in the
morning at least several times per week, if not every morning. This will tell you
if your four pillars are all in balance. If you are working out too much, eating too
many or too few calories, or enjoying a few too many beers on the weekend,
you wont wake up hard as often as if everything was balanced. You don’t have
to get stressed out about this, but if you wake up flaccid for a week or ten days
straight, you might want to take a look at your testosterone building program
and see where you can improve.
Lifestyle is both a pillar and a goal
It is important to remember that lifestyle is one of the four pillars, but it is also
a major part of the end-game. It is the reason why you will do everything that I
have taught you in this book.
You should always keep this in mind for motivation: Having a better quality of
life and a higher level of happiness is the main reason that you are trying to
boost your testosterone. Like I said in the beginning of the book, you are doing
this for yourself, not so that you can seem “manly” to others.
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Mastering the lifestyle
pillar: Checklist
1. Get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.
2. Don’t rely on pills to get to sleep unless you absolutely have to
3. Use meditation to reduce stress.
4. Pursue a hobby, or something else that you are passionate about.
5. Keep your work outside of your home, make your home a stress-free
sanctuary
6. Don’t smoke at all
7. Drink in moderation and watch out for beer (hops produce estrogen).
8. Have sex often (if you can), but beware of zinc levels if you are doing
it every night.
9. Use your sexual performance or your morning erection as a
barometer for how well all your testosterone-building efforts are going
10. Never lose sight of the ultimate goal of all Four Pillars: to have a
better quality of life.
***
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