How Resistance Training and Other Exercises Increase Testosterone

Walk into any gym and you’ll hear it: squats and deadlifts boost testosterone, and that testosterone boost is what drives results. It’s one of those lines that gets repeated so often it feels like a fact. 

While it’s true that testosterone plays a major role in muscle growth and training results, it’s not the whole story. And not all exercise is equal when it comes to increasing testosterone. 

A 2024 study confirms that a sedentary lifestyle is linked to lower testosterone, which can contribute to a negative cycle involving fatigue, depression, and weakened muscle and bone, especially in older men.¹

Weight gain and obesity is also linked to lower testosterone levels.² According to a study in Clinical Endocrinology, obese men aged 14–20 have up to 50 percent less testosterone than their peers.³ By keeping your weight in check, you can typically expect more normal levels of testosterone. More optimal testosterone then directly improves metabolic health, making it easier to maintain a healthy bodyweight.

Here’s a look at how your workouts affect testosterone levels, what the science says, and how to build your training around evidence rather than gym lore.

About the Experts

Emily Kraus, M.D., is a sports medicine physician and Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Gerald T. Mangine, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Sport Management at Kennesaw State University. 

Jakob Vingren, Ph.D., FACS, is a leading researcher in exercise endocrinology at the University of North Texas.

Does Working Out Increase Testosterone Levels?

Yes, exercise increases testosterone levels, particularly resistance training.⁴ One study found that men who exercised regularly had higher testosterone levels than men who didn’t.⁵

After a workout, especially resistance exercise or HITT, testosterone surges and then fades rapidly (within 15 to 60 minutes).⁶ This is your body’s acute response to physical stress and helps jumpstart muscle repair. 

Exercise activates androgen receptors in the muscles, making them temporarily more responsive to testosterone’s effects.

Does this testosterone surge build muscle?

Yes, the increase in testosterone from exercise does help build muscle. 

Some experts once thought the spikes in testosterone after a workout didn’t matter because they fade quickly—but further research shows they may actually help “switch on” the signals your muscles need to repair and grow.

“Most researchers agree that these acute elevations are important for long-term adaptations,” says Jakob Vingren, a researcher in exercise endocrinology at the University of North Texas.

Are Testosterone Increases from Working Out Permanent?

Yes, testosterone increases from working out may be permanent in men whose levels were low to begin with.

Lasting increases in baseline testosterone levels generally happen only if exercise leads to significant improvements in inflammation markers and body composition—like reduced body fat—in men starting out with low testosterone. In men who are sedentary, overweight, or insulin-resistant, consistent training (especially if it leads to fat loss) can gradually push baseline levels of testosterone higher.

In men who are already active, lean, and have a normal testosterone level for their age, exercise can boost how efficiently their muscles use testosterone—and help with hypertrophy (muscle growth), but it probably won’t raise their baseline testosterone levels. 

“Ultimately what matters is how much testosterone enters the muscle cell and induces a signal,” Vingren explains.

Unlike hormones such as insulin, testosterone can enter the cell without a receptor to transport. However, once inside the cell, it depends on androgen receptors to bring it further into the nucleus, where it activates certain genes related to muscle growth.

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Resistance Training to Increase Testosterone

Interestingly, the resistance training styles most effective for building muscle—big lifts, high volume, short rests—also produce the strongest hormonal responses, including testosterone.⁷

And the more muscle you engage during your workout, the greater your testosterone response after your workout, studies show.⁸

There are three crucial factors when lifting weights to optimize your testosterone response:

1. Choose compound exercises to hit multiple muscle groups
2. Lift heavy weights
3. Use optimal rest times

Choose compound exercises

Exercises that activate multiple muscle groups—squats, deadlifts, presses, rows, and pull-ups—encourage a stronger short-term hormone response than single-muscle isolation moves.⁹ In terms of what to avoid, isolation exercise like bicep curls or leg extensions are less effective at short-term testosterone increases than compound, power-based exercises like jump squats and push presses.¹⁰

For the best results with muscle mass, stick to the following compound exercise regimen:¹¹

• Frequency: 2–4 times weekly
• Intensity: 70–85 percent
• Reps: 5–12 reps
• Sets: 3–5 sets
• Rest cycle: 60–90 seconds

Lift heavy

Weightlifting to influence testosterone levels should be challenging enough to build muscle, which means lifting heavy enough to complete 5 to 12 quality repetitions per set. Doing multiple reps and sets with relatively heavy weight burns through energy stores, builds up lactate, and increases blood flow—all of which are linked to short-term spikes in hormones like testosterone and growth hormone.¹²

Short rests between sets

To optimize your workout for testosterone, keep rest periods short, at about 60 seconds between sets.¹³ The body should be challenged enough to trigger a hormonal response, but not so much that muscles are exhausted before you’ve achieved your gains. It’s important not to skip these rest periods because muscles need to recover enough to lift the same amount of weight over a sustained period. 

A 2024 research review shows that resting at least 60 seconds between sets gives a small advantage for muscle building compared to rushing, but you won’t see much extra benefit once you rest beyond about 90 seconds.¹⁴

How Other Types of Exercise Affect Testosterone Levels

While strength training is the most widely confirmed form of exercise for increasing testosterone, there is some evidence linking other workouts to higher testosterone. Generally speaking, almost any exercise is better than none for testosterone levels.¹⁵

One study following men with obesity found that regular exercise increased testosterone levels more directly than weight loss alone.¹⁶

HIIT

In professional male athletes, six weeks of low-volume high-intensity interval training (HIIT) increased peak power and produced a small but significant rise in free testosterone.¹⁷ HIIT is a type of exercise involving short bursts of intense cardio followed by short rest periods. Similar to resistance training, HIIT raises testosterone for a brief period before levels return toward baseline. 

For comprehensive health benefits, consider adding 1–2 weekly HIIT sessions and moderate aerobic work to your resistance training regimen.¹⁸

Walking

If you’re after easier ways to boost testosterone, a study found that increasing your step count might make a difference. The study discovered that men with higher daily step counts (above 4,000) had elevated testosterone levels and a lower risk of hypogonadism (when testosterone levels decrease below 300 ng/dL) in comparison with men who got fewer than 4,000 steps per day.¹⁹

Interestingly, the study also found that for every additional 1,000 steps you take daily, total testosterone increases by 7 ng/dL. That could be a significant lift for someone with low testosterone.

Running

Aerobic exercise like walking and running can boost testosterone, but it returns to baseline within about an hour.²⁰ Your individual hormone response will also vary depending on things like workout intensity, total volume, age, fitness level, metabolic health, nutrition, and recovery, explains Emily Kraus, M.D., a sports medicine physician and researcher at Stanford.

Kraus notes that intensity is a defining factor for the impact of cardio on testosterone levels. For trained athletes, low-intensity endurance training won’t increase testosterone—if you’re overtraining or not taking in enough calories to fuel your workouts, it can actually suppress testosterone levels. Studies of long-term endurance athletes show that some can have resting testosterone levels 25 to 50 percent below expected, possibly because keeping testosterone levels high comes at a higher long-term metabolic cost.²¹

However, short “bursts,” of exercise (i.e. quick cardio sessions), can stimulate a testosterone response that encourages higher ongoing levels. 

• A 2020 study found that in young, healthy men, treadmill running for 40 minutes at maximum oxygen uptake triggered a 31 percent spike in testosterone.²²
• An older study found that testosterone rose only when runners hit 90 percent of their VO2 max, rather than 60 or 75 percent of it.²³

CrossFit training

According to a 2020 review of CrossFit programs, six months of training led to sustained testosterone increases in men alongside lower cortisol levels. CrossFit training combines high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with functional movements like squatting, pulling, pushing, and jumping. Similar to resistance training, testosterone increases for about an hour after a CrossFit session, says Gerald Mangine, Ph.D., who researches high-intensity functional training at Kennesaw State University. These short-term increases remain alongside consistent exercise and decline once physical activity slows down.²⁴

Although studies suggest CrossFit training can produce acute testosterone increases similar to other high-intensity modalities, these effects depend on recovery. Inadequate sleep, energy intake, or excessive training volume—all common risks in competitive CrossFit—can blunt the testosterone response and even lower baseline levels over time.

What’s the Best Time to Work Out to Boost Testosterone?

The best time to work out to boost testosterone is in the afternoon. This is interesting because testosterone and cortisol levels naturally peak in the morning.

Testosterone has an anabolic effect on muscles—it can help your muscles recover and grow—but cortisol is catabolic: it breaks down muscles. Plus, cortisol counteracts testosterone production.

This means testosterone has to compete with cortisol when you work out in the morning.

In the afternoon, both testosterone and cortisol are low. Experts believe that since cortisol is low, the testosterone released in response to exercise is more effective. One study found that when you strength train in the afternoon, it induces a more favorable boost in testosterone.²⁵

This unique balance of cortisol and testosterone in the afternoon is better for HIIT, too. Another study found that afternoon HIIT boosted testosterone and produced a more favorable anabolic response than when the same bout of HIIT was completed in the morning.²⁶

One additional point on exercise timing: Injury risk is often higher in the morning, when body temperature is lower, tissues are stiffer, and athletes may not be fully fueled or hydrated. Later-day sessions benefit from higher core temperature, improved flexibility, and better neuromuscular coordination—all of which may reduce injury risk compared to early morning training. Since consistency is critical for maximizing the benefits of exercise, afternoon training adds that indirect hormonal benefit of consistency.

How TRT Can Help When Exercise Isn’t Enough

While working out can slightly increase testosterone in metabolically healthy men, it won’t be enough to treat hypogonadism, a condition caused by clinically low testosterone levels. Men diagnosed with hypogonadism from a blood test need testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to supplement the body’s natural production of this hormone.  

TRT also might help men feel more motivated to work out. Fatigue is a common symptom of low testosterone because muscles lack sufficient testosterone to process energy in the body. It also enhances the metabolic improvements that take place in response to exercise, particularly if estrogen (estradiol) levels rise in tandem with testosterone—because estradiol is important for insulin sensitivity, limiting fat gain, and normal fat metabolism in men. That’s why suppressing estradiol (e.g. with high doses of medications such as anastrozole) has been shown to worsen insulin resistance and fat mass.

Testosterone drives muscle growth, helping men notice more gains at the gym and reduce belly fat. Typically, starting TRT is the beginning of a healthier lifestyle, helping men with sexual function, mood, and sleep.  

TRT Helped Benjamin Get Gains at the Gym

Hone Patient Story

Benjamin Maynard was struggling with low testosterone symptoms, including sleep apnea and low energy. Despite strength training four days a week, he wasn’t feeling motivated by his lifestyle changes. After starting TRT with Hone, he’s now motivated to visit the gym six days a week and has lost 40 pounds. 

“In just three weeks, I felt more motivated to stick to my workout and diet. And, I was less irritable. I stopped feeling FOMO when I decided to skip nights of drinking with my friends.”

READ BENjamin’s Story

Can Exercise Decrease Testosterone?

Testosterone levels can also run low if you’re overtraining or have low energy availability (eating too little to support your training demands). Symptoms of overtraining and low energy availability (LEA) include performance decline, sleep disruption, mood changes, or reduced libido.

“Chronic fatigue that is disproportionate to training load is a common symptom of LEA-driven hormonal suppression,” Kraus says. “Athletes may report low energy, constant tiredness, poor sleep quality, or needing excessive time to recover from workouts.” She also notes that in men, “reduced libido, fewer morning erections, or sexual dysfunction” can be subtle indicators of low testosterone from energy deficiency.

You can help avoid LEA by getting adequate calories from a balanced diet that includes dietary fats and sufficient protein, and by getting 7–9 hours of sleep.

A 2021 meta-analysis found that in healthy men, structured resistance training does not significantly raise resting total or free testosterone. However, it consistently improves strength, fitness, and body composition.²⁷ In other words, the hormonal shifts from exercise are not the primary goal—they are part of the pathway toward better body composition, strength, and metabolic health. It also helps combat the typical muscle loss and weight gain with age that often result in lower testosterone levels. 

About the author

Korey Van Wyk, M.S., C.S.C.S., Pn2 is a NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with a master's degree in nutrition. Korey also specializes in nutrition research, personal training, and writing; and hosts The Performance Connection podcast.

About the reviewer