If you’ve ever suffered from a low libido, you’ve no doubt tried everything under the sun to fix the “problem” ASAP. Endless supplements claim to have the cure, and some may work for a limited time. But ask yourself:
Does taking a supplement really address the root of the problem? Or is it just a Band-Aid?
All Band-Aids fall off eventually, and leave you where you started, if not worse. Let’s take a look at the source of the problem instead:
Stress: The libido killer
Stress is the ultimate sex drive killer. When you’re stressed, your body releases cortisol, the “stress hormone”. In short spurts, cortisol is a good thing. It’s elevated in the morning to help wake you up. In dangerous situations, your body releases cortisol as part of its “fight-or-flight” response to help prepare you to either fight or escape.
The issue is, most of us are ALWAYS stressed, so our bodies are constantly producing cortisol as a result. When continuously elevated, high cortisol inhibits testosterone production dramatically. Without testosterone, your sex drive is non-existent. High cortisol also leads to poor sleep (another testosterone killer), anxiety, and even depression. All this added up leads to a crushed libido, which leads to more stress, poor sleep, etc. It’s a vicious cycle.
What if there was a LONG-TERM fix for low libido, that didn’t require you to take any supplements, and would improve your overall quality of life tremendously?
Enter: resistance training
How does resistance training effect sex drive?
Exercise is great for taking your mind off any stressful issues. Studies show that exercise also leads to increases in dopamine (Sutoo, 2006). Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that the brain releases in pleasurable situations, it makes us feel good. This makes exercise a great way to curb any stress you’re fighting, and gives it a natural anti-depressant effect. Although all forms of exercise, done properly, will have a positive impact on your mood and hormonal profile, stick to resistance training for the maximum results. Research shows that resistance training is extremely effective for elevating the hormone testosterone (Smilios, 2007). Increased testosterone levels lead to a dramatically improved libido, and feeling great overall. The more muscle groups you train, the greater the positive hormonal response will be.
However, before diving into a training routine, be warned that training improperly can be EVEN WORSE for your sex drive than doing nothing at all.
Bodybuilding magazines and Instagram authorities often preach “body-part split” routines: a few multi-joint exercises, followed by endless isolation exercises. Much less mass is being trained overall, which leads to a small, ineffective hormonal response.
Another common issue is overtraining: s imply doing too much for your body to recover from. All the stress on your body from overtraining leads to elevated cortisol. Along with killing libido, high levels of cortisol also bring your body's muscle building processes to a halt, leaving you weaker and unable to build muscle. This highlights the need for proper programming to build an incredible body AND sex drive.
Training correctly for getting testy
Proper programming is the key to unlocking your libido’s full potential, and allows you to build muscle with the minimum effective dose of exercise. Full body workouts, consisting of primarily multi-joint movements (squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, etc.) will create a significant hormonal response, due to the large amount of muscles being worked. Training like this is more time efficient, and allows your body to recover rapidly.
After several weeks of proper programming, you’ll have more energy both inside and outside the gym. You’ll look better, feel better, and have better sex. Simply add well programmed resistance training, it’ll change your life.
