[SprintR]

Originally Posted by stat1951

Also a little off topic (maybe), but I ran across these statements at a particular site and wondered if there was any further information known about these particulars?

QUOTE
Athletes and Low Testosterone

It seems counterintuitive, but male athletes typically have lower Testosterone levels than couch potatoes! Comparative studies have shown again and again that free and total T concentrations in chronically trained athletes (runners, weight lifters, rowers, cyclists, and swimmers) are surprisingly low. In fact, the Testosterone levels of trained subjects were only 60-85% of untrained men. While FSH and LH levels of trained men did not differ from untrained men, T levels were significantly affected. Some researchers attribute the discrepancy to alterations in hepatic and extrahepatic (muscles, skin) metabolism of Testosterone, which can’t be compensated for by the athletes’ gonads. And, while exercise of any kind for as little as 5-30 minutes results in a significant increase in Testosterone, levels decline below baseline 15-60 minute later. What’s more, this reduction below baseline can last up to three days, depending on the duration and intensity of the exercise!
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http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do...ydra?id=624358

Larry

That's interesting. Over the past year, I've been doing more running than I have in previous years and my libido has never been so low. I don't train excessively hard. I like to do sprint training 2-3 times per week and I do a tempo/interval session e.g. running 6 x 200 meters at around 70% of maximum speed with a jog recovery 2-3 times per week also. After doing a tempo workout, my libido is completely non existant for the next few days. I'm certainly not training excessively hard as I've built up to doing these workout over the last 3 years or so. The effect that running has on testosterone levels may be one of the reasons why so many track athletes supplement with testosterone.