Working out is beneficial to the overall health of the body. It has been proven to boost testosterone levels in the body. Knowing that testosterone is good for the beard. I got curious about how weight lifting can benefit facial hair. Here are the results of the research I did.
Does weightlifting increase beard growth? Weightlifting and exercise for beard growth do increase beard growth by boosting the levels of testosterone, a beard growth stimulating hormone. Working out triggers beard growth genes sensitivity to beard growth hormones. Additionally, exercising improves blood circulation which can be beneficial to beard growth by nourishing beard follicles.
While weight lifting helps increase testosterone a beard growth hormone, most men do not need to exercise to boost testosterone levels as their testosterone levels are within the recommended levels.
If you have enough testosterone working out may not make any difference in your beard growth.
But, using rogaine/minoxidil has
been proven to grow a beard even among men who are struggling.
How weightlifting helps beard growth
Boosts levels of testosterone
The growth of facial hair is controlled by testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and how sensitive your genes (androgen receptors) are to these hormones.
Testosterone primes your facial hair follicles while DHT promotes linear growth of your beard.
Therefore, boosting testosterone levels and increasing androgen sensitivity is crucial towards beard growth and weightlifting happens to promote both.
However, not all forms of weight lifting will help you boost the levels of testosterone in your body.
There are foods that you can incorporate into your diet to naturally increase your body’s levels of testosterone and consequently increase DHT.
Various studies have been conducted to investigate whether weight lifting helps increase the levels of testosterone.
All these studies have come to one conclusion that working out will lead to increased levels of testosterone in the body.
Even better, high levels of testosterone help in improving muscle building as compared to low levels of testosterone.
Exercises to increase testosterone
As we stated at the beginning, not all exercises boost the levels of testosterone the same. Here is a list of exercises that will help you boost your testosterone levels and grow a beard.
Resistance training
Resistance training is proven to increase the levels of testosterone both long-term and short-term.
According to this study conducted on men, it was found that men who did resistance training or strength training for about three days per week for four weeks experienced increased testosterone levels in their bodies.
This study, even proved that weightlifting for a 30 minutes session can increase Testosterone levels by 22%.
However, despite the fact that resistance weight lifting increases testosterone levels. It is more effective among young men as compared to older men as shown in this study.
High-intensity interval training HIIT
HIIT has been over the years proved to increase the levels of testosterone in men via various studies.
Based on this study, men were asked to run on a treadmill for 90 seconds with a recovery period of 90 seconds between intense treadmill training.
The results of the study showed that these men had high levels of testosterone as compared to those who run continuously for 45 minutes straight.
Combining HIIT with other natural testosterone boosters has also been proven to boost testosterone in the body.
Natural herbs such as ashwagandha and ginger have been known to increase testosterone levels.
Increasing testosterone levels will prime your facial hair follicles which will consequently activate them and DHT will promote linear growth of your beard.
Readers Digest; The best exercise for beard growth includes Resistance training and High-intensity interval training.
Androgen receptors sensitivity
Based on research, it has been proven that resistance training can not only boost testosterone levels but it can also improve the sensitivity of your androgen receptors.
Highly receptive androgen receptors mean increased beard growth.
Resistance training for improved androgen receptors
Research shows that resistance training will consequently help improve the sensitivity of your androgen receptors.
However, this boost comes at a cost, remember resistance training involves heavy weight lifting. Then having short breaks and lifting more.
However, you should avoid endurance training that is known to boost the cortisol hormone in the body.
Cortisol hormone decreases the levels of testosterone in the body by limiting gonadal activity.
It is also recommended for you to get enough sleep, for your body to rest. Enough sleep also boosts the levels of testosterone in your body and will also help your body in the recovery process.
Products that help with weight lifting and also boost testosterone
Creatine
Bodybuilders are known to include creatine in their bodybuilding routine. This is beneficial as creatine is also known to help boost the level of testosterone in the body of men.
L-carnitine
Carnitine has been proven by several studies to help improve the sensitivity of the androgen receptors and at the same time improve the recovery time after intense training.
Taking 2g of L-carnitine supplement every day for three weeks was found to have the above-stated effects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does working out boost testosterone? Yes, intense training form of working out will help boost the levels of testosterone in your body and also increase the sensitivity of your androgen receptors which will promote beard growth.
Does working out increase facial hair? Yes, working out specifically resistance and intense training does help increase testosterone levels and also boost androgen sensitivity to beard growth hormones which will consequently help increase facial hair.
Is it true that weight lifting like bench press helps increase body and facial hair growth? Yes, it is true that weight lifting will help you increase your body and facial hair growth since it leads to increased testosterone levels, and at the same time, it will help increase the sensitivity of your androgen receptors.
Conclusion
If you are suffering from low levels of testosterone as diagnosed by a physician. Following some working out regime combined with a healthy diet you can possibly boost the levels of testosterone. Additionally, research has shown that exercising can boost the sensitivity of beard growth genes to beard growth hormones.
Still working out alone is not guaranteed to help you grow facial hair, but rogaine or minoxidil have been proven even scientifically to help grow a beard.
