Regular exercise as effective as TRT in older men

As men age, testosterone concentrations decrease, as do fitness, strength, and lean mass.

Low testosterone (known colloquially as “Low T”) has become quite the ‘epidemic’ in recent years, and countless men and now being prescribed testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), either as an injection, gel, or skin patch, to restore their vitality.

But a study, “Testosterone and exercise: effects on fitness, body composition, and strength in middle-to-older aged men with low-normal serum testosterone levels”, published in the American Journal of Physiology in March 2021, found that taking testosterone did not provide any additional benefits to that of exercise alone.

In a randomised controlled trial (or RCT), focused on men between the ages of 50 and 70, scientists explored whether exercise or testosterone had a greater impact on aerobic fitness, strength, fat, and muscle mass.

Four different variables were tested: one group performed workouts (a combination of resistance training and aerobic exercise), another received testosterone, a third group received a combination of both workouts and testosterone, and a control group performed no exercise and didn't take any testosterone.

The exercise group saw improvements across the board: more strength, less fat, more muscle, and better cardiovascular fitness.

Testosterone treatment alone, and exercise alone, had similar impacts on muscle mass in the upper and lower body, but adding testosterone didn’t significantly impact strength, endurance, or fat mass. And it didn't lead to any additional benefits above and beyond the exercise group.

So you don't necessarily need pills or injections if you want to transform your health. A little movement is, as usual, the best medicine.