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hen it comes to building that pound lifting, fat burning lean muscle mass, nothing beats the all-important hormone testosterone. There are many things that are associated with this hormone. They say it may up your mood, slow aging, and even pump up your sex drive. Of course, most people in the bodybuilding community know that testosterone medicine and its chemical cousins, anabolic steroids, are illegal. Plus, when used improperly, may pose certain health risks. So, what we need to do to reap the benefits of testosterone, is to boost our own natural supply. Hence, the purpose of this article is to introduce two safe supplements to assist in the increase. What do we have behind door number one Chuck? DHEA.

DHEA stands for dehydroepiandrosterone. It is an androgenic hormone produced by the adrenal glands. It’s a couple of steps up the hormonal metabolic pathway from testosterone production. The human body starts making it around 7 years of age, and production peaks around 20-24 years of age.

It may serve a variety of functions. It is associated with fat metabolism, sexual maturation, cellular energy production, muscle growth, etc. In a study where subjects consumed 100 mg of DHEA before sleep, they had an increase in immune function and gained lean body mass. They also found that their muscular strength was remarkably improved. A decrease in bodyfat was also noted. It is theorized that in the mature adults the DHEA supplementation increased the amount of testosterone produced. Thus, more testosterone equals more lean body mass and increased fat burning. DHEA is pretty powerful. If you have prostate hypertrophy or an other medical condition such as high blood pressure, you should consult your physician before using this supplement. Also, some people experience acne. The dosage of this supplement would be about 100-200 mg per day for men and no more than 25 mg per day for women. It’s definitely a good supplement for those over 40, when natural DHEA supply starts to decrease. For the drug free athlete, a big oo-rah goes out to the next testosterone booster ANDROSTENEDIONE.

Androstenedione (an-dro-sten-de-own), is the next step up from DHEA and is the direct precursor to testosterone. It is also made naturally in both men and women. In reasonable amounts, and taken orally, the liver will convert it to testosterone! OO-RAH!

With the exception of pro football, androstenedione has not been banned in any of the drug-tested sports. Androstenedione seems to cause a brief burst of testosterone. It should not be used by anyone with any known health problems without first consulting a physician. Because of its potency, it would not be recommended for women. It is not a drug, so it doesn’t pose any of the health risks of anabolic steroid use. There haven’t been any blood test results for dosages higher than 100 mg of androstenedione taken orally.

If you want to find out more about some of the supplements that we’ve profiled, take a gander at the Sports Supplement Review. This supplement book can be ordered through the bodybuilding magazine; MuscleMedia 2000. Well, that’s all from Semper Fitness this issue. Good luck playing the Supplement game. Once again, stay pumped, stay motivated and OO-RAH!

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