Exercise

[julia]

What do you think about Ray Peat's recommendation of doing just 1-2 minutes of mild resistance exercise to increase testosterone? Is such small amount of exercise going to have any effect on the muscles and hormones?

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

What do you think about Ray Peat's recommendation of doing just 1-2 minutes of mild resistance exercise to increase testosterone? Is such small amount of exercise going to have any effect on the muscles and hormones?

I don't think exercise increases testosterone at all. Any stress in the body creates cortisol which opposes testosterone. So the idea behind Ray Peat's advice is to keep it light to PRESERVE testosterone.

 

[julia]

I don't think exercise increases testosterone at all. Any stress in the body creates cortisol which opposes testosterone. So the idea behind Ray Peat's advice is to keep it light to PRESERVE testosterone.

Thank you!
I have very little muscle mass and I'm looking for ways to increase it.Any advice on how to do this?
I'm really impressed by your results and I have started a similar diet with increased protein and sugar.
When you leaned out and built muscle did you eat a low fat diet?

 

[Beastmode]

Do activities that you enjoy. Movement is essential to our biology. "Exercise" is a made up constraint as something we do so many times per week for 30-60 min.

If you support your system properly, you'll get the benefits of moving more.

 

[opethfeldt]

I don't think exercise increases testosterone much, but it has been shown to increase DHEA and DHT. The increase is directly related to the intensity of the exercise. Exercise also up regulates the expression of enzymes in the muscle, so it likely increases tissue levels of various androgens. 1-2 minutes may be enough to have an effect if the intensity were great enough.

 

[Uselis]

I don't think exercise increases testosterone much, but it has been shown to increase DHEA and DHT. The increase is directly related to the intensity of the exercise. Exercise also up regulates the expression of enzymes in the muscle, so it likely increases tissue levels of various androgens. 1-2 minutes may be enough to have an effect if the intensity were great enough.

Probably like one set of some bodyweight movement that is challenging enough would accomplish that?

 

[Uselis]

Thank you!
I have very little muscle mass and I'm looking for ways to increase it.Any advice on how to do this?
I'm really impressed by your results and I have started a similar diet with increased protein and sugar.
When you leaned out and built muscle did you eat a low

Haidut posted interesting post where he wrote that in his home country doctors prescribe high protein diets to new mothers and sick patients. I am assuming it's for muscle building purposes.

High Protein Intake Increases Muscle Mass Even W/o Training

We know that Ray recommends 80g+ of protein a day and says that ~120g should be enough even for the most active individuals. This study looked at what happens when you increase protein intake even more. There were 2 groups. The "normal" intake group consumed ~120g of protein a day and the high...

raypeatforum.com

 

[julia]

Haidut posted interesting post where he wrote that in his home country doctors prescribe high protein diets to new mothers and sick patients. I am assuming it's for muscle building purposes.

High Protein Intake Increases Muscle Mass Even W/o Training

We know that Ray recommends 80g+ of protein a day and says that ~120g should be enough even for the most active individuals. This study looked at what happens when you increase protein intake even more. There were 2 groups. The "normal" intake group consumed ~120g of protein a day and the high...

raypeatforum.com

Yes,great thread!This covers the nutrition part of the equation,but what about the optimal exercise for muscle building.I wish it were that easy as doing just a few squats and dumbbell lifts for a few minutes as Ray Peat advices.What do you think about the exercise part?

 

[Uselis]

Yes,great thread!This covers the nutrition part of the equation,but what about the optimal exercise for muscle building.I wish it were that easy as doing just a few squats and dumbbell lifts for a few minutes as Ray Peat advices.What do you think about the exercise part?

I am not an expert by any means but if you'd force me to provide answer I'd say once a week 20-30min relatively intense strength trainning is all you need for basic benefits.

I doubt there is such a thing as optimal. In my opinion as a baseline you should always have slight excess of energy. You must feel like exercising instead of thinking you must because of schedule, benefits or any other reason that comes from your head. Listen to your body ☺

Once you get familiar with "slight excess of energy" feel then you can see how much you can get away with before dipping too much bellow it. Thats gonna be your optimal ☺

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Thank you!
I have very little muscle mass and I'm looking for ways to increase it.Any advice on how to do this?
I'm really impressed by your results and I have started a similar diet with increased protein and sugar.
When you leaned out and built muscle did you eat a low fat diet?

Yes I did eat a lower fat diet, pretty much no added fats like oil or butter. You have to eat A LOT of protein. Like yesterday I was already over 100 grams before 4:00. Starches are useless if you are gonna build muscle. You gotta figure if Ray Peat says do not combine proteins and starches and starches need lots of fats with them, then they have no appropriate place to go except to replace a protein meal.

 

[julia]

Yes I did eat a lower fat diet, pretty much no added fats like oil or butter. You have to eat A LOT of protein. Like yesterday I was already over 100 grams before 4:00. Starches are useless if you are gonna build muscle. You gotta figure if Ray Peat says do not combine proteins and starches and starches need lots of fats with them, then they have no appropriate place to go except to replace a protein meal.

Thank you for answering!
I have read that you ate 100+ g of protein on most days.How many grams approximately did you eat on those days and how many grams of sugar?
Please excuse me for bombarding you with so many questions about your diet.The reason I do this is because your results are so inspiring and I'm currently trying to do a similar diet like the one you did

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Thank you for answering!
I have read that you ate 100+ g of protein on most days.How many grams approximately did you eat on those days and how many grams of sugar?
Please excuse me for bombarding you with so many questions about your diet.The reason I do this is because your results are so inspiring and I'm currently trying to do a similar diet like the one you did

No worries! I love questions, asking and answering them! Yes I ate a minimum of 70 grams of protein and even 150 on other days, depending on what was in my fridge. If you are trying to gain weight plus muscle then beef and lamb works fast. If you are trying to gain muscle and lose fat then seafood works better. It is hard for me to lose weight with beef unless it isca lean cut. Two years ago when I did that experiment I was not doing milk, maybe a cup or two of raw milk or an ounce or two of mozzarella, so I was calcium deficient. I did not document sugar, but I would pair a half Mexican coke or sugared fruit with cheese, mostly berries, even though they are not "Peaty", and iced coffees with white sugar (that is where I put my milk). I ate mostly shrimp, scallops, raw tuna, crab, flat iron steak (I love rib eye, but they are too fatty), eggs, sugared berries, liver, oysters, iced coffees, Mexican Coke, mozzarella, salsa and hot sauces, clear broth soups, raw carrots. Nowadays I would probably add in raw honey at night, fresh pressed and strained pineapple, and some nonfat milk. I wasn't sure oranges worked for me and I still am not sure about them.

 

[julia]

No worries! I love questions, asking and answering them! Yes I ate a minimum of 70 grams of protein and even 150 on other days, depending on what was in my fridge. If you are trying to gain weight plus muscle then beef and lamb works fast. If you are trying to gain muscle and lose fat then seafood works better. It is hard for me to lose weight with beef unless it isca lean cut. Two years ago when I did that experiment I was not doing milk, maybe a cup or two of raw milk or an ounce or two of mozzarella, so I was calcium deficient. I did not document sugar, but I would pair a half Mexican coke or sugared fruit with cheese, mostly berries, even though they are not "Peaty", and iced coffees with white sugar (that is where I put my milk). I ate mostly shrimp, scallops, raw tuna, crab, flat iron steak (I love rib eye, but they are too fatty), eggs, sugared berries, liver, oysters, iced coffees, Mexican Coke, mozzarella, salsa and hot sauces, clear broth soups, raw carrots. Nowadays I would probably add in raw honey at night, fresh pressed and strained pineapple, and some nonfat milk. I wasn't sure oranges worked for me and I still am not sure about them.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate all your answers. You are providing me with great information. Exactly what I need.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate all your answers. You are providing me with great information. Exactly what I need.

I am excited to hear your progress!

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate all your answers. You are providing me with great information. Exactly what I need.

I remember eating watermelon often too Julia.

 

[opethfeldt]

Probably like one set of some bodyweight movement that is challenging enough would accomplish that?

Yeah, it wouldn't have to be weight training. Actually, it doesn't even have to be resistance training at all. The study I read and others I've read on HIIT seem to indicate that it's more about intensity rather than resistance training per se. Basically, any intense exercise is going to get the job done if you're just looking for hormonal benefits.

 

[Uselis]

Yeah, it wouldn't have to be weight training. Actually, it doesn't even have to be resistance training at all. The study I read and others I've read on HIIT seem to indicate that it's more about intensity rather than resistance training per se. Basically, any intense exercise is going to get the job done if you're just looking for hormonal benefits.

Yup, I can only do so much. It quickly wipes me out ha ha!

Do you have that such which arrived at 2min amount per day of intense effort? I hope I understood you correctly.

Thanks!

 

[opethfeldt]

Yup, I can only do so much. It quickly wipes me out ha ha!

Do you have that such which arrived at 2min amount per day of intense effort? I hope I understood you correctly.

Thanks!

I didn't come up with the 2 minute amount and I personally think it should be longer than that, ideally. Maybe 15-20 minutes. 2 minutes was just in the OP so that's what I'm referencing.