Exercise does increase testosterone, but the rise after a single session is short and usually settles within the hour. The change that lasts comes from what regular training does to your body fat, sleep and fitness over months.
The honest answer to does exercise increase testosterone depends on the type of training, how much you do and how well you recover. This guide compares lifting, intervals, cardio and walking, then explains when training is not the whole answer.
Last reviewed: 14 October 2026
Low testosterone can show up as low energy, weaker muscles and extra body fat, so it is fair to ask whether training helps. The research gives a two-part answer, and both parts matter.
In the short term, testosterone rises during and after hard resistance exercise and stays raised for about 15 to 30 minutes, according to a review in Sports Medicine. The same review notes that many studies found little change in resting levels over months of training, even while strength and muscle grew.
So the workout spike is real but brief. The lasting benefit comes indirectly, through less body fat, better sleep and a fitter body overall.
Testosterone is made in the testes on signals from the brain, and that signalling system responds to physical stress. Sessions that work large muscle groups, with plenty of volume and short rests between sets, produce the biggest short-term rise.
Age changes the size of that response. Younger men tend to get a bigger rise after exercise, and a small Finnish study found that older men's testes produced less testosterone when stimulated than younger men's did.
Not every kind of training has the same effect on hormones. Ranked by the short-term response seen in studies, the order looks like this:
Lifting weights does raise testosterone in the short term, and it is the form of exercise with the strongest evidence. Strength training for testosterone works best when it follows a few simple principles that still hold from the original version of this guide:
Progressive overload simply means adding a little weight or a few repetitions as you get stronger. The aim is steady, challenging work you can recover from, not a maximum effort every session.
HIIT means short bursts of hard effort followed by rest, such as sprints on a bike or rower. In a study from the University of Cumbria, 22 previously inactive men aged around 62 raised their total testosterone by about 17% over 12 weeks of conditioning followed by HIIT.
Most of that rise came during the gentler conditioning phase, before the intervals started. For men starting from scratch, that is encouraging, because simply becoming active did much of the work.
It was a small study without a comparison group, so treat the number as a signal rather than a promise. The direction of the result matches what larger reviews describe.
| Type of exercise | Effect on testosterone |
|---|---|
| Strength training | Largest short-term rise; builds muscle that helps over time |
| HIIT | Short-term rise; helped previously inactive older men |
| Moderate cardio | Smaller rise; helps mainly through weight and fitness |
| Walking | Little direct effect; supports weight and mood |
| Yoga and Pilates | Little direct effect; supports recovery and stress |
| Very high endurance volume | Can lower resting levels after years of heavy training |
At the extreme end, yes. Men who have trained heavily for endurance sports over many years can have persistently lower resting testosterone, according to a 2019 review of the research on endurance athletes.
The same review describes this as uncommon and limited to men with long-term, high-volume endurance training. A few runs or rides a week does not fall into that group.
Not eating enough for the training load seems to play a part. Reviews of male endurance athletes link low energy availability, meaning too little food for the work being done, with lower testosterone.
Overtraining, meaning hard exercise without enough rest, can lower testosterone rather than raise it. Rest days, sleep and enough food are what let the body adapt to the work you put in.
Moderate cardio still has a place alongside strength work. It helps your heart and your weight, and a balanced week usually includes both.
The most reliable long-term link between exercise and testosterone runs through body fat. Excess fat, particularly around the belly, is linked to lower testosterone levels.
Losing weight works in the other direction. A meta-analysis of 24 studies in the European Journal of Endocrinology found weight loss was associated with higher testosterone, and the more weight men lost, the bigger the rise.
That is why exercise and diet work best together. Training builds muscle and uses energy, while food decides whether the scale actually moves, which we cover in our guide to eating for healthy testosterone.
If you are looking at how to increase testosterone naturally, training is only one of the levers. Sleep and routine sit right beside it, and they are easy to overlook when the focus is on the gym.
Sleep has some of the clearest evidence. In a small study reported by UChicago Medicine, young men who slept under five hours a night for one week saw their testosterone fall by 10 to 15%.
A steady routine helps more than any single change. Regular training, consistent sleep and wake times, and meals built around whole foods add up over months.
Australia's 24-hour movement guidelines give a sensible baseline for adults aged 18 to 64. They were written for overall health, and they line up well with what the testosterone research supports.
| Guideline | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Moderate to vigorous activity | 30 minutes or more on most days |
| Muscle strengthening | 2 or more days a week |
| Balance and mobility | 3 or more days a week |
| Light activity | Several hours a day, with sitting broken up |
| Sleep | 7 to 9 hours a night, with consistent times |
| Steps, if you track them | 7,000 or more a day |
Source: 10,000 Steps (CQUniversity), summarising the Australian Government's 24-hour movement guidelines for adults.
For testosterone, the strength days matter most. Two strength sessions a week meets the guideline, and one or two harder interval sessions can count towards your vigorous activity.
Because exercise shifts testosterone for a short time, a hard workout before a blood test can blur the result. Most clinicians suggest arriving rested and skipping heavy training beforehand.
Timing matters as well, because levels are usually highest in the morning. healthdirect advises having the test in the morning, and you may be asked to fast beforehand.
Results are read against the testing laboratory's own reference range, in nmol/L, rather than a single universal number. We explain what happens after a testosterone test in a separate guide.
Everyone responds differently to exercise. If you are training consistently but still feel flat, with low energy, a fading sex drive or weight that will not shift, something other than effort may be going on.
| What you notice | What is worth checking |
|---|---|
| Strength and energy improving with training | Keep going and review how you feel in a few months |
| Tired most days despite good sleep | A GP review and blood tests |
| Low sex drive or fewer erections than usual | Testosterone and related hormones |
| Weight not moving despite training and diet changes | Weight, blood sugar and hormones |
| Low mood that lasts for weeks | Your GP, and support straight away if you need it |
Low testosterone affects between 1 in 20 and 1 in 200 men, according to Healthy Male. It can also follow illness, including long-term conditions such as diabetes.
Our guide to common signs of low testosterone lists what to look for. If several sound familiar, a blood test is a more useful next step than another training block.
Low mood deserves attention on its own. If you are struggling, Lifeline is available any time on 13 11 14.
When a doctor does find low testosterone, treatment is only considered after a full assessment that includes blood tests. You can read how we assess low testosterone before deciding anything.
Heavy strength training built on compound lifts gives the largest short-term rise, with HIIT close behind. Over months, the lasting benefit comes mainly from losing body fat.
Studies of resistance training show levels stay raised for roughly 15 to 30 minutes after a hard session. They then return to your usual baseline.
Walking does not cause the short rise seen after lifting, but it helps with weight, which supports testosterone over time. Australia's guidelines suggest 7,000 or more steps a day as a useful target.
Long stretches of inactivity tend to bring weight gain, and extra body fat is linked to lower testosterone. In the interval study above, most of the rise came from simply becoming active.
Push-ups are a useful strength exercise, but one movement repeated daily is unlikely to match heavier full-body training. Including them in two or more varied strength sessions a week is a better plan.
Training is one of the best things you can do for your health, and it supports healthy testosterone over time. If you are doing the work and still not feeling like yourself, that is worth a conversation rather than another programme.
You can read about doctor-led care for low testosterone, or look through the treatments we offer if you would like a clearer picture first.
This article is general information about men's health and is not personal medical advice. If you are concerned about symptoms, speak with your doctor.