This question about testosterone and P.E comes up frequently. The answer is that more testosterone won’t make you gain more in P.E. During puberty, testosterone only increases growth of the penis and testicles because the genetics have a predetermined potential for growth. The growth occurs only because the testosterone is available in large enough amounts for the first time in a males life. This testosterone helps the young male to grow into his genetic potential. Once this potential has been filled, extra testosterone won’t increase size. One of the genetic limitations is how many testosterone receptors are present in certain areas. Some males will have more receptors in the penis that others and this may help their penises grow larger during puberty. Although growth will still be limited by other genetic predispositions. Once the full genetic potential has been fulfilled in puberty, growth stops. The only thing that could further increase penis size via this route would be to manipulate the genetics in some way.
When it comes to muscle growth, testosterone works by increasing protein synthesis and nitrogen retention. Very different to how it works to increase growth of bone and cartilage, aswel as genitalia etc, during puberty. These are permanent and fixed growths of puberty. Muscle, tendon and ligament growth is reversable, however. Muscles require the testosterone to remain present in high enough amounts, otherwise protein synthesis and nitrogen retention decrease and cannot build muscle (anabolism) as fast as it is broken down (catabolism).
In the case of P.E, protein synthesis and nitrogen retention do not seem to be the main determining factors of how fast or slow one makes gains. Unless these growth factors become critically low, due to very low testosterone levels or lack of protein in the diet. If protein synthesis and nitrogen retention were big determining factors in P.E, we would expect guys who ate more protein to gain faster but this doesn’t seem to be the case.
In other words, a minimum amount of protein is required for any growth and repair of tissue but this doesn’t equate to a scenario of the more protein you eat the more you will gain in P.E. Unlike muscle growth, penile growth is so gradual and affects such a small mass of tissue that protein synthesis and nitrogen retention don’t play a critical role in determining how much one will gain. So additional protein and testosterone don’t noticably help, so long as a minimum requirement is met. With weight lifting, however, the affected tissue area is so vast that protein synthesis and nitrogen retention levels do become critical to how much one can gain. Which makes extra dietary protein and testosterone beneficial because of their affects on protein synthesis and nitrogen retention.
There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world: and that is an idea whose time has come.
Last edited by Gottagrow : 05-17-2005 at .
