Key Takeaways

• Endurance running can impact testosterone levels in some athletes, particularly when runners overtrain, underfuel, deal with chronic stress related to running, or do not provide their body with adequate recovery time.
• Low testosterone levels in endurance runners can lead to performance decline, including reduced stamina, an inability to maintain training pace or power, chronic fatigue, and longer recovery times needed between runs.
• Mental, emotional, and physical symptoms of low testosterone in endurance athletes include irritability, brain fog, reduced motivation, decreased libido, increased body fat, and lower bone density that could increase the risk of stress fractures.
• Common causes of low testosterone in runners include excessive training volume, low energy availability from underfueling, prolonged elevated cortisol levels, and insufficient recovery between workouts.
• Testosterone therapy in Glendale, AZ, can help improve endurance and recovery by improving red blood cell production, enhancing oxygen delivery to the muscles, and promoting more efficient muscle repair.

If you’re a long-distance runner logging miles each week, you may ask yourself: does long-distance running lower testosterone? While endurance training offers a wide range of cardiovascular benefits, intense or prolonged training periods with inadequate recovery and nutrition can impact your hormone levels. In some athletes, these disrupted hormone levels can interfere with performance and overall well-being.

Impact of Endurance Running on Testosterone

While many athletes can train for long-distance running without having an impact on their hormones, for some endurance athletes, overtraining, underfueling, or chronic stress related to long-distance training can impact testosterone levels in the body. These lower testosterone levels can impact training, with many athletes experiencing a noticeable decline in performance and other areas of health and well-being.

Symptoms of Low Testosterone in Endurance Runners

Low testosterone in endurance athletes can present in a variety of ways, including:

• Performance decline: Many athletes with low testosterone levels have a decline in their performance, with an inability to maintain previous performance levels, including paces, power, or distance. This reduced training capacity can be difficult to deal with for seasoned endurance athletes.
• Chronic fatigue: Chronic fatigue is common among athletes dealing with low testosterone levels. This can be a constant, overwhelming tiredness that is not relieved by sleep, rest, or even increased recovery time between runs.
• Mental and emotional changes: Individuals dealing with low testosterone levels, including endurance athletes, may notice changes to their mood or mental state. This can include increased irritability, brain fog, or a lack of motivation. It may also include a decreased libido and erectile dysfunction.
• Body composition shifts: Athletes may begin to see shifts in their body composition as a result of low testosterone, including increased body fat and decreased bone density. Decreased bone density may cause athletes to be more susceptible to stress fractures or overtraining injuries, and increased body fat can make training more difficult.
• Recovery and sleep issues: Athletes may notice increased soreness, muscle aches, or injuries that take longer to heal. They also might feel that longer recovery times become more necessary between runs. Sleep can become disrupted, with many athletes dealing with low testosterone levels also reporting issues with insomnia or waking up in the middle of the night.

Causes of Low Testosterone in Runners

Low testosterone in runners, often referred to as Exercise Hypogonadal Male Condition, can be caused by a number of different conditions, including:

• Overtraining: Excessive endurance training without adequate recovery can lead the body to be in a state of stress and increased cortisol, both of which can directly impact the body’s production of testosterone.
• Underfueling: Underfueling, not consuming enough calories relative to the calories being burned during endurance activities, can lead the body to enter a state of energy deficiency. This low energy availability signals to the body to reduce testosterone levels. If an athlete stays in a chronic state of underfueling and loses too much body fat, the body may also perceive it to be in a state of starvation, reducing testosterone production as a result.
• Chronic stress: Persistent endurance training can lead to prolonged increased cortisol levels, which may block brain signals sent to the testes and reduce testosterone production.
• Sleep deprivation: Insufficient sleep, less than 7 to 8 hours per night, can prevent the body from entering an early morning REM state. It is during this sleep state that essential testosterone is produced, so insufficient sleep can lead to lower testosterone levels in the body.
• Lack of recovery: A lack of adequate recovery, including not enough time between runs, not enough sleep, or not enough time given to allow the body to return to a normal state of stress and cortisol, can cause testosterone levels to drop.

Can Testosterone Therapy Help With Fatigue and Endurance?

Testosterone therapy can help improve endurance and reduce fatigue. In athletes dealing with low testosterone levels, therapy can help increase red blood cell count, which will help improve oxygen delivery to the muscles, and work to boost mitochondrial function. These can both greatly improve performance during long-distance running and other endurance activities. Testosterone therapy can also help improve muscle recovery and reduce fatigue, ensuring you will feel good before, during, and after your feats of endurance.

Endurance Running and Testosterone FAQs

Can Low Testosterone Affect Stamina?

Low testosterone levels significantly affect stamina and can lead to low energy that feels like it won’t go away. Many men who have dealt with low testosterone levels report feeling a fatigue day after day that is not improved even with changes to their sleep schedule or diet. This fatigue and reduced stamina can be extremely frustrating, and men report that testosterone treatments help improve this reduced energy over time.

Do Endurance Athletes Have Less Testosterone?

Studies have shown that in some male endurance athletes, there are noticeably lower levels of testosterone when compared to males with a sedentary lifestyle. These lower testosterone levels are caused by prolonged periods of long-distance training, which can cause adaptations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis in the body. While this adaptation can optimize the body for peak endurance performance, the reduction of testosterone levels can cause unwanted side effects for athletes.

Is Long-Distance Running Bad for Hormones?

Long-distance running is not inherently bad for hormones, but it is important to exercise balance, as in extreme cases long-distance running can disrupt hormones when it is done with extreme volume, overtraining, or underfueling. When properly balanced with your lifestyle, long-distance running may help balance hormone levels and be a valuable part of a healthy lifestyle.