Testosterone levels in men have decreased by 20pc in the last 20 years. Why is this significant? Because it’s directly related to the reason why men get man boobs.
Testosterone is the raw material needed to build muscle. While it has decreased, the level of the female hormone oestrogen in men has risen, which is why it’s not uncommon to see so many overweight men with man boobs these days.
If you are overweight you are increasing your risk of weight-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Cardiovascular heart disease accounts for 36pc of all deaths in Ireland each year – do you really want to become part of this statistic?
When you are overweight you can develop insulin resistance, which means the foods you eat turn into sugar and go straight into fat cells, not muscle cells. Insulin resistance makes it harder to build muscle, and it also ensures your fat cells are well fed. Another reason why men get man boobs.
Fat cells are the hardest working cells in your body. Once you gain fat cells you can never get rid of them, you can only hope to shrink them. They will be your friends for life and they are very hard workers – they never take a holiday.
As the number of your fat cells increases so too does the amount of aromatase enzyme in your body, which will help convert your testosterone levels into the female hormone oestrogen. The better the conversion of testosterone to oestrogen, the quicker you will get your man boobs.
For those of you who are fond of a few pints remember that alcohol contains ingredients your body doesn’t excrete that mimic oestrogen, which only adds to the problem.
Mick Jagger may have been in the news recently due to the fact that he is due to become a father again at the age of 73. However he is the exception. These days sexual dysfunction is rampant because men are so unhealthy.
Low-fat diets lacking in omega-3s will lower testosterone further, which means you’ll have no desire for sex or any manly activity like weight training.
Machine-based weights workouts have become popular again because they are easy to do and they will make you look like you are training hard. But performing too many of these machine-based exercises several days in a row will make you weak.
This is because machines bring you through a guided path of movement so they do not require the work of the other muscles that stabilise your joints.
Instead what you should be doing are compound exercises like squats, dead lifts, chin-ups and dips. These increase the release of testosterone and other hormones that are necessary to build fat-burning muscle and get rid of those man boobs.
These are exercises that fight against gravity and hence they develop more muscular physiques than machine-based exercises.
If this isn’t a wake-up call for you then maybe your next clothes shopping trip will be. Back in the day you may have reached for 34, 36 or even 38-inch trousers whereas now you’re forced to consider elasticated waistbands instead. Is this, coupled with the man boobs, really where you want to be at this stage in your life?