Citation: Hackney AC, Aggon E(2018) Chronic Low Testosterone Levels in Endurance Trained Men: the Exercise-Hypogonadal Male Condition. Sportsmen and women who participate in endurance events perform a tremendous amount of exercise training. For instance, it is not uncommon for a marathon or ultra-distance runner to perform150 to 200 kilometers of intensive running per week as part of their regular training. For instance, it is not uncommon for a marathon or ultra-distance runner to perform 150 to 200 kilometers of intensive running per week as part of their regular training. Chronic exercise training to this extent results in positive physiological adaptations that are highly advantageous to the human body. Such physiological changes result in an increased human performance capacity. Yet exercise training to this extent can also place an incredible amount of stress and strain on the athlete’s body and result in unwanted physiological responses and www.PrimeBoosts.com health problems. One of the body’s physiological systems that is extremely sensitive to the stress of exercise training is the endocrine system.

This is particularly true for the components of the endocrine system associated with the control and regulation of reproductive function. "athletic amenorrhea" and the "Female Athlete Triad". Researchers, however, www.PrimeBoosts.com have recently begun to address the question of how exercise training affects the reproductive endocrine system in men too. Unfortunately, the number of findings on this latter topic is still relatively sparse as compared to the number of women-based studies, but initial insights revealed that similarities exist for the effect of exercise on aspects of the reproductive system within the genders. Research studies on men show the existence of a select group who, through their exposure to chronic endurance exercise training, have developed alterations in their reproductive hormonal profile - principally, low resting testosterone levels. The majority of these men display clinically "normal" levels of testosterone, but the levels are at the very low end of normal, and in some cases reach a sub-clinical status (i.e., "testosterone deficiency"). Such hormonal changes may result in diminished bone mineral content and spermatogenesis, as well as male infertility problems.

15 to 25% of men doing chronic endurance training), but as noted the research studies examining this condition and its consequences are few in the literature. Men with this condition have certain characteristics and traits in common. It may also perhaps reflect a lowering of the set-point (i.e., readjustment) of the axis for what is deemed a necessary minimal amount of circulating testosterone for proper physiological function (i.e., endurance athletes have reduced amounts of muscle mass compared to many other athletes). The time course for the development of the exercisehypogonadal male condition (EHMC) or the threshold of exercise training necessary to induce the condition remains unresolved, but preliminary evidence from our laboratory group suggest an extended window of time (i.e., years) may be necessary for its development. The potential exists for Prime Boosts Male Enhancement the reduced testosterone within these exercise-hypogonadal men to disrupt some anabolic or androgenic testosterone-dependent physiological processes such as muscle enzymatic or contractile protein synthesis. Unfortunately, a very limited number of studies have addressed whether such processes are affected, and thus findings are currently inconclusive on this issue.

Conversely, the alterations in testosterone levels brought about by endurance training could have positive body composition effects (i.e., reduction in unnecessary muscle mass and overall body mass) and thus be beneficial to the physical performance of these men. It is recommended that clinicians and researchers be mindful of the fact that patients or research study subjects who have extensive endurance exercise training backgrounds may have potential alterations in their resting testosterone and display EHMC. Thus, standard clinical reference norms and ranges for the hormonal assessment of testosterone may not be entirely appropriate for this population; although healthcare providers should make their own decisions on this issue. Brooks GA, Fahey TD, White TP (1996) Exercise physiology: human bioenergetics and its application. Mayfield Publishing, Toronto, Canada. Hackney AC (2016) Exercise, sport and bioanalytical chemistry: principles and practice. Elsevier-RTI Press, New York, USA. Lehmann M, Foster C, Keul J (1993) Overtraining in endurance athletes: a brief review. Loucks AB (2000) Exercise training in the normal female: effects of exercise stress and energy availability on metabolic hormones and LH pulsatility. Sports Endocrinology, Humana Press, Totowa, USA. Hackney AC, Anderson T, Dobridge J (2017) Exercise and male hypogonadism: testosterone, the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis and exercise training. Male Hypogonadism: Basic, Clinical and Therapeutic Principles. Springer Humana Press, New York, USA. Hackney AC, Moore AW, Brownlee KK (2005) Testosterone and endurance exercise: development of the exercise-hypogonadal male condition. Hooper DR, Kraemer WJ, Saenz C, Schill KE, Focht BC, et al. 2017) The presence of symptoms of testosterone deficiency in the exercise-hypogonadal male condition and the role of nutrition. Hackney AC (2008) Effects of endurance exercise on the reproductive system of men: the exercise-hypogonadal male condition. Griffin JE, Wilson JD (1992) Disorders of the testes and the male reproductive tracts. William's Textbook of Endocrinology. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, USA.