Resistance training → Testosterone
Lifting is a body-composition and insulin intervention. It is a weak basal-T intervention.
Observational · Low
Supported by an experiment or a tightly identified design. Still read the caveats.
Mechanism
Resistance sessions produce transient T and GH pulses. Resting total T in trained eugonadal men is not a reliable hypertrophy dividend. The interesting arrows from training in this atlas are social signal and insulin, not ng/dL.
Caveats
No single canonical RCT is attached; this edge exists so the node is not an orphan and so the folk claim has a place to die. Upgrade when we attach a specific training–T trial.
Effect
qualitative. Acute T rises after sessions; chronic basal T in eugonadal adults is a small or null story.
Nodes
Named confounders
Cite this page
What Causes What. “Resistance training → Testosterone.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-training-testosterone (atlas updated 2026-08-31).
Papers
- Effect of 1 week of sleep restriction on testosterone levels in young healthy men
R. Leproult, E. Van Cauter · 2011 · JAMA