When I ask “do you wake up stiff in the morning?” I’m not referring to your knee joints here or your lower back.
I’m talking about your morning wood, morning glory, are you pitching a tent when you wake up? Still don’t know what I’m talking about?
Urban dictionary says: Morning Glory.
“To awaken with a boner so hard a cat couldn’t scratch it , otherwise known as to sleep in a tent, or to have a dawn horn”.
So, this ones for the men in case you have not already figured that out and the question simply is, do you wake up in the morning with an erection?
Truth is most blokes will lie about this and claim they wake up every morning with a boner and that their sex drive is through the roof BUT they are lying.
I’m not asking because I’m curious, I’m asking because it’s a good sign that you have good testosterone levels, and we all know how essential testosterone is for fat burning, building lean muscle mass and strength and also having awesome energy levels.
It’s not the only indicator of your testosterone levels but it sure as hell gives a good idea.
Let’s face it, it’s a sign of masculinity and it makes any man feel proud but the sad thing is testosterone levels in men are at the lowest ever due to many modern factors.
People in their early 20’s are waking up with a limp dick. This is not good.
Now, I know some people have erectile dysfunction but that’s a whole different matter here. I want to stay on track and focus on low testosterone levels and how to improve them regardless of your goals, age and whether you train or not.
As always, I plan to keep this simple and highlight how just some small changes can make a huge difference. Having optimal testosterone levels is vital for overall health, well being and quality of life.
So how does waking up with a boner relate to testosterone levels?
Simply put, your testosterone levels are highest in the morning and this is normally a very good indicator that yours are high or at a good level. As you get older your testosterone levels naturally decrease but if your in your 20s, 30s or even 40s there is no reason why a morning wood should not greet you upon waking.
Benefits of high testosterone levels:
- Increased sex drive
- Increased energy
- Melt body fat
- Increased muscle mass
- Increased strength
- Better recovery
- better concentration
- Higher sperm count
Low testosterone can also lead to:
- Decreased sex drive
- Difficulties getting or sustaining an erection (impotence or erectile dysfunction)
- Lowered sperm count
- Increase in breast size (man boobs)
- Depression
- Muscle loss
- Weight gain
- Heart Disease
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Diabetes
- Cognitive disorders
- Osteoporosis
If the above has not alarmed you or the pros to having high testosterone levels have not inspired you then feel free to live the rest of your life as half a man. Time to man up and enjoy your life to the fullest.
Things that effect testosterone levels:
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- Processed foods
- Lack of sleep
- Stress
There’re plenty more but let’s keep it simple. Plus I’m sure most men experience all if not most of the above, and sometimes they are unavoidable. Especially stress and a lack of sleep which I’m sure a huge percentage experience more often than not. So I write this post as a man who is talking from experience and here is my story, please keep reading 🙂
My story:
I’m 27 years old, and have always been active. I started weight training at the age of 10 and can safely say that I woke up with a full on hard on from my early teens until… I reached 25. WHAT!!!
I went through a stage that lasted a couple of months where my good friend Colonel Wood was nowhere to be seen, I hated it and you know what, I felt less of a man for it. BUT… I looked into it as I wanted to get to the bottom of this droopy dick I had developed. Sounds awful right? Well it was.
I was eating well, my training was going great, I don’t smoke, I rarely drink, all of which are great attributes towards high testosterone levels so what the hell was up? “Wait a minute, I have sussed it, I’m not getting enough sleep and I’m pretty stressed right now”. Things were crazy busy at the Fitter London head quarters and pretty dam stressful, I was finishing late and starting early and only getting about 5hours sleep a night if I was lucky. In fact I have been getting 5 hours sleep since in was 17 as I used to work two jobs and I guess things were catching up with me.
Aside from my lack of stiffness in the morning, my energy had dropped and I didn’t have the same buzz about my training sessions that I was used to. I had to face the truth, my testosterone levels were low, this was my own diagnosis but it made sense.
I was on a mission to erectify (get it) the situation. The point here is no matter how well you eat, how smart you train and how little alcohol you drink, If your stressed and not getting some good quality shut eye then your male sex hormone is going to suffer, BIG TIME.
Forgive me if any of this blog is a little too much information but I can now safely say my firm friend now wakes up with me every morning at 5.15am. And as problematic as this is when you are bursting for a wee I wouldn’t change it for the world 🙂
So I only had myself to blame.
Here is how I fixed the problem:
1) I switched my phone off as soon as I got home. This meant no work was even considered once I got through the front door.
2) I started going to bed well before 10pm.
3) I ensured my evening were as chilled as possible. I started have magnesium baths more often and applying a generous amount of magnesium oil to my skin every night.
4) I increased my zinc intake trough diet and supplements. Zinc deficiency has been linked to reduced testosterone levels.
5) I wrote a more realistic to do list. For years I have started my day with a to do list however I would often set out to do more than was realistically possible. I complete my to do list everyday, long before I get home which means my mind is free and ready for a good nights sleep.
6) no more coffee after 12pm. I love coffee, like really love coffee but I was drinking too much, too late and that too was affecting my sleep. I have no more than 2 a day now and have them before mid day.
7) I stopped being so hard on myself. I have always asked a lot of myself, it’s just how I was brought up and I would often beat myself up about things as I place great pressure in myself to succeed. As much as this can be a good thing it can easily get out of control. So I simply appreciated what I had more and kept reminding myself of how much I have achieved and just how fortunate I am to have such awesome friends and family and a fantastic business that I love.
8) Tweaking my diet just a little bit. I was already eating well about 80% of the time but I decided to really clean things up for a bit. I just got more creative with my cooking, reduced sugary foods (in my case ice cream) and replaced with more savory dishes. Simply put I replaced any crap with top quality and nutritious food.
Although there are 8 different things here they are all relatively simple changes that have got me well and truly back on track. All told it took me about 6 weeks to regain my testosterone levels and I have felt awesome ever since.
So, if you want to achieve your training goals, have some awesome sex, have insane amounts of energy and best of all healthy children then make some simple changes and get those testosterone levels to where they should be, or you can carry on being a estrogen ridden, emotional and lethargic person with an under functioning willy. Your shout.
Yours in training.
Matt
For support with sleep, stress and hormone health and to work with Matt directly start a free trial of Fitter 365 membership. Find out more at www.fitter365.com.
