Testosterone is thought to be the only substance referred to as the “holy grail” of muscle growth. Testosterone, a vitally important muscle-building hormone, is a determining factor when you are trying to build muscle in your body.

This is just a sampling of the numerous incredible advantages to elevated levels of testosterone: Increased muscle size and strength, decreased body fat levels, decreased levels of “bad” cholesterol, improved mood and increased sex drive and sexual endurance.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well it is, and in this article I’m going to outline 10 simple steps to naturally elevate your testosterone levels and achieve all of these incredible benefits. While these steps will not result in “steroid-like” muscle gains, they will definitely contribute to your overall bottomline results.

1) Utilize combination exercises as the foundation of your fitness routine. I’m talking about the basic, bread-and-butter lifts such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, chin-ups, dips, lunges and military presses. Going to the gym and following the training that places your muscles under the largest quantity of pressure will compel your body to add to testosterone production.

2) Always put forth maximum exertion and intensity when preparing. You must be willing to really push your body to its physical limits if you hope to build muscle. The more stress you put on your muscles in the gym, the more testosterone your body will create.

3) Train your legs equally as hard as your upper body. As you may already be aware, intense leg training can actually stimulate growth in your chest, back and arms. This is due in part to the increase in testosterone that leg training induces.

4) Increase your EFA consumption. Essential Fatty Acids from sources such as peanuts, avocadoes, fish and healthy oils like flax seed, olive and canola are a great way to naturally boost testosterone levels.

5) Eat less soy. Testosterone levels are negatively affected by elevated levels of estrogen, which can be caused by soy protein intake.

6) Limit the amount of alcohol you consume. Testosterone levels are significantly effected by the intake of alcohol. It is important to monitor how much alcohol you drink and avoid drinking binges.

7) Up your dietary consumption of cruciferous vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, turnips, cabbage and brussel sprouts have all been shown to dramatically reduce estrogen levels, thereby raising testosterone.

Reduce your everyday stresses. When you have too much stress, your body releases the catabolic hormone “cortisol” and this makes your testosterone levels drop dramatically.

9) Increase your sexual activity. Sexual stimulation causes the body to increase the production of oxytocin which increases endorphin production, the “feel-good” chemical, and this also raises testosterone.

10) Make certain that you get enough sleep each night. Insufficient sleep may result in a reduction of your testosterone levels due to the production of cortisol.

Start implementing these techniques on a consistent basis and you should experience a noticeable increase in your muscle size and strength gains.