Weight lifting can cause an elevation in testosterone levels. Most body builders know that increasing testosterone levels helps improve power, strength and endurance. This is actually how steroids work. Increasing testosterone has a positive effect on training performance but it can have a negative effect on hair growth.

Testosterone is a male hormone but it is also present (in lesser amounts) in women. Generally speaking the more testosterone in the body, the more extreme the male characteristics will be. If you look at a bull and a cow, the bull is far more muscular and far more aggressive. Both bulls and cows have the same diet. The difference is the bull has far higher testosterone levels.

DHT: a by-product of testosterone

It’s clear that men tend to experience hair loss more so than women. That is because men tend to have more testosterone in their body’s. DHT is a by-product of testosterone. In general, as we age, more DHT is produced from testosterone. DHT seems to cause hair loss and also body hair growth.

Some people’s hair is more susceptible to the effects of DHT than others. Some people’s body’s tend to produce more testosterone than others. Some people will experience more of an elevation in testosterone as a result of starting a weight lifting/body building routine, while others will not experience much of a change. And some people seem to produce more DHT from testosterone than others.

So in answer to your question:

Yes, weight lifting or body building may cause an increased rate in hair loss, IF you are one of the people who is both susceptible to the negative effects of DHT and your weight lifting/body building routine results in an increase in testosterone levels.

From what I know about body building, most people who work-out hard will experience an increase in testosterone but not a massive one. In fact there are many things that cause elevated testosterone levels.

For example, a study discovered that men whose football team won a match had more elevated testosterone levels after the game than the supporters of the losing team. This study shows that the mind is a key controller of hormonal balance and this is one of the key parts of my hair loss eBook.

It shows that it is possible to control your hormonal balance if you are able to take greater control of your mind and your feelings.

In conclusion

It’s my opinion that you don’t need to worry about the effects of body building on your hair, unless you are taking supplements that are designed to increase your testosterone levels. I don’t even need to say that you shouldn’t be taking steroids if you want to be healthy.

If you’re taking steroids and you are one of the millions of people whose scalp is sensitive to DHT you will probably notice an increase in hair loss. Just don’t take them.

However if you’re not taking steroids and you’re working out pretty hard you should be OK, providing you’re following the instructions in my eBook – and so keeping your mind in the right place, keeping your body working at super efficient levels and keeping your scalp clear and free of DHT.

I work out as often as possible – about three times a week and I hit the weights quite hard. I’ve got a pretty muscular body – in fact I’m in great shape – low fat levels, good muscle tone. But I’m highly aware that with exercising and weight lifting you can do things the same way as everyone else or you can use your intelligence to get ahead of the game. And I’m fortunate enough to know about nutrition and how to gain the most benefits from food.

I hope this helps. Thanks for your question.

Chris

It is likely that DHT is a factor in your hair loss. From my experience you are likely to notice loss of hair numbers before you start to notice the thinning of individual hairs; however it is likely that you will start to notice the thinning of individual hairs in time. As a male with hair loss, DHT is thought to be the most common cause.

I would recommend that you examine your scalp very closely under a good light. If you can see any abnormalities in the skin, or if the skin looks unhealthy in some way, email me back describing the symptom you have observed and I will advise you further. If you don’t notice any abnormalities from your visual examination of the scalp, it’s likely that DHT is your primary cause of hair loss.

I would also recommend giving your scalp a very good wash with a shampoo containing salicylic acid, in order to remove some of the dead skin cells to give your scalp a breather.

But in answer to your question; without any more information all I can tell you is that it is likely that DHT is a cause of your hair loss and if you don’t do anything about it now you will start to notice a reduction in the diameter of individual hairs over the next year or so.

All the best,

Chris
support@nicehair.org

Thanks for your question. The answer to this is a little more complex than you might think. There are foods that you can consume that inhibit the conversion of testosterone into DHT. But really, you don’t want to have to do that. Ideally you wouldn’t need to.

The three factors that lead to excess DHT

(more…)