Hey, Folks.
I was discussing the various weight training routines that exist with a friend of mine the other day, and he said he had heard that spending a fair amount of time really working out the legs releases an additional amount of testosterone for some reason or other in men (and, as we know, testosterone is very significant in the building of muscle mass in men).
Can anyone confirm or deny this claim with any degree of authority?
I am no authority, but I can say that this idea is definately widely held as fact around the BB scene. Your body thinks you are in trouble so it attempts to help out by altering your balance… I myself have felt the endorphins coming alive, so I know some pretty cool stuff is going on when you really go hard.
Hormone release after weight training is kind of a funny thing. In the first two hours after a workout, your free testosterone levels plummet, and no one knows where the stuff is going. After that, your testosterone levels do rise.
The amount they rise by is proportional to the amount of muscle you use. Since various leg exercises involve your lower back, all of your legs, and other stuff, you get a large release. Keep in mind that you need to use a lot of muscle–leg extensions and leg curls just aren’t going to cut it.
I’ve heard that “secodary muscle stimulation” (test. release??) was proportional to the size of the muscle originally being stimulated. Your legs are the strongest muscle group in the body, so heavy leg workouts (squats) stimulate the other muscles the most (secondarily)
It’s tough to say, because your quads and glutes are far from the only muscles involved in squatting.
Exactly…lower back, abs…which is think is part of the result
A long time ago I read (I know, I know) that heavy sprinting (as opposed to just jogging) also releases testosterone – how much, why, whether related to the OP… I don’t know.
Once again, at least in the world of bodybuilding, I second what ultrafilter
says. It’s the sheer amount of muscle tissue being targeted by squats that makes them ideal candidates for hormone release.
Speaking as a Bodybuilder of 12+ years( and weighing in at 275 lbs, with 30" quads)…I think an alternate theory on how this rumor began, is the simple fact that doing heavy squats on a regular training schedule WILL build your body up faster than most anything else. The sheer size of the muscle groups involved, and secondary effects to the other major muscles involved in balancing hundreds of pounds on your shoulders without tipping over, will get you big quickly.
So as I see it, maybe there is not a significant testosterone release, but people have to come up with some way to explain the growth.
akirk 
No, actually the testosterone release after heavy weight training is pretty well-documented. I’ll try to dig up a cite for you, but the effect is real.
Here’s the best article I could find. Their take: