Testosterone
Most people associate testosterone with males; so it may shock you that females maintain a balance between both estrogen and testosterone. Both estrogen and testosterone are both considered sex hormones – specifically ‘Androgenic’ – meaning that they are secreted by the testis and prostate in males, or ovaries in females.
As you may know, testosterone is one of the key hormone’s associated with increasing muscle mass.
The main role of testosterone is to promote the development of the male reproductive system, however it plays an important role in promoting increased muscle and bone mass. Considering that males generally have higher levels of testosterone in the blood, it’s easy to see why men generally have greater muscle mass when compared to females.
Fun fact: testosterone also promotes the growth of hair on the body!
Functionally, testosterone is involved in the repair and synthesis of proteins within the body that form the building blocks of muscle tissue.
Testosterone does this by acting as a signalling growth factor – that is, it binds to muscle tissue within the body and signals the muscles to grow.
Stay tuned for next week where we will be talking about Growth Hormone.
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