Maintaining optimal testosterone (17b-hydroxy-4-androstene-3-one) levels is not only important as a means of maintaining adequate muscle mass, but is also related to health and well being. This is true for both men and women, although the levels of testosterone in women are much lower (testosterone levels are about 10 times higher in men compared to women). Testosterone is synthesised in the leydig cells of the testes from cholesterol and the pathway passes through a number of intermediate stages that includes progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and androstenedione. In women testosterone is produced in the ovaries and the zona reticularis of the adrenal glands and this occurs because testosterone is involved in the synthesis of other chemicals such as estradiol, cortisol and aldosterone, and the excess then spills over into the blood for metabolic purposes. Because women and young boys do not have functioning leydig cells capable of synthesising testosterone, there is no significant increase in testosterone in response to exercise as is seen in men. In men, intense exercise, particularly resistance training, significantly increases circulating levels of testosterone.
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