T Boosters: How a Small Dose Affects Gains
What happens when you give men a small dose of a testosterone booster and train them for five weeks? Check out this study.
Studies on the T-booster Longjack (Buy at Amazon) get pretty confusing:
- This medicinal root has several names, like Tongkat Ali and Eurycoma longifolia, so you have to use a lot of search terms.
- The studies use several dosages: from 50 to 600 mg. The latter was tested just to make sure it was safe at a very high dosage, and it is. Most studies use 200 mg with success.
- Not every study uses the proven form: LJ100.
- The studies use younger and older people. That's important to note.
Keep all that in mind as we take a quick look at this early Longjack study.
The Baby Dose Study
Since Longjack is known as a testosterone and libido booster (and even as a shield against chronic stress) many studies focus on men over 50. That makes sense because they're more likely to have low T. But this study used mostly men in their 30s and 40s. Also, most studies use around 200 mg per day, but this one used only 100 mg.
Also, this study didn't test blood levels of testosterone, mainly because Longjack's ability to boost T had already been established. (This is interesting because the study came out in 2003. More on that in a bit.) Instead, the researchers wanted to look at the effects of those boosted testosterone levels.
In a nutshell, 14 men lifted weights for five weeks. They used 60% of their 1RM, performed two sets of 10 reps of 10 basic exercises, and trained every other day. Exercise intensity increased by 10% every week. Seven men took 100 mg of Longjack, and the others received a placebo.
What Happened?
Those that took the small dose of Longjackβ¦
- Gained almost 5 pounds of lean body mass. (No significant changes in the placebo group.)
- Decreased body fat percentage from 31% to 28%. (The placebo group lost about half that: 1.5% instead of 3%.)
- Got 7% stronger across all the exercises. (The placebo group only got about 3% stronger.)
- Gained 3/4ths of an inch on their upper arms. (No significant increase in the placebo group.)
Not bad for five weeks using just 100 mg of Longjack. The researcher concluded that Longjack has an ergogenic effect.
What Can We Learn?
Longjack works with younger men, even when they use a baby dose. And here's something else: three years after this study, the most potent, standardized form of Longjack was patented: LJ100. That's the one with the most bioactive fractions of Eurycoma longifolia.
Fast-forward to today: Biotest has taken LJ100 and added a self-emulsifying delivery matrix designed to get all active fractions into the body. This microemulsion ensures complete absorption. Oh, and it's triple the dose used in the study: 300 mg.
Our Longjack is sold as Omega-Man High Absorption Longjack (Buy at Amazon).
Reference
- Hamzah S, Yusof "A: The ergogenic effects of Tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia): A pilot study." British J Sports Med. 2003, 37: 464-470
