How does testosterone build muscle?

I’ve started using testosterone as a woman because men really have the upper hand here!

Testosterone doesn’t just help in building muscle.

It literally IS the hormone that builds muscle.

Muscle is made up of protein, pure protein, it’s a tissue made entirely millions of protein molecules, amino acids linked together to form primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary peptides, and the tertiary & quaternary structures together form what is known as “Muscle”.

And that’s what testosterone is responsible for, “Muscle Protein Synthesis”.

All muscle cells have androgen receptors, and testosterone is an androgen.

So whenever the body feels a need for new muscle, like when you lift heavier weights creating a stimulus to get stronger & hence gain more muscle, testosterone is released into the bloodstream, and it binds to the androgen receptors on the particular muscle to kickstart the synthesis of muscle proteins, hence both repairing the “damaged” muscle and creating “new” muscle.

Example. The Deltoid, the muscle which is said to have the highest amount of androgen receptors.

Let’s say you did 3–4 hard sets of lateral raises, pushing failure each set, creating plenty stimulus for the deltoid to realize:

“Hmm that was very hard work for me, I better be prepared next time and for that I need more mass and consequently more strength”

So the Deltoid sends signals for testosterone to be released into the bloodstream.

Testosterone reaches the deltoid via the blood. Binds with its receptors there.

And now, causes new proteins to be synthesized to both repair the Deltoid from the damage you did to it, and add new tissue there to better prepare it for when you hit it the next time.

Adaptation is basically what it is.

And that folks, is how testosterone builds muscle