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Participating in an MMA training camp can change your testosterone levels, but the change isn’t necessarily immediate or steady. During the earlier stages of camp, testosterone may remain relatively stable even as training becomes demanding. Levels can start to fall later if the fighter is losing weight and consuming too little energy for the amount of training they’re doing. The steepest declines documented in combat-sport research have occurred close to the weigh-in, when food restriction and weight-cutting practices become particularly aggressive.
Testosterone can then begin to increase again after the fighter eats and restores energy following the weigh-in. So, rather than a straight decline throughout camp, the pattern can range from little change to a pronounced late-camp drop followed by recovery.
