Can Exercise Help You Grow A Beard

Yep! You’ve heard it. Beards are back in fashion! But unfortunately, we aren’t all lucky enough for it to grow in a few weeks. In fact, some of us have been trying for years – is exercise the secret to a luscious beard?

Science has found no direct connection, but the secondary effects of exercise have led many to believe there is a correlation.

Studies show dihydrotestosterone (a byproduct of testosterone activated by an enzyme in your hair follicle’s gland) is responsible for linear facial hair growth rate – how fast your hair grows. Since exercise can boost testosterone levels, it’s also thought to increase the levels of DHT circulating, hence improving beard growth.

Note how testosterone and DHT levels increase growth rate – they can’t grow a beard for you. This is determined by your hair follicles and genetics. So, in short, exercise encourages a beard to grow, but if you don’t have the genetics for one, it will have minimal impact on beard growth.

Think about this: there are plenty of women bodybuilders without bushy beards. Is this because they vigorously shave? No! They just aren’t genetically designed to grow as much facial hair as men. 

Will Exercise Thicken Your Beard

The healthy lifestyle associated with exercise – a balanced diet, sunlight exposure, and sufficient hydration all come into play in determining hair growth. So, what if you have a beard? Just, it’s very thin. In this case, will exercise bush it up? 

If you already have the follicles, exercise can help your facial hair grow healthier. For most, this is represented through darker and thicker hair. This is because sweating helps unblock clogged pores, which may have restricted healthy oils and nutrients feeding your hair roots.

However, the extent to which it thickens is limited. You won’t grow a beard like a Viking from exercise if it isn’t written in your DNA. Instead, it gives you the best beard genetically possible – which is individual to you. 

It’s worth mentioning that apart from genetics, diet is the most significant deciding factor regarding how thick your beard grows. So, the best approach to thickening your beard is limiting refined sugar, fatty foods, alcohol, and smoking – rather than exercise.

Can Exercise Help Fix A Patchy Beard?

Exercise won’t alter the amount of hair follicles you have local to an area of skin. So, in this sense, it won’t cover up a hairless patch. However, as you grow into an adult, your hormones change, and new follicles grow; as a result, the patch is likely to cover up by itself.

Why Does Exercise Encourage Beard Growth

We’ve already mentioned some, but it’s time to go into more detail. There are four main impacts of exercise affecting your beard. These include increased blood flow, a boost in testosterone production, lower stress levels, and the result of perspiring.

While none of these impact your genetics, they do help cut out external factors and introduce healthier ones that may be limiting you from reaching your beard’s full potential.

How Long Does It Take To Grow A Beard From Exercise

It’s easy to tell you that exercise promotes beard growth. But how long until you see results, and how much quicker is it compared to without?

Truth be told, it totally depends on the individual. Your genetics, age, diet, sex, and environment all determine how fast you grow a beard – rather than the exercise. Yes, it quickens the process, but the exact time scale can spread from weeks to months.

For augment’s sake, let’s take an average teenager with hopeful genetics and lots of hair follicles. Say he currently has a thin, patchy beard. In this case, with sufficient exercise, his beard will start to look fuller after 3-5 months, with a healthy diet and intense training. 

In the example above, exercise isn’t responsible for the beard itself – instead, it supports it to grow as healthy as possible, resulting in it developing faster. 

Young adults/ teenagers experience growth faster than senior individuals. They can go from never having facial hair to a full-grown beard in the space of a year! This is because they go through hormonal changes, which bring rapid hair follicle growth – rather than anything to do with exercise.

Best Exercise For Beard Growth

Some exercises are better than others if you aim to promote beard growth.

You should participate in short bursts of highly intense exercises – such as weight lifting, HITT, and calisthenics. This is because they make you sweat -helping to clean your pores – and incorporate resistance training – which is the best exercise type for testosterone production.

You want to avoid low-intensity exercise like cardio as research indicates it declines T-levels.

Here are some examples to get started:

Squats

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If you don’t already squat, we recommend them. They’re a great form of resistance training and are one of the best exercises to increase testosterone. Here’s how they’re practiced:

1. Start by standing with the bar across your shoulders and gripping the bar.
2. Keeping your back straight, lower your gluteals as low as you feel comfortable.
3. Reverse the squat and place the barbell back on the rack.

Pull-Ups

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One of the most iconic calisthenics exercises is the pull-up. Lifting your body weight is extremely intense – almost guaranteeing a sweat! If you’ve never performed one, here are some tips:

1. Reach for a bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. By bending your elbows and contracting your back, arm, and core lift yourself until your chin is above the bar.
3. Reverse the movement, keeping your legs as still as possible throughout.

Bench Press

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Following on from the most iconic calisthenics movement is the most iconic weight training exercise: bench press. Here’s how to perform it:

1. Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and mount your feet to the floor.
2. Slowly bring the bar until it lightly touches your chest.
3. Bring the bar back up and place it on the rack.

Box Jumps

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Another intense workout is the box jumps. Depending on how close you are to your vertical jump’s peak will determine how challenging you find the exercise. Here’s how they’re done:

1. Begin by standing with your legs shoulder-width apart, a few inches away from the box.
2. Go into a squat, and then project yourself onto the box – using your arms for momentum and balance.
3. Step down and repeat.

Tire Flipping

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Saving the best until last – the tire flips! Likely to be the most difficult exercise out of our recommendations, this incorporates strength, explosive, and resistance training. Here’s some advice:

• Wear chalk to protect your hands and to maintain a firm grip throughout.
• Keep a neutral back to avoid injury – lift the tire with your knees and hands.
• Use a tire that weighs appropriately for your weight and strength levels.

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