I've been running cross country/track for a few years now, and while I'm pretty bad, my mile time has gotten a little better over the years. My time is about 7:51. I'm the worst on the team lol.

Thing is, I'm pre-T. I know that T makes you a lot more athletic, but I was wondering how much more. Considering the fact that I practice 5 days a week, would my time decrease drastically during my first year of T? Like, would it shave off a few seconds or a whole minute?

Also, in regards to upper body muscles, I have a random question. How many push-ups could you guys to pre-T and how many can you do now (at whatever stage of T you're at)? I'm pretty curious xD. Not many people get to experience having both a female and male dominant system, so most don't fully understand the amount of strength men naturally have over women. I've always wondered how much it actually was, but I guess I'll find out on T.

If you've been running for a few years and haven't improved past a 7:51, I think that has more to do with your diet/ training methods. Believe it or not, diet plays a huge role in athletic ability. You can't drive a car with no gas or oil.

That being said, yes, testosterone will improve your performance. But it will not on it's own make you a superb athlete. For me, I've always been a better distance runner. I'm built more for distance than speed. When I was in the army (pre-t), my best two-mile run time for our PT tests was 14:05. And I was completely spent after that. Now when I do cardio at the gym, I can run at the same pace and barely get winded.
The biggest change for me was muscle growth and strength. I've always been very thin, ectomorph body type, and have always struggled to put on weight. Pre-t I was about 100-105lbs and now I weigh about 130lbs. That being said, I never really lifted weights pre-T, as I was forced to excersize every morning as it was in the army. We always did body weight excersizes, ran a lot, and rucked.

Push-ups, pre-T, the most I ever did was 42, as that was the amount I had to do to receive the highest score on the army APFT, so I always stopped right there. Now I couldn't tell you because I don't do push-ups as I have a bad wrist I've broken more than once, but I currently bench 135lbs 8repsX3sets.

To sum it up I'd say testosterone definitely gives you a better athletic edge, but nothing overtly drastic.

There is more to consider than just the addition of T when you are thinking of gains athletically. There is still some genetics that play into it. Bone size, and the way they go together for one. Interestingly, females have better long term endurance, though increased muscle strength may improve your speed.

Body build in general in either gender helps determine physical ability. If you look at just one gender, take male in this case, some are built for speed while others do better at sprints. There are builds that are naturally stronger. Men with sloping muscle from neck to shoulders are naturally stronger than those that are not sloped.

A good part of how much you gain from T will depend on your build, genetics and how hard you work out.

sam1234