Need a testosterone boost? This picture should do the trick.

Need even more encouragement to be a dirty old man? Probably not. But in case you do, a new study has found that men with higher testosterone levels experienced less muscle loss due to aging.

As we grow into our senior years, we tend to lose muscle. This muscle loss is greater in men than in women, and it’s often associated with falls, fractures and mobility limitations. Because of this, it’s important to retain as much muscle as possible during the aging process. Obviously, exercise plays a crucial role in this – but, according to the study, testosterone levels also play a factor.

For the study, researchers used data from 1,183 men ages 65 and older over the course of 4.5 years. Erin LeBlanc, MD, of Kaiser Permanente Northwest in Portland, OR and lead author of the study, concluded:

The amount of testosterone men have in their bodies may contribute to how much muscle and strength they lose as they get older. Our study adds evidence to the growing body of literature that suggest higher levels of endogenous testosterone may be favorably associated with some key components of healthy aging in men.

Of course, the research isn’t entirely unsurprising. It’s a hypothesis most of us would assume given the well-documented connection between testosterone and muscle growth.

Want more testosterone in your life? The following testosterone-boosting tips will allegedly do the trick for people of all ages, though I can’t vouch for the scientific validity:

1. Strength train. Yup, lift things up and put them down.
2. Get adequate sleep and rest between workouts.
3. Eat nuts. The monounsaturated fat in nuts is believed to increase testosterone.
4. Have sex. Even getting an increase can increase testosterone.
5. Avoid stress.

The bottom line: Now you have yet another reason to cultivate your inner dirty old man.