Testosterone is criminally misunderstood.
On one side are morons and the media, who vilify the hormone and blame it for nearly every random act of aggression, from road rage to Black Friday brawls.
On the other side are bodybuilders and biohackers, who almost worship T or at least attribute it way more power than it really deserves.
The correct answer is in the middle, though definitely slanted toward healthy T levels being a VERY good thing, all things considered.
There are countless stories of men who had their low testosterone levels corrected and went from moody, low energy, and indecisive to happy, driven, and full of life.
Who wouldn’t want in on that action? Hence the number of TRT or “life extension” clinics has grown exponentially to meet the demand.
Of course, every medication has a risk, even one as safe as testosterone, not to mention real implications on matters such as fertility.
For that reason, many men choose to go the natural route and try coaxing their bodies into producing more T on its own, either through lifestyle changes or dietary supplements (I won’t list them all).
Of these two options, lifestyle is the CLEAR winner. It’s not even close. The macas, borons, FRACs, and herbs all suck in comparison.
Not just in terms of change in serum testosterone levels (take those with a grain of salt, T levels are CONSTANTLY fluctuating) but in a purely practical sense:
If you sleep more, train hard but brief, eat better, have less work & family stress, get more sun, and cut out alcohol, I guarantee you WILL feel better and perform better… regardless of any change to T levels.
I find that many of the people who sign up for coaching with me already get this, and yet I consider one of my jobs when working with clients is getting them to appreciate it over time. Heck, everyone needs a reminder of that kinda thing — including me.
Because the tricky thing about the big stuff staring you in the face is that even if you “know” it’s there, you don’t see it anymore. It’s blended into the background. And frankly it’s hard to focus on stuff you don’t even see.
“I raised my testosterone by 100 points naturally with Maca & Ginseng!”
Really?
“I also cut out alcohol, started sleeping 8hrs a night, ate more protein & fat, weight trained harder but briefer, and walked in the sun for 30 mins a day.”
Wow better stock up before its banned!
— Bryan Krahn (@BryanKrahn) October 8, 2021
In any case, focusing on the big lifestyle stuff and then reaping the rewards is exactly what happened to my friend and programming client, @johnberardi.
A recent check-up revealed his usually lower T levels are now very high, naturally.
And the “thing” he did to achieve this was EVERYTHING: doing everything right on the lifestyle end, and doing it consistently for a long time.
A post by John Berardi this summer
Could he have achieved much higher T levels with just a shot in the glutes? Absolutely.
Would this have been healthier?
NO WAY.
Would he have felt even 10% as good?
Nope.
Now what if he COMBINED an awesome lifestyle with shots of T?
Easy Tiger.
You’ll scare the media.
– Coach Bryan