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Off-Topic T levels

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Just got my results today. 16.9. The doctor says it is well within the normal range for guys my age (41). But who wants to be normal? On the quest to bump it up a bit.
 
What testosterone number? Measured in what units? Please cite a chart that shows what you mean - everything I looked up showed 16.9 to be higher than normal for any age.

-S-
 
I don't know. She just said it was sixteen point nine and that was normal.
 
Sleep well, eat well, live well, don't stress. That's about what you can do naturally.

Then there is testosterone replacement therapy, but consider that a permanent solution.

I wouldn't read too much into the numbers.
 
I’ve had some success with some herbal remedies.
Edit: I’m not a herbalist, I just went to one.
 
The sleep part is the tough one. At best I'm getting six and a half hours. I try for a noon nap for twenty minutes
 
Yep sleep is my problem to. I was actually worried about it’s affect on my T levels (im45) that’s why I went & seen a herbalist.
 
There is a concert of hormones that are interconnected, and really balance between them all seems the most important to me. There is a group called Anabolic Men that I've followed for some time. They have a lot of free resouces, and the talk a lot about optimizing men's health.

Home

Boiling down their recommendations looks like this:
  • Exercise
  • Drop body fat
  • Get your foods from whole foods sources that are organic, pasture raised (for meat). Eat a diet that is 40-50% carbs, with good sources of saturated and monounsaturated fats, limit polyunsaturated fats. Don't get too much protein (20-25%). (seems to fly in the face of current nutrition trends)
  • Intermittent fasting and fasted training is good but you don't want to chronically restrict your caloric intake.
  • Get 8+ hours of sleep a night.
  • Reduce chronic stress.
  • Avoid sources of exogenous estrogen (sales receipts, certain plastics etc...)
I think in general this seems like a way to live a healthly life in general.
 
@HUNTER1313, if you'll forgive a dissenting voice here, I have no idea what my testosterone level is, nor do I care. I train for strength and a little for endurance. My body composition is good, all my body parts and systems work just fine - aren't those the things that matter? If I had a problem, and my doctor said this was something I needed to address, that would be one thing, but without specific reason, why care about this?

I will also note, although I don't think it applies to testosterone levels, that being at the high end of a normal range isn't necessarily better. I have been told, e.g., that when considering iron levels in the blood, below normal isn't good, but within the normal range, it's better to be at the low end and not the high end.

-S-
 
I have no idea what my testosterone level is, nor do I care. I train for strength and a little for endurance. My body composition is good, all my body parts and systems work just fine - aren't those the things that matter?

I'll join Steve confounding things a bit. Not too long ago, Robb Wolf had a fairly well known "carnivore," Dr. Shawn Baker, on his podcast to discuss his recent bloodwork. One of the interesting parts of Baker's bloodwork was that he had borderline low T, despite being 6'4", 250 pounds, and holding a couple world records in indoor rowing. You take one look at the guy, and his training program, and a diagnosis of low testosterone seems pretty absurd. Since all hormones rely on hormone receptors to function, the explanation presented was the he had high testosterone receptor sensitivity to the point where he was getting ample effect with a low level of testosterone. We see this happen with a variety of other hormones, so this seems plausible.

Granted, if he was used PEDs, that could drop his testosterone levels while still giving good performance. Seeing as he is an actual medical doctor, I would think he would be able to at least get his T levels into normal range for testing, if he was manipulating them. He claims to be lifelong drug-free, for whatever that's worth.

The point he made was that, while aiming for certain lab values is useful, we are limited by our understanding of what those lab values actually mean. Ultimately, real life observation is what needs to be the primary guide for our interventions. In other words, don't put an obviously healthy person on drugs, and don't pass off an obviously sickly person as healthy because their preliminary labs look good.

All that being said...
At best I'm getting six and a half hours.
You would probably see if pretty significant improvement in mental and physical function (and even testosterone levels) if you could do something about this. Common things being common, inadequate sleep drives T levels way down. @Ryan T has some good suggestions as well.
 
The point he made was that, while aiming for certain lab values is useful, we are limited by our understanding of what those lab values actually mean. Ultimately, real life observation is what needs to be the primary guide for our interventions. In other words, don't put an obviously healthy person on drugs, and don't pass off an obviously sickly person as healthy because their preliminary labs look good.
+1

The idea of having blood work done at the doctor's is, for me, to hopefully spot the beginning of something bad so that we could take steps to prevent it from getting worse.

-S-
 
The study relied upon by the IAAF to support the new testosterone rules for female track and field athletes was very interesting. The study did not conclude that higher testosterone was advantageous for female athletes across the board. Lower testosterone appeared advantageous for 100m and 200m and higher testosterone for 400m and 800m.

Table 3 from Serum androgen levels and their relation to performance in track and field: mass spectrometry results from 2127 observations in male and female elite athletes. - Semantic Scholar
 
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I have had low T-levels for years. I guess bad diet, stress, shiftwork and heavy lifting caused it. I did Starting Strength and Golden Six type of training back then and didn't back off. Just tried to push forward. Then my father died and that was the last straw. I collapsed. My levels has not recovered yet. IF has helped a bit and if I eat breakfast, I eat omelette. ZMA in the evening has boosted a bit. Noticed it with better morning wood. All I can say eat healthy stuff, sleep more and degrease alcohol intake (if there's any). And train in moderation if one is not a competitive athlete.
 
T levels can fluctuate throughout the day. The Dutch test can give you a better reading as opposed to a blood test that was drawn once a day.

And if you are unwilling to sleep 7+, then you can forgot about trying to raise your levels.
 
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