Doesn’t really get into specific protocols for optimizing them, but offers a good high-level look at many topics regarding hormone optimization. And we can turn this into a general hormone thread if you’d like because there are tons of resources and information out there about the importance of them.





Cliffs:

- our approach is wrong from the perspective of people saying “well I’m not really sick so I probably shouldn’t change anything”. Not being sick should be the bare minimum goal, but a better goal is to get the best quality of life ever


- people are skeptical of hormones, yet when done correctly not only are they better at treating many problems, they are also great at preventing problems


- lots of studies have been done


- talks about all of the chemicals around us that are endocrine disrupters which an impact on hormones


- talks about approaches to diet


- talks about the emerging trend of peptide therapies and how promising they seem


- lots of other stuff





One thing I wish he had talked about more is DHEA, but he does mention that it sees the sharpest decline, and there are lots of other videos that cover that hormone anyway

Another thing he said that makes great sense, is that if you don’t have a drive to be active it’s almost always a sign of hormone deficiency/imbalance. Optimized hormones make you feel like you need to conquer the world(or at least your body) and strengthen relationships with others. If you’re in LDAR mode your hormones are messed up. Makes sense why it’s a cycle.... as drinking, not exercising, not leaving the house, and not eating good all make you want to stay in that cycle and they are all horrible for your hormone levels.

I have no drive to do anything. I also of a whole bunch of other symptoms that indicate low t but it makes no sense.

My free T is 29ish,
Total t is 460

1.) everyone is different, so a t level that makes one person feel good might leave another person feeling bad

2.) there are lots of hormones at play beyond just testosterone, and they all work synergistically. Having them balanced for your specific goals is very important.

3.) in addition to them working together, there are also other factors like vitamins and minerals that optimize your body’s ability to fully utilize the hormones it has. For example zinc and magnesium are both very important for hormone health.

Thanks for this man, i have been reading lately that hormone manipulation could be why many folks are having issues.
Nice to have new current information

Interested, will watch. People severely underestimate the importance and power of hormones.

It should be obvious to lifters but nattys rarely actually eat to optimise hormones, instead just doing calorie counting or iifym.

I think we don’t give nearly enough credit to hormones in terms of quality of life.

But there are a lot of factors that play into your well being. Social life, friendships, family, relationships, etc being one. There’s also sleep apnea, quality of sleep, etc

I think sleep is another largely overlooked thing and can be the perfect example of where treating you with hormones is addressing the symptom not the cause.

Example - A few years back I had a period where I was only getting 4-5 hrs due to work load, financials, etc. Felt like a zombie every day and as time went on I started to think maybe something was wrong. Got checked and was in the high 300s.

I was shocked and thought well **** I have low T that explains everything, but it was really just life stress weighing on me. Once I got back to normal, stopped trading work for sleep I felt good again (shocker) and was back in the mid 600s

That all being said sometimes it is THE issue. 460 at 29 is a little low imo. Especially if you were use to the high T experience in the teenage years. The contrast is more grinding then someone that’s always been lower I think

In any case - good thread opie

Yeah, as I’m approaching 40 I’ve started looking into it more. We really do live in an incredible age where we have so much information and options available to greatly increase our quality of life and longevity...which makes it all the more tragic that so many people are in such poor health.

A big reason why I started getting serious about leg workouts was because I heard it affects hormone levels. Think that info is still true to this day? Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Look up Dr Ray Peat he is also into this stuff

Good points, except that I would point out that your lifestyle was probably wrecking your hormones. So the hormone issue was still the cause and not just a symptom, it’s just that you were able to correct it with lifestyle choices which is the ideal approach. I do think that everyone will benefit by supplementing at some point because there’s only so much we can do to battle Father Time, but it’s optimal to hold off as long as possible by making healthy decisions and staying informed. I will say though that I’ve recently started supplementing with DHEA and can tell a pretty significant difference even with just 25 mg/day.

Hertoghe is a great endo.

Good video

Thanks for the recommendation. Repped, and will check him out.




All lifting can help, especially if diet and sleep are dialed in as well. I think leg day just seems to help a little more because we’re generally moving more weight and working so much muscle mass.