LittleBigHorn
New Member
Ok, a couple weeks ago I had a comprehensive blood test done to determine my testosterone levels and other stuff (such as thyroid function etc). They forgot to measure my free testosterone, so I'm going to have to go back and get that done again. Oh yeah, and I'm a 22 year old man who is at least superficially healthy.
I have for a long time now noticed that I seem to have hit some sort of plateu, or peak, in my muscular development. I'm still making some strength gains in a few of my lifts (though several have completely plateaued, or worse, started to go down), but as I looked at a couple of pics taken about 2 years ago and compared how I looked in them versus how I look today, I came to notice that my body composition/physique has changed very little, if at all.
I've tried both cutting/bulking phases, and controlled slow bulking over a longer period of time, and I've always aspired to stay on the cutting edge of the newest advances in bodybuilding science (so I can't really be accused of sticking with a bad workout plan or diet that doesn't work). One of the recent changes I incorporated into my HST regimen was the replacement of the SD with a deloading period, inspired by Lyle MacDonald's advice, and so far it seems to be working. Since I can't seem to make any more muscle gains (if I up the calories, I end up gaining mass that is 100% pure fat), the deload serves to better preserve what strength gains I may have made during the HST cycle.
So anyway, the tests came back, and apparently my thyroid function is A-OK, pretty much smack in the middle of the normal range. However, my total testosterone was definitely on the low side (at least in my opinion), only clocking in at 17.95 nmol/L, or 517 ng/dl. That's below average, if the internet can be trusted when it states that the median average for young, healthy men is around 600. And when you consider the fact that average young men consume excessive amounts of alcohol, don't exercise enough, and eat an unhealthy diet (all of which contribute to diminished T levels), it's like a slap in the face for a health conscious individual like myself to find out he falls in the lower average bracket. If Joe Sixpack with an unhealthy lifestyle started to eat and work out like I do, his test levels would probably improve significantly over mine.
I've heard from several sources that for a strength athlete or bodybuilder, testosterone levels of 600 and up would be necessary for optimal progress and development. How am I supposed to make decent progress when my nuts are dead set on keeping me an average joe?
In fact, I actually would have preferred that my T-levels would have been even lower, so I could get a prescription for Androgel or T-injections, and say '**** you' to my lousy genetics.
... just blowing off a little steam there.
Not the kind of macho steam a high testosterone man blows off by speeding with his sports car and yelling obscene things to every woman he passes, but rather the kind of steam a low average testosterone man blows off in his fit of cortisol induced stress.
Ok, granted, I went to the blood test on an empty stomach (12 hours of fasting, required because of certain other factors that I needed to get tested), and it was the darkest time of year (during which a man's testosterone levels may be less than optimal), but still.. insufficient T is insufficient T.
I'd have no complaints if I was, say, 50 years old and got a result like this, or if I was willing to pidgeonhole myself into a social role such as a 'sensitive girly man who is good with kids and likes to hold hands', but that would create a huge conflict with my inner macho man who insists that I become an intimidating mound of muscle, one way or another.
For years I've been trying to figure out why I've made such slow progress in spite of doing everything right, and now I have the answer. It's easy for men who have either naturally or artificially high levels of testosterone to say that "you just gotta lift big and eat big", because their bodies will reward them for any king of workout/ diet that even comes close to creating some sort of anabolic environment for them.
Anyone else struggling with less than optimal T levels, and what kind of progress have you managed to make over the years?
I have for a long time now noticed that I seem to have hit some sort of plateu, or peak, in my muscular development. I'm still making some strength gains in a few of my lifts (though several have completely plateaued, or worse, started to go down), but as I looked at a couple of pics taken about 2 years ago and compared how I looked in them versus how I look today, I came to notice that my body composition/physique has changed very little, if at all.
I've tried both cutting/bulking phases, and controlled slow bulking over a longer period of time, and I've always aspired to stay on the cutting edge of the newest advances in bodybuilding science (so I can't really be accused of sticking with a bad workout plan or diet that doesn't work). One of the recent changes I incorporated into my HST regimen was the replacement of the SD with a deloading period, inspired by Lyle MacDonald's advice, and so far it seems to be working. Since I can't seem to make any more muscle gains (if I up the calories, I end up gaining mass that is 100% pure fat), the deload serves to better preserve what strength gains I may have made during the HST cycle.
So anyway, the tests came back, and apparently my thyroid function is A-OK, pretty much smack in the middle of the normal range. However, my total testosterone was definitely on the low side (at least in my opinion), only clocking in at 17.95 nmol/L, or 517 ng/dl. That's below average, if the internet can be trusted when it states that the median average for young, healthy men is around 600. And when you consider the fact that average young men consume excessive amounts of alcohol, don't exercise enough, and eat an unhealthy diet (all of which contribute to diminished T levels), it's like a slap in the face for a health conscious individual like myself to find out he falls in the lower average bracket. If Joe Sixpack with an unhealthy lifestyle started to eat and work out like I do, his test levels would probably improve significantly over mine.
I've heard from several sources that for a strength athlete or bodybuilder, testosterone levels of 600 and up would be necessary for optimal progress and development. How am I supposed to make decent progress when my nuts are dead set on keeping me an average joe?
In fact, I actually would have preferred that my T-levels would have been even lower, so I could get a prescription for Androgel or T-injections, and say '**** you' to my lousy genetics.
... just blowing off a little steam there.
Ok, granted, I went to the blood test on an empty stomach (12 hours of fasting, required because of certain other factors that I needed to get tested), and it was the darkest time of year (during which a man's testosterone levels may be less than optimal), but still.. insufficient T is insufficient T.
I'd have no complaints if I was, say, 50 years old and got a result like this, or if I was willing to pidgeonhole myself into a social role such as a 'sensitive girly man who is good with kids and likes to hold hands', but that would create a huge conflict with my inner macho man who insists that I become an intimidating mound of muscle, one way or another.
For years I've been trying to figure out why I've made such slow progress in spite of doing everything right, and now I have the answer. It's easy for men who have either naturally or artificially high levels of testosterone to say that "you just gotta lift big and eat big", because their bodies will reward them for any king of workout/ diet that even comes close to creating some sort of anabolic environment for them.
Anyone else struggling with less than optimal T levels, and what kind of progress have you managed to make over the years?
