Has anyone had their testosterone measured?

[Dangerscouse]

Haha, 'chronic cardio'...guilty as charged!! I'm not sure I have noticed any difference but I also don't know what I'm looking for.

[hjs]

Lindsay, do you have a link for that grip strength/longevity study?

not at my fingertips but it is a long term longitudinal study that started with I think 3000 men over 50 in Hawaii about 30 years ago. They chose men of Japanese/Hawaiian background to reduce some variables. I think there is good evidence for using grip strength as a simple proxy measurement of muscle mass and strength (such as the paper that Mike links to above) and that one common link with the "survivors" is grip strength. I understand that a similar measurement is being able to stand on one leg (and for how long) although I don't think that was looked at in this particular study.

Another one is the sitting down/standing up test. Optimal is not using you hands at all without a wobble.
Start is standing, step two is getting down to the floor, step three getting up again.
Max is 10 points for just using your feet, every extra contact you make, hand/knee/2hands/wobble is one point less.

Re T, nope never test anything, never see a doc. Seldom sick, although more or less always injured no joke

[hjs]

Being, ahem, not in the first flush of youth, this is a topic I am interested in. One of things cited as suppressing T levels (and admittedly it's not at the top of the list) is chronic cardio. As such I am currently shying away from lots of longer efforts on the erg...maybe there is some value to splitting up longer sessions? My gut reaction is 30mins or 10K is plenty long enough in one session...just depends what your priorities are.

On top of that, which you now don,t, the older people get, the less strenght/sprint/jump stuff they do. This causes a steady decline in fast muscle fibers. Ofcourse you need to be smart about it, but findings ways to keep using those fibers is very usefull.

[Gammmmo]

Being, ahem, not in the first flush of youth, this is a topic I am interested in. One of things cited as suppressing T levels (and admittedly it's not at the top of the list) is chronic cardio. As such I am currently shying away from lots of longer efforts on the erg...maybe there is some value to splitting up longer sessions? My gut reaction is 30mins or 10K is plenty long enough in one session...just depends what your priorities are.

On top of that, which you now don,t, the older people get, the less strenght/sprint/jump stuff they do. This causes a steady decline in fast muscle fibers. Ofcourse you need to be smart about it, but findings ways to keep using those fibers is very usefull.

Yup.
1. I've noticed better leg drive on my longer, fast rows now I've been alot of work in the 1:30s and even 1:20s.
2. I agree that as we age, not singularly focusing on chronic cardio is important. Old habits die hard though and esp so with endurance sports.

[Wencin]

I'm 35 and have been on HRT for over a year now. My levels were originally tested at 268 (with a reference of 250 - 1200). There are a lot of men who suffer some (or most) of the symptoms of low testosterone but never do anything to make thenselves feel "better". The test is simple ... a blood draw first thing in the morning after a 12 hour fast (you can have water though). In a few days your results can be reviewed by your doctor and you can take steps to feeling better. Most insurance companies will pay for the lab work and the office visit for the blood draw. Some even pay for the therapy. (mine does)
You should know that your GP might not be prepared to adequatly (sp?) help. A urologist specializes in this type of thing and will know how to appropriately administer HRT. My first doc (my GP) had me taking my injections too far apart and I went through Andropause every month. Now, I take weekly injections and I feel great. Better than I have ever felt.
There is help available for those of us that need it .... but be sure to thoroughly research your HRT method and always keep open communication with you doc. There are up sides and down sides and you should know about both.

[ukaserex]

I haven't had it measured. I'd like to, but I am pretty sure my levels are just fine. That said, I am taking a supplement called Boron, as my understanding is it helps free up testosterone already within the system that gets tied up without it. One of those celebrity fitness trainers, Thomas DeLauer has a video about it - and he explains it pretty clearly. A simple Google search should get you there.

I also try to eat garlic with my broccoli. Beyond those two things, I don't worry about it. I have a full head of hair at 51, and increasing my t-levels too high would be a pathway to baldness.

An interesting, fun fact: when the team you root for wins, supposedly it causes a temporary increase in your testosterone levels. Certainly a reason to be an Alabama fan, or a New England Patriots fan - as those two teams seem to win far more consistently than any other. Also, being around men also raises your t-levels. Being around dangerous men will raise them higher, as if sub-consciously, your brain knows you'll need it. I'd read that somewhere, but would be hard-pressed to find the source. Makes sense to me, though.

[clampe1066]

Unless a man has been feeling the symptoms of low T for an extended period of time with a significant negative impact on his quality of life, I don't see a reason to test T levels. Everyone goes thru bad spells but if you are chronically fatigued, suffer from constant brain fog, have no libido, are feeling apathetic about pretty much everything and are unexpectedly losing muscle and gaining fat, getting your T levels checked is probably a good idea.

TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) is often a life-time commitment. Once you start injecting T, your body shuts down it's own production of T and you have to supplement for the rest of your life. And then there is the problem of Estradiol, which gets out of whack for many guys on TRT with the result that they spend more time, effort and money trying to control their Estradiol than they do dialing in their Testosterone. High or low Estradiol causes pretty much the same symptoms as low T.

If something has gone wrong and your body needs supplemental Testosterone to work correctly, it can be a life changing therapy. If you are just curious or looking for a "boost" don't even think about going there.

[Gammmmo]

If something has gone wrong and your body needs supplemental Testosterone to work correctly, it can be a life changing therapy. If you are just curious or looking for a "boost" don't even think about going there.

Yes, I agree, taking exogenous T is not the way to go but I think as we age and any who are inclined to do cardio should take steps to promote their T naturally by doing all the usual things like paying attention to sleep and diet, and doing some form of resistance exercise too. I watch alot of Youtube videos and I've been quite surprised to see how many (often very young) guys are taking supplemental T...the difference it makes appears to be very pronounced. I suppose some are doing it to look a certain way and essentially make a quick buck on social media. For long lasting gains though, I guess the hard way is still the best tho...and I quite like that.

[clampe1066]

If something has gone wrong and your body needs supplemental Testosterone to work correctly, it can be a life changing therapy. If you are just curious or looking for a "boost" don't even think about going there.

Yes, I agree, taking exogenous T is not the way to go but I think as we age and any who are inclined to do cardio should take steps to promote their T naturally by doing all the usual things like paying attention to sleep and diet, and doing some form of resistance exercise too. I watch alot of Youtube videos and I've been quite surprised to see how many (often very young) guys are taking supplemental T...the difference it makes appears to be very pronounced. I suppose some are doing it to look a certain way and essentially make a quick buck on social media. For long lasting gains though, I guess the hard way is still the best tho...and I quite like that.

I will add the caveat that there are physician's out there who specialize in using hormone treatment for enhancement rather than replacement but those guys are few and far between and very expensive. I personally, wouldn't have an issue with using one of those guys but there are only a few I would trust.

[jimmyshand]

Fully understand if people don't want to disclose (personally I have no qualms talking about this stuff but respect others wishes) but at 46 I did wonder whether this would be an interesting test to take. I don't have any obvious issues and am well aware of all the things that influence the number up or down. If you have do have any numbers be interested to hear about any corrective action you took and revised numbers. Reference "free" testosterone and units obviously too as gives a full and accurate picture.

Funny you should ask because the Dr sent me for bloods for this in the past couple of months. Came back very low, so re-tested and although it was low again he said no further action.

The morning of the re-test I did a decent erg session and I'm aware that cardio can increase T for a short time after so maybe I shouldn't have but my fitness is okay and I'm a semi-normal human being so haven't thought much about it since.

[Gammmmo]

Fully understand if people don't want to disclose (personally I have no qualms talking about this stuff but respect others wishes) but at 46 I did wonder whether this would be an interesting test to take. I don't have any obvious issues and am well aware of all the things that influence the number up or down. If you have do have any numbers be interested to hear about any corrective action you took and revised numbers. Reference "free" testosterone and units obviously too as gives a full and accurate picture.

Funny you should ask because the Dr sent me for bloods for this in the past couple of months. Came back very low, so re-tested and although it was low again he said no further action.

The morning of the re-test I did a decent erg session and I'm aware that cardio can increase T for a short time after so maybe I shouldn't have but my fitness is okay and I'm a semi-normal human being so haven't thought much about it since.

Hi. Well cardio increasing T is a new one on me. Generally any kind of cardio and particularly long and chronic is bad for T. Also, do bear in mind the "normal" range for T is very wide and as such what is optimal will be somewhat different in the eyes of many competitive people.

[jimmyshand]

When I say increase I mean the temporary elevation of T immediately afterwards (up to an hour). As for my actual levels, I wasn't bothered at all until the Dr said it was very low based on the reference range used, which as you know is very wide.

I'm not the Incredible Hulk but I'm definitely male so I can live with it!

[Gammmmo]

When I say increase I mean the temporary elevation of T immediately afterwards (up to an hour).

Didn't know that. Cheers.