The Lionel thread is turning into a Testosterone thread so figured I’d start a dedicated thread.
I turned 50 this year and wanted to get all my blood stuff checked including T levels. My Dr is new to our practice and very young. When i asked her questions, she would type on her computer and read it to me. She told me DHEA could help which is a big NO. She mentioned T therapy wouldn’t be helpful which i was happy to hear since that’s not an option with Triathlon. Then she recommended a Sleep Apnea test since my Sex Hormone Binding was high. She said that’s a telltale sign so we did that and i have it. She said lack of sleep well cause low T. I then asked her if my levels would cause poor performance in a Triathlon or any type of physical activity and she said No that my Total T was fine. But seeing her google my questions gave me little faith in her answers. So i figured I’d ask athletes that have been down this road and maybe others can learn a well. Here are my results. I’d like to know what others have noticed, performance wise. This is the only time I’ve ever had T checked so i have zero historical data.
I had mine checked last year. Free testosterone was close to the bottom 10% of the distribution. Started taking Clomid which increases natural production and took it up to close to the 90th percentile.
I don’t do endurance much any more so can’t say if it helped with that, but seems to have helped with getting stronger and adding muscle in the gym. Increased libido and such. Nothing major, but I would say noticeable benefits, haven’t experienced any drawbacks.
I’m really interested in how people’s performances are based off their testosterone levels. Two weeks ago i won a local race beating much younger participants so how much does testosterone really play a roll? I’ll know more about me when i finish my 70.3 in September and fill ironman in November.
the reference range on these test are deceptive its for 18-69 year olds normally so its expected that at 50 you would not have the T levels of a 18-30 year old. Honestly by all studies done by NIH and universities the average for Males 35-50 is in the 400-500 range.
As for free testosterone these test dont actually messure it they use a calculation based on total and other proteins. This calculation is highly sensative to daily changes and has been found to be grossly in accurate in many cases.
So I would say you are above average especially considering your age… Just a not clomid, TRT, DHEA are all banned under WADA
I am. I have the machine now but i can’t sleep with that face mask and hose. I try to use it for 30 to 60 minutes before falling asleep and it seems to really make it easier to breath, which strangely is already easy and feels natural… until i take off the face mask and then i realize a very large difference. It’s simply air, not oxygen.
I’m almost 70 now and for the first time in my life I have just dipped under 600. I figure in my youth I was in the high range for sure, just dont know or recall ever getting it tested. But I was super stoked in a test I just got back yesterday that my HCT was 49.1%. Over 10 years ago I remember a 49.6 reading, but since that time and 10 tests later, they have always been between 45.5 and 48.6. I do live and train at altitude, and likely I was one of the outliers in my youth that was 51/52% naturally…
Of course neither is the be all to end all, but I was a pro for over 15 years, and 3 of the big 4 used to marvel at how much I could suffer in a workout… (-;
Damn, I just had my tested and my HCT is 38.3 living near sea-level. Hemogloblin is 12.2 and RBC is 4.04. Iron levels are fine. Asked doctor what I could do and she suggested testing Testosterone to see if it was low but I declined because I’m still competing. I do suffer during my workouts
I don’t know your age but if you get tested at least you have a data if you decide to retest again in 5 or 10 years. That’s my plan. I also want to see how my performance compares to my levels. For me, i don’t feel like testosterone has anything to do with race day performance or fitness. I feel it has more to do with recover as my recover is poop these days. I feel like you can still get to your max performance level with lower Testosterone but it will take longer than somebody with normal or high levels.
Lance Armstrong would want that hct up at 49.8 to avoid the uci 50 rule but the red bloods you have are v good.
I make sure I eat my biggest meal and drink a glass of soy milk before bed with sugar, so I can sleep better.
Yeah, since I was a teen, every time I get bloodwork done my red blood cells are in that range.
I’ve been taking magnesium, and now that I take flomax, I only wakeup one time to per during the night, which is a big improvement from the 3-4 times I use to pee.
