Hey, any of you cats ever had your testosterone levels checked? (yes...my parents were hippies back in the 60s. Lol). Had mine checked last week along with a PSA for the first time ever. I'm 60 and was astonished by the result: 564 ng/dl (my healthcare provider uses a reference range of 241 - 827 ng/dl). This number is more of an average of a 40 yr old (my age demographics is usually around 300).
I'm not on TRT or anything like that and I've posted my history here before. Basically, after playing a little college football, I did natural competitive bodybuilding & powerlifting (won a regional BB title) throughout most of the 1980s before transitioning to running & triathlon starting in my 30s. After about 25 yrs of competitive running, I had to dramatically scale back due to chronic injuries including some serious tendon ruptures. Now with post-traumatic osteoarthritis, running has been curtailed to about 1 day a week. After the gyms reopened last year, I started non-competitive bodybuilding & get my cardio fix with mainly HIIT on the spin bike.
What I've researched is that lifting heavy with lower reps (8-10) increases T levels with older men. Also, HIIT has been shown to increase T levels. After my easy 1 day a week run/jog (4 miles), I do several 200 meter sprints (well...actually just trying to run a little faster than my jogging pace. Lol). I also do some 30 second full intensity bursts at the end of all my spin sessions.
I also eat an organic whole food diet and absolutely no junk or processed food. Organic free range eggs, almonds & grass fed dairy are great foods for good cholesterol which is a catalyst for testosterone production. As a widower, I prepare the same meals daily and maybe having a cheat day once every other week or so.. I feel great and train 7 days a week (about 2 hrs) with excellent recovery (I wish I could run more but an arthritic ankle that eventually needs fusion surgery isn't allowing it).
Interestingly, I know several guys at the gym on TRT who's baseline T was low (below 300) and they boosted up to where I'm at. Of course, there are some out there who are boosted up to peak male levels (18-25 yrs) with some numbers geting into the 1000's.
And speaking of TRT, I never seen so many guys at the gym on it these days. I work out at a very large & popular gym - so I've met a lot of fellows over the last year or so. In fact, a couple of guys are only in their mid-30s and are already on TRT...crazy! But I guess if your T is legitimately low for your age and you're symptomatic, then probably speaking with their doctor about TRT is the smart thing to do.
So, anyone here have their T levels checked? (and female posters if you're married maybe your spouses have had theirs checked?).