Everyone wants to sell you Testosterone, but do you need it?

By Ryan Humphries
Founder/Head Coach: Axistence Athletics

*Disclaimer #1.
I am NOT a doctor (yet). My experience with this topic comes from spending the last 25+ years in gyms, and training real humans in those gyms for the last 17 years. Before we go down the rabbit hole, I’d like to state that: If you need it, I believe TRT can be absolutely life-changing. The inverse could also be said (If you DON’T need it, I believe TRT can be absolutely life-changing….just maybe not in the way you want).

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If your social media algorithm is anything like mine, you’re seeing ads pushing blood panels and injectable cure-alls. For decades, gym-goers have been building muscle and losing fat by changing their lifestyles. They added exercise, improved their sleep, and payed attention to their diets. These changes produced some of the most incredible before and after pictures that any of us have ever seen. You likely know at least one person who looks completely different after making some of these changes.

Apparently this just isn’t enough in 2026. Gyms and coaches are pushing their clients to analyze their testosterone before even seeing if they can touch their toes.

*Disclaimer #2
If you have the money, there’s nothing wrong with getting your hormones tested.
My question is, "What are you going to do with that information?"

To reiterate my Disclaimer #1, I’ve worked with plenty of clients who at some point in their life absolutely NEEDED hormone replacement therapy. I’ve also worked with plenty of folks who wanted a quick fix and would do ANYTHING to make excuses. The companies pushing these injectable solutions LOOOOOVE this second group.

The advertisements sound like this:

- Do you have low energy?
- Are you not recovering like you used to?
- Do you lack motivation?
- Are you not seeing the results that you want?

Realistically, if you’re between the ages of 35-55, sedentary, and out of shape, the answers to ALL of those questions are probably HELL YEAH!

But does that mean that the answer is in a needle? Not necessarily. While all of those things COULD be caused by low testosterone, perhaps we should look at what CAUSES low testosterone. 

The top 5 things lowering testosterone:

1. Poor sleep 
How much can it decrease testosterone? 
10-15% decrease 
​[Leproult & Van Cauter, JAMA 2011] 

2. Excess body fat 
How much can it decrease testosterone?
20-40% decrease
[Dhindsa et al., Diabetes Care 2011] 

3. Alcohol use
How much can it decrease testosterone?
10-30% decrease
[Rachdaoui & Sarkar, Endocrine Reviews 2017]

4. Psychological Stress/Elevated Cortisol
How much can it decrease testosterone?
5-15%
[Whitaker et al., Frontiers in Endocrinology 2020]

5. Poor diet/micronutrient deficiency 
How much can it decrease testosterone?
5-10%
[Pilz et al. Hormone and Metabolic Research 2011]

Theoretically, a human could boost their testosterone up to 60% naturally by improving sleep, eating better, mitigating their stress, reducing alcohol, and losing weight. Throw in strength training, and that number could be even higher.

An argument could be made that increasing testosterone in the short term could provide the motivation to initiate many of these other changes. Sure, and as a coach I feel it's my responsibility to talk about what can ALSO increase testosterone in the short term: Strength Training :) 

If you want to get your levels tested, I say go for it. And if you’re already making improvements in all of the areas above and your hormones are not where they should be, you may discover that you’re someone whose life could be changed by supplementation. However, if you haven’t tried changing any of the above areas, I would HIGHLY encourage you to start there.

If you know you need to make some changes, but you're not sure where to start, let's schedule a time to meet. You know where to find us :)