Verum Masculinity Part 1

6 Stages A Man Goes Through When His Testosterone Level Declines

It’s becoming a common occurrence for men to drastically lose testosterone as they age. The below stages show how that transition looks like.

Life slows down

“I used to chase girls, but I guess I’m getting more mature.”

“I have a decent routine at the gym, I just haven’t been going lately.”

“I definitely have a ton of hobbies, but lately I get off work and just take it easy.”

That’s how it begins. Normally you wouldn’t think twice about a few weeks of low energy. It’s not like you’re spiraling into depression or you’ll have to move into your parent’s basement. But low testosterone creates a terrible feedback loop.

Dry spells creep up on you, gains fade, you spend more and more free time at home on the internet. As your lifestyle gets worse, your testosterone drops, which makes your lifestyle even worse, which means even less T, and so on until you’re a puddle of soy.

Meanwhile, testosterone levels have been falling since scientists began to measure them. When your father and grandfather were your age they had more T than you do today.

The funny thing is, not one really knows why it’s happening. Is it the modern lifestyle? Something in the water? Whatever the cause, it gets especially serious past age 30.

You look for answers

“I’ll spend more time outside and take Vitamin D pills.”

“I’ll read more masculine blogs or buy an ebook.“

You can waste a lot of time and money in this stage. If you’re lucky you might see results. You might have a vitamin deficiency that’s easy to fix, and you might get smarter about caffeine, but in general, all you’ll see are short placebo boosts.

Not all red pills are equal

“I just found great testosterone booster made from crushed mushrooms and oyster shells. Game changer, bro.”

Testosterone boosters sound like a solution, but they’re the worst of all. They watered them down so that teenagers desperate to make the football team can take 20 doses a day with no side effects. You’re better off with a cheap multivitamin.

You look for a shot in the arm

“They’re all taking something: every pro athlete, every movie star over 40. Most of the young ones too.”

“Go hard or go home!”

Steroids are seductive. A modest dose of testosterone means adding muscle even if you sit around doing nothing. Hard to believe, but you can avoid exercise for ten weeks and still gain more muscle than normal guys following a solid workout plan. If you combine testosterone with training, you can expect to gain a pound of muscle a week.

And it’s not just muscle, you also gain focus, energy, libido, motivation, mood, bone health, and better sleep.

In certain crowds, you almost feel Amish if you’re not cycling. Guys seem to be having a great time doing it…

But it’s not always simple. Millionaires can afford specialized medical care and world class sources of whatever they take. As regular guy, you have to cross your fingers ordering from the internet, and trust yourself to research different esters, how to recognize gynecomastia, the differences between clen, tren, sust and anavol, how long you should cycle everything, how to inject, how to brew at home, how to send secure payments, how to interpret bloodwork, and so on. Basically you’ll need a PhD in bro science.

That’s bound to be intimidating. At this stage you’ll probably look for testosterone gels online. No prescription, no needles, no hassle. Less powerful too. NKNW and Andro-forte encourage you to order a month’s supply so that you can experience “just a taste” of high testosterone without committing yourself to weekly injections:

Haters do hate, especially testosterone gels

Because that’s the thing about a shot in the arm. It’s never just one shot (and it’s in your ass, not your arm). If you’re injecting testosterone, your body quickly shuts down its natural production and you’ll be dependent on injections for life. Gels and creams are less intense, but still.

You can win glory at this stage, or mess up and grow man boobs. High risk/reward.

You go hard-core warrior monk

“The road to high testosterone is paved with cold showers, dead-lifts, steak and broccoli.”

“I used to drink beer, watch porn, and procrastinate. Now I kick ass, take names, and meditate.”

At this stage you’re listening to classic advice. No more “get testosterone quick” schemes. You work hard, and hopefully your Spartan/Gorilla/Viking mindset takes you to the high testosterone promised land.

We had to choose between this photo and one with Steven Seagal

If you’re reading RoK, none of this advice is new. You’ve already tried most of it. We’ve all done cold showers, right?

The question is, how many of us are still doing cold showers? How many of us are going strong with no-fap? A lot of us, sure. But if your testosterone is low, you probably never built enough momentum. You stopped before you saw results, and it’s hard to blame you. With low T it’s a struggle just to get out of bed.

It’s a Catch-22. Better habits and lifestyle would raise your testosterone, and higher testosterone would improve your lifestyle and make the habits easier. But you can’t even get started.

Meanwhile, your grandfather didn’t have to design his entire life around maintaining high testosterone. He could enjoy a few beers. Chances are he wasn’t a gym rat and his diet was nothing special.

Modern men are facing new challenges, and sometimes even the best advice isn’t enough, even when it’s low risk and the reward should be high.

You go mainstream

“I finally talked to my doctor about low testosterone. . . “

Here’s where everyone should start: blood work.

If you’re feeling great, do blood work now to set a baseline. Your testosterone might be 1,000ng/dL, which is high but normal. If it drops to 500 in a few years, you’ll be *far* below your ideal level. Not good. But according to your doctor’s chart, 500 is well within the normal range. He’ll tell you not to worry, because his chart compares you with the rest of the modern population, not with your normal range.

Blood work is the first step to take when you get serious

If you’re not feeling great, a blood test can tell you why. Not every problem is testosterone related. And when it comes to taking action, before and after tests are the best way to measure progress. That’s especially true if you want to run short cycles, jumping on and off gels or injections for a month.

You’ll want a doctor to review your blood work. Doctors can be daft, and blood panels aren’t rocket science, but you don’t have time to research every little thing that might turn up.

If prescription testosterone is the best plan, hopefully your insurance is decent, because it can cost a fortune. Testosterone is a simple molecule, generally synthesized from Chinese beets, hardly a precious resource. But pharmaceutical companies get away with murder, and doctors offices charge a healthy fee for weekly injections.

Without insurance, you either pay hundreds a month or you hit the grey/black markets. They’re thriving, and prices are often five times cheaper. But still, insurance is comforting.

Acceptance

Nobody wants hormone replacement therapy. In a perfect world, you would eat/sleep/train and feel like a million bucks. That’s where you should start. But gels and injections save lives, and there shouldn’t be any stigma.

Slim pickings when it comes to manly self-acceptance memes

Imagine a world where everyone started producing less dopamine receptors, generation after generation and as they got older. Before long people would experience the world as a dark, joyless place. It would be a crisis, and the second they created “dopamine replacement therapy” no one would hesitate to jump on.

ROK readers understand that a world without testosterone would be just as dark. Low T is a crisis. There are no easy answers, so get to work.

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