Today, low testosterone levels are an epidemic.
When you walk around on the street, you see men with feminine fat distribution and under muscled physiques everywhere.
And when I say men, I don’t just mean older men. You see low testosterone levels in young guys too.
Testosterone is crucial for any fitness enthusiast, since it is responsible for muscle mass, strength and bone density.
With low testosterone levels, you just aren’t going to build that much muscle in the gym.
However, they are not only crucial for fitness enthusiasts.
They are crucial for any man who wants optimal life quality!
Testosterone is the male hormone of vitality: it makes you strong, active, energetic and motivated.
Those traits are needed to succeed at anything in life. (Including fitness).
Unfortunately, I suspect that a large amount of skinny-fat guys have low testosterone levels.
Low testosterone symptoms
- Lack of muscle mass and difficulty to gain muscle.
- Feminine fat distribution (hips and love handles).
- Low libido.
- Low energy levels.
- Low stamina.
- Depression.
- Weak joints.
The symptoms above are the most common low testosterone symptoms seen in men.
However, reading about symptoms can be confusing.
Let’s assume that you have weak joints, depression and low energy levels. Does that mean you have low testosterone levels? No.
The symptoms above are associated with hundreds of medical conditions.
Fortunately, there’s one extremely good indicator of low testosterone levels: the lack of morning wood.
Men with good testosterone levels wake up and think of sex as the first thing in the morning.
If you wake up most days of the week without morning wood, there’s a good chance you’re lacking testosterone.
Skinny-fat men and low testosterone symptoms
The figure above shows a typical skinny-fat guy’s body. +90% of skinny-fat guys look like that figure.
Now, compare that figure with the symptoms of low testosterone:
- Lack of muscle mass and difficulty to gain muscle: CHECK.
- Feminine fat distribution (hips and love handles): CHECK.
- Low libido: POSSIBLY.
- Low energy levels: CHECK.
- Low stamina: CHECK.
- Depression: POSSIBLY.
- Weak joints: CHECK.
In other words, a skinny-fat body is an indicator of low testosterone levels.
Therefore, if you’re skinny-fat, I suggest that you get your testosterone levels measured.
How to get your testosterone levels measured
Getting your testosterone levels measured is simple:
A nurse swipes some blood from you, and sends it in for testing.
After a week or so, you get your result through your doctor or sent by email.
Each country has their own specific procedures which I’m sure you can look up online.
In case you can’t find your answer online, I suggest you make an appointment with your doctor so you can explain your problems.
I know that for US citizens, you can get a female hormonal panel done privately for around $60 at PrivateMD labs. (A female hormonal panel is cheaper than male, and is sufficient for most of you).
Thing to watch out for when testing testosterone levels
There are a few things you have to watch out for when getting your testosterone measured.
First, you want to make sure that you sleep well, eat well and avoid alcohol prior to the test.
Those things can skew the results a lot. There are bodybuilders out there who deprive themselves of sleep, food and get wasted prior to a test so they can get a low testosterone level result, and thereby get testosterone injections prescribed.
Second, you want to take the test in the morning where your testosterone levels are the highest.
Finally, you always want to get your results printed out. Don’t just rely on the doctors statement that you’re good. (More on this in the next sections).
Being “in-range” is not good
Prior to receiving your testosterone results, you want to do your own research first, because nobody else is going to do it for you.
The first time I got my results, my doctor told me that I’m “healthy and in-range” despite having a level of 297 ng/dl which corresponds to the average of an 80 year old man’s!
Yes, I was “in-range”, however, being in range is not good, since the range shows average testosterone levels for young men, middle aged men and old men.
Often, the range goes from something like 300 ng/dl to 1200 ng/dl, where the upper end of the range mainly consists of the samples of young men, while the lower end consists of samples of older men.
If you’re a young man with a level of 300 ng/dl, the doctor will tell you that you’re in range, despite having the levels of an old man.
You don’t want to aim for “being in-range.” You want to aim for optimal levels so you can improve your life quality.
Optimal testosterone levels
Source: Men’s Hormonal Health
Older men above the age of 59, typically have levels of 300-500 ng/dl. (This chart doesn’t show that, but this is what I’ve seen on most charts). The chart above shows average testosterone levels, organised by age group.
A male who is below the age of 25, has an average testosterone level of 692, while a male who is 55-59 has an average level of 552.
If you’re a guy who is serious about his fitness, you want to aim for around 600-700 ng/dl, which is seen in average men up to the age of 44.
600-700 ng/dl is the minimum acceptable testosterone level for a healthy man.
However, the more, the better.
As a skinny-fat guy it’s impossible to get too high levels of testosterone through natural methods.
Your best efforts will most likely get you to around 600-700 ng/dl, so there’s no reason to worry about getting “too high levels”. It’s just not going to happen.
Treat low testosterone symptoms, not numbers
Let’s assume that you’ve gotten your testosterone results in and got a score of 550 ng/dl.
This is slightly lower than what I recommended in the section above, but it doesn’t matter if YOU feel great.
Numbers can be a good starting point, but in the end it’s all about treating low testosterone SYMPTOMS.
When the symptoms are gone, the number doesn’t matter. Who cares if the number is 550 ng/dl or 800 ng/dl if you’re feeling energetic, motivated, have good libido and make progress in your training?
Each person’s body functions differently, so a guy who has a level of 550 ng/dl can feel better than a guy with over 800 ng/dl.
Be proud but stay hungry!
Oskar Faarkrog
The 5 Most Important Weight Loss Lessons to Get Lean and STAY Lean
I’m 44 years old male and I’ve always had low testosterone throughout my life. My levels are the same as when I was 20 – 230ng/dl.
I was anorexic during puberty and that ruined my growth and development. I have small hands, extra small wrists (5 inches), narrow shoulders, no muscle mass, fatty arms like women and small genitals.
People see me as a joke because I’m skinny fat and short (167cm). Always struggled to get a gf and have no friends.
I used the pod-bod testing yesterday and my fat percentage was 32%. I weigh 77kgs. Should I be losing weight or try to add size? Whenever I’ve lost weight (coming in below 20%) people think I’m ill or becoming anorexic.
I’ve always had problems adding strength. I can do 10 press ups but can’t do a single chin up. Bench press is only 5 kgs each side with bar and shoulders press is just the bar.
I’m ashamed of myself because I’ve seen women stronger and have better physiques than me.
I had mine tested and it came out to be 309. Doctor said it was in the reference range so that is that. I have very skinny arms even though i lift 3 times per week. Can’t build any muscle if my life depended on it. And have fat around my middle and wide hips, even though i have a normal BMI. I get the man boobs long before i am officially overweight. Plus i have no energy.
My hope is to get on TRT in order to get healthy levels in the future.
309 is low but it’s normal for most people with a suboptimal training, diet and sleep regimen. Most of my clients start in the 300 range and end up in the 650-900 range which is optimal.
Why not optimize it naturally first through a good nutrition plan, training regimen and sleep optimization? TRT comes with its own set of problems. Higher blood pressure, lower HDL cholesterol, more water retention, possible infertility (unless you also inject HCG with it — and that comes with its own set of side effects) and dialing in your regimen requires a lot of patience and a very skilled practitioner which can be hard to find in many areas. Unless you have some form of untreatable underlying disorder such as damage to the testicles or pituitary or severe disease, there really is no good reason to go on TRT. You would get the same answer from +95% of endocrinologists and they’d first check to rule out that you don’t have any of these problems before even considering TRT. Your hope should really be to NOT get on TRT since TRT won’t magically solve all your problems if a suboptimal training, diet and sleep regimen is the cause of low T. It will only mask them. I suggest you read through this article: https://skinnyfattransformation.com/how-to-increase-testosterone/
Hello and thanks for the good read. I checked a lot of symptoms from your list and i was alarmed… I am 23 and wake up with morning wood almost every day fortunately. I suspect that my testosterone level is going to be “in range” but not optimal. I have mild man boobs. I couldn’t believe that i am at 14.6% body fat, i thought i was at least 20% judging from the boobs. I ve been through hell 2 months now, trying to lose fat only to get rid of the moobs but i had minimal progress… I have 3 questions for you. Firstly, what is a gland supposed to feel like? i still can’t tell weather this is fat or boob. Secondly, were you having morning wood at the time your levels were “in range” but not optimal? and lastly, i have heard that increasing your testosterone above default levels can cause you to go bald… Do you know anything about this?
I am 18 years old suffering with enlarged chest that affect my confidence level.is there any posibility to cure gynaecomastia with out surgery?
Hopefully ,
Hey Oscar!I have all the same problems you mentioned here…I am training from back 2 years but yet I have a small torso compared to my lower body.this iratates me …I do hard work in gym and I want to get a aesthetic body …my height is 6’2″ and weight is 90 kg ..my biceps size I also only 15″ when I squeeze it.i am doing a hard work but yet I have moobs and big hips.plz suggest me!!
15″ is decent size if you don’t have fat (mine are just a bit over 15, and I’m also 90 kg at 6’2″).
Do you have moobs because of gynecomastia or fat? (Read my puffy nipples article to check that).
Also, do you have big hips because of fat or bone structure?
If your problems are related to fat, simply diet down and lose the fat.
If you have gynecomastia and wide hip bone structure like me, you will have to get surgery for the gyno (if you have had it for more than 2-3 years) and build very wide shoulders/lats to make the hips looks smaller.
Thanks for your suggestion!!!One more issue is to grow wide shoulder and big shoulder ,I am using one day-one body part schedule….and secondly I do cardios and intense abs training too..will this gonna help me building huge torso frame and a small waist.!!!!!!
thanks for making featured comment.i want to tell one thing i noticed.i progressed faster when i did 5 slow concentrated chinups rather than 15 fast chinups..
You deserve it :)
Just goes to show that form > ego in the end.
Oskar,today first of all,i want to tell that i have progressed from 0 to 10 perfect form chinups in 20 days thanks to u and your ebook.u say that for back,chinup add width and deadlift add thickness.but i dont go to gym.is there any bodyweight substitute?
This is very good progress Prabh! Congrats with it!
Chin ups will also add thickness, but just not as much as deadlifts. Unfortunately I don’t know any good BW subtitutes besides inverted rows, but they might be too easy if you can already do chins.
oskar Do you know christopher walker.he claims that he raises his testosterone from 11ng/dl to above 1000ng/dl naturally just with specific tranining technique.he was also a skinnyfat before transforming himself into greek god.he also emphasize bodyweight training over gym.just search about him and read his story.then tell what do u think?
Much of what he advises is similar to my own experiences, so I believe he’s the real deal. I’ve also listened to many of his podcasts, and he knows what he’s talking about.
Hey Oskar, in 14 year old and i Ve bene working out for 1+ year, i Always trained right, are enought protein and i was in a 300 calorie deficit. Despite my hard work i Just STILL have man boobs and fat AROUND hips and belly fat. Also i was underwright alot of time ago but i STILL hard fat. I aleo havent build much muscle After 1 year of serious training. Do you think its about testosterone?
Most likely you’re training and eating incorrectly. Did you completely cut out dairy (milk, whey protein, cheese, yoghurt, butter), processed foods and soy products? And how many pull ups can you do with good form? What was your height and weight when you started the 300 Calorie deficit and after finishing the weight loss?
Once again, very informative stuff. But one doubt, Oskar: what if a person has the tendency to masturbate often (at least twice a day)? Does that mean he has a high testosterone?
Not necessarily. It may just as well be an addiction to porn. The best way to know is to get the test done.
Couple of weeks ago I had my T tested – 748ng/dl for age 37. Sounds good but still struggling with the first symptom – muscles and streght. I am pretty lean right now and been training hard for years but it seems like the only way to progress for me is eating like a horse.
To be honest, I also have to eat like a horse to progress. That’s why I only bulk for 3 weeks at a time, then cut for 2 weeks. By doing this I can eat like a horse for 3 weeks, gain some muscle and fat, then cut for 2 weeks by eating normally.
If I dont masturbate for a few days I usually get morning wood. I think excess estrogen might be the cause for the female fat distribution and depression. With that said I completely believe that getting lean will fix and maximize ur hormones along with a decent training program. Also I want to mention that rest is crucial and I ignored it for a long time and I barley made any progress. These past few months I lowered my training volume and my strength has exploded and I feel better and happier. I still have a long way to go until I reach 12% bf but it will happen before I know it.
That sounds normal, I never get morning wood if I masturbated the previous day but I do get it if it’s been more than a day since I masturbated.
I got my testosterone tested a couple weeks ago but am waiting to get a copy of the lab work, my doctor sent me an explanation of the results but did not post what the actual number was, instead he said “testosterone- normal” That pissed me off, but either way I will have my lab work soon so I can see for myself if it is truly “normal”.
Well I got my results today, my testosterone is 259 :( I am bummed especially since I have been working out for over a year now. On the other hand I am a bit relieved because now I know there is a reason for some of the things I am going through. Really can’t wait for part two of this article, I would really like to get working on raising these levels naturally because I really prefer not to do replacement therapy.
259 is very low. Part 2 will be out soon, hopefully that will help you out.
Yeah I coincidentally started doing some things soon after the test that are said to help with low testosterone, and am working on doing some other things as well. I have three months before my next test since the doc said we should retest then because of the high prolactin level. I love that he mentioned the high prolactin level but failed to mention that my so called normal testosterone level was at the bottom of the range, either way, sometimes you have to be your own advocate. Excited to read the next installment.
Ha! I though it fit some of the symptoms until you got to the key warning sign.
Just about every morning I do have wood and I think about sex.
So I might be OK after all. I’m living in a hotel for a work assignment so I’m doing P90X3 with bands for now.
Then there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.
Hey men , how about the puffy nipples due to masturbation ? Do I have chances to decrease the puffiness naturally ?
I had mine tested a few months back. I am 32, skinny-fat and had low sex drive (among other symptoms). My number came back at 470ng/dl. The doc didn’t even call back to tell me the number (I had to call her), because I was within range. Even said on the papers that the range wasn’t broken down by age. Doctors need to become more informed.
470 is quite low, but it should increase as you get rid of the excess fat and eat a proper diet.
47 year old, have a lot of the symptoms, been tested 3x, first: 290, second: 320, third: 335
Been to two doctors, they refuse to treat. What the hell to do, keep trying more doctors?
There will be a post soon on how I raised mine naturally. Hopefully that can help you.
Another great post, thanks!
I’ve been reading through your entire blog over the past week and I’m about to start training again for the first time in a couple of years, so you’ll see me pop up with comments in other threads over the next few days/weeks.
I’ll be taking my “before” pictures this week!
Looking forward to see the before and afters!