When people think of athletes taking testosterone, many automatically think “muscle heads abusing steroids in the gym.” This is far from the truth for the weekend warrior or the aging man wanting to keep his youthful energy levels and athleticism. 

Anabolic steroid abuse is prevalent in the United States. One study estimated that over 1,000,000 people have abused anabolic steroids at one point in their life. Most individuals only use 1-2 cycles for quick muscular gains in the gym, but multiple individuals find themselves “self medicating” with cycle after cycle. These individuals likely have hypogonadal (low testosterone) symptoms and simply feel normal when they are using steroids.

The use of medically managed testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to treat symptoms of low testosterone while enhancing athletic performance is a common practice. As men age our testosterone levels decrease year by year. With that decrease we begin to see symptoms of low T such as low libido and erectile dysfunction but also start noticing a decrease in lean muscle mass, decreased stamina, decreased motivation in the gym, increase fatigue, increased recovery times and decreased athletic performance.

All of these symptoms can be contributed to the decrease in our testosterone. Therefore if you are a man who has started to experience low T symptoms and also a decrease in athletic performance, you could benefit from TRT.

It usually takes 2-3 months to begin to see increases in athletic performance once you begin TRT. We target your levels to the higher end of the physiologic range, typically between 900-1200 total testosterone. At these levels you should experience significant improvements in low T symptoms as well as increased lean muscle mass, enhanced gym performance, decreased recovery times, and more motivation.

TRT can truly be a life changing treatment for many men, especially those who are athletically inclined. If you are interested in an evaluation please book an online appointment to get the process started.