Hey guys! I’m a 17 year old raw natural powerlifter competing @100kg (best lifts at comp: 230.5/145/250). I just recently got my blood work done, because I assumed I have low T levels. The reason I assumed that was because: I have literally almost no motivation to lift, even though I still push myself to, doesn’t matter how hard I try to get myself amped up, I have no aggression in the gym, never even get pissed out of the gym, I’m always super calm, I have pretty low libido and I’m 17, usually kids my age are SUPER horny lol, all those things seemed very wierd to me, because I try to do everything right, sleep at very least 8hrs, usually 9 or 9+, eat a lot (around 4k kcal, min is 3,5k, lots of protein and lots of carbs), train heavy, etc.
The results came back in at 320ng/dl. This seem very very wierd to me, as the average for a man that’s not in his peak T level zone, like I should be, is around 650 or so as I read. Could this mean I have low T levels or am I in the normal level? Thank you so much for any replies! 
I think there’s something with overtraining that can affect your numbers.
Not sure if you have other symptoms than not being super horny.
Erections? Morning wood?
I suggest labs be done . Draw blood within 1 hour of getting up after a good night sleep.
Total t
Free t
Estradiol sensitive
LH
FSH
Prolactin
TSH
Free t3
Free t4
Ferritin
CBC
Metabolic panel
Lipid panel
Am cortisol
You may need to see a Pediatric endocrinologist if your numbers are off. Even if just low t. Or a regular Endocrinologist if you went through puberty pretty good.
No morning wood. And the test was done in the morning on an empty stomach a short time (probably an hour or less) after I woke up, the test was 320ng/ml as I said. I do proper deloads after hard training, I try to get as much rest as possible.
320 is def low. Can you get the other labs?
TRT is the last option. But there if you need it.
Your still developing. You need to investigate this properly.
And an Endocrinologist must be seen maybe other Drs too but def endocrinologist.
You need to confirm the low number and do best to find cause. The labs indicated above will help.
Adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, testes all are in play here if you are low. Labs are a start
Yes, I’ll post all the ones I got blood work done on once I get home (~2hrs). Thanks for your help man!
No problem. You are on this issue and will figure this out! Glad you are investigating this.
When you got time read
What time of day was your blood drawn? SHBG plays a big roll in free testosterone levels, Total T is bound to SHBG therefore not bioavailable, so knowing SHBG is another piece of the puzzle.
Thyroid (T3) speeds up every cell in the body and if low would share similar symptoms of low T, overtraining and hard dieting can increase Reverse T3 slamming on the brakes metabolically as the your body attempts to protect itself.
My blood was drawn at about 7AM.
Here are all the things I got tested for:
LH: 3.1 IU/l
FSH: 5.4 IU/l
PROL: 19.1 ng/ml
ESTRA: 42.8 pg/ml
TEST: 320 ng/dl
SHBG: 12.5 nmol/l
FAI: 88.83
TSH: 3.5 mIU/l
I also forgot to mention that I have no energy when I train and also out of the gym, I’m not tired, I just feel like not doing anything, kinda like a slob. I stretch for about 20 mins 3x a weeks and after that, I have no desire or motivation or energy to train. I am generally lazy, don’t feel like doing anything (doesn’t mean that I don’t, just don’t feel like it), lots of things feel like a chore and unfortunately, lifting too now. Just thought I’d add that. I really want to start feeling… alive again? I wasn’t always like this, but for the last couple of years I’m feeling this way. It’s not something unbearable, but I really miss having the motivation to do anything. I also really don’t care about almost anything, not many things set me off or stress me out… Idk it’s wierd for me to come out like this, I kind of feel like an ass.
Don’t. Get to the bottom of it and fix it.
By the way, nice lifts.
Thanks man, means a lot!
Your Free T levels are 9.78 ng/dL = 3.06 %, we know that healthy men have 2-3 percent of their testosterone as Free and bioavailable. You’re above 3 percent. However your estrogen may be the culprit for lack of motivation and libido issues, low SHBG men have a ton of free hormones and when estrogen is high, free estrogen must be insanely high given your super low SHBG.
Cut out crappy foods and alcohol which increase estrogen, eating veggies will lower estrogen.
E2 testing likely used to incorrect testing methodology, the Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry is for men and the Roche ECLIA methodology was designed for women. The ECLIA methodology tends to overstate estrogen in men when elevated.
Your E2 may be lower than stated, but may still be high for you. I would test free estrogen, if confirmed very high you would have an answer to why you feel the way you do.
Just to address things from a different perspective, I don’t think your problems will necessarily be solved by fixing your T levels. Or, at least, I think there are other solutions that should be addressed first. Specifically your training (in and out of the gym) and your nutrition.
Roughly what’s your bodyfat? Either a ballpark percentage or description - love handles, defined abs, etc. At your height and weight, I’m guessing you’re carrying more than a little fat, which is fine and common for younger lifters, but if you spent a little time dropping some of it, it’ll make you feel better (physically and mentally) and will improve your relative strength.
Spending a few months sticking to the 5/3/1 Krypteia plan would be pretty ideal. Swap out some of your “lots of carbs” with good animal fats, and take Vitamin D.
I think those would go a very long way to improving how you feel, rather than jumping right into a lifelong TRT treatment or the AAS you’ve been thinking about for a year.
Those things are pretty normal and definitely not negatives or weird.
Has your basic (non-hormone) bloodwork been tested, specifically blood sugar? Just wondering if being on a high calorie, high carb diet may be a factor. You also just might be burnt out from pushing the PL work, even with deloads.
Based on your other threads, you seemed pretty motivated to be chasing PRs and powerlifting records. It’s totally fine to have changed your mind on that end of things. Again, I think improving your diet and tweaking your training to something less stressful will kickstart things overall.
Around the same time you started powerlifting? Maybe there’s a connection? What drew you specifically to the sport in the first place, as opposed to more “general” strength training?
Ok, I understand. The estrogen could definitely be the problem. I do have a portion of my caloric intake come from crappy foods, I find it very hard to eat clean above 3.5k kcal, even 3.5k is a challenge for me. I have to start eating some veggies, what kind would you recommend?
I don’t have a clue as to what my bodyfat is, but I’m nowhere near like 10 or 12%, maybe more like 15% or a little more (no defined abs or so) (you can check out my ig page if you want an example, I have like 2 physique photos under my highlights, you can maybe judge from that, @monickinmatko)
I did take vitamin D one time, I’ll get back to it.
I defined it as negative because there was a time not too long ago where I was driven and had the motivation, not nearly when I posted my last post, that was around the time I was getting ready for comp, but like my 1st year or maybe even 2 I felt like I had tunnel vision, now I’m just like lost. It really bothers me, I feel like it’s pulling me back not having that drive, but I’m not saying TRT or AAS would fix that, although I am guilty of considering them. I felt the biggest decline after I took the records I wanted. I’m going to get my bloodwork done on glucose and other stuff, so I’ll post it when I get the results.
Probably seeing that I had potential to at least touch those records was when I set my mind to powerlifting and wanting to achieve them, it was also my biggest drive in the beggining and I was so hyped to go after them.
Thank you guys for the solid replies, appreciate them!
So does this mean my T levels are fine and not low?
Your TSH is cause for concern, the majority of people with a TSH >3.0 tend to experience hypothyroid symptoms, if you are experiencing a thyroid problem, SHBG may be suppressed do to a poorly functioning thyroid, which might change your T status.
SHBG could be lower do to thyroid issues, if so it would change your Free T status possibly lowering it.
A TSH >2.0 is indicating a problem.
Google “OPTIMAL VS NORMAL THYROID LEVELS FOR ALL LAB TESTS ALL AGES”
The normal range for TSH is 0.450 - 4.500 uIU/mL, the optimal range is 0.5 - 1.0 uIU/mL. Healthy strong men have TSH closer to 1.0.
A full thyroid panel is recommended, checking Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3 and antibodies.
So this can be indirectly causing my T levels to be low? Because my TSH is close to the upper end of normal.
I’m gonna hit the sheets guys, I’ll check the replies tomorrow, thanks to everyone who helped out!
It sounds like you need a specific target to focus on, instead of “training just to train”. I’ve been in the same boat and plenty of guys have. Just putzing around in the gym and doing “stuff” with no real direction and nothing concrete to head towards.
But it’s legit badass that you’ve set the records that you have. Why not find another meet and put it on the calendar so you’ve got something to focus on again?
I’m really leaning towards the relatively simple and quick-to-implement solutions being 3-5,000iu vitamin D every day, more healthy fats in the diet, a little less bodyfat, and getting a tangible goal on the horizon, before getting further into the weeds trying to specifically fine-tune hormone levels.