I’m not aware of good data concerning historical T levels. (Lab assays for T did not become widely available until the 1970s, and those early assays were not very accurate.) Do you have a peer-reviewed source for this?
Setting aside the assumption regarding historical T levels…Testosterone is not a risk-free substance, so harm is definitely a possibility. (Of note, there is a paucity of good data concerning the safety of long-term use.)
I would also point out, the fact that a man feels better on T does not in and of itself mean he was hypogonadal to start with.
Agreed, many physicians are reluctant to aggressively/directly confront pts concerning their obesity, for fear of multiple forms of retribution.
Traps are like biceps in my (commercial) gym. It’s a major muscle group for skinny and solid guys alike.
I’m actually happy about this though. They come in to the gym fresh as and make a b-line for the shrug machine and leave the squat rack all alone for me
I make fun(?) of people in the gym way more than I’d like to admit.
Case in point, I was in the gym yesterday and some guy was doing 10kgs per side smith machine shrugs on the only squat/power/smith machine rack hybrid monstrosity we have there.
The conversation went something like this
Me: “Hey bro, how many sets do you have left? Can I have the rack after you’re done, I wanna do squats.” Him: “I don’t know, maybe 15 to 20 sets? I haven’t decided yet.” Me: “What do you mean you haven’t decided yet?” Him: “Yeah man, I don’t know how many sets I need to do to get in the zone.” Me: “… What zone?” Him: “The anabolic zone of course, don’t you know you need to be in the zone to make gains?” Me: “Don’t you think you’ll be better off doing some deadlifts or something? I don’t think half assed shrugging 10kgs per side on the smith machine will do much for you. If you’d like, I can help ya with your form if you’re unsure or anything.” Him: “Just because I’m new in the gym, it doesn’t mean you can make fun of me asshole.”
So… I walked away and told a couple of friends what happened and we kinda laughed about it.
Just a random note: if you are interested in why bariatric surgery may be more successful than lifestyle changes, a good place to start is looking up “Metabolic Applied Research Strategy.” Morbid obesity causes physiological changes.
And it’s absolutely a tragedy when anything happens to a patient. I do think it’s worth noting that in the US less than 1% of patients die from complications related to bariatric surgery. Depending on the statistic, the number of deaths due to obesity is between 3 and 30 times that.
Personally, I feel like there should be a minimum weight of sorts if you’re planning on using the only squat rack in the gym to do shrugs. Like if you’re shrugging lesser than someone’s overhead press… You should probably not be shrugging, not in the squat rack at least.
When I trained at a gym, I did them in the calf raise machine. I just set it up as high as it would go, so the pads rested on my shoulders and shrugged away. It was great, took my arms out of the movement.
The real way is to zercher from the floor, lean backwards, awkwardly hip thrust and rock back and forth until the weight gets up near your neck, jump and launch the weight up into the air, then duck underneath and catch it on your back. Boom, ready to squat.
