Ok, let me be more specific on how you can tell- you have to gauge certain reactions to foods, training, sex drive, attitude, over a period of time. You can’t just say I’m full of T after a workout or after sex, as you are right. But, if for a whole week you are breaking out with zits on your shoulders, your skin is oily as hell, you eat until there is no tommorrow and don’t crap any of it out, you find yourself lowering your standards of women you’ll have sex with, you smell sex, (and a really huge one here-) women smell way more T on you, these are some signs. This is also relative as you pointed out, these signs may mean you might have higher than your normal t-levels but not nessasarily high levels. Recovery rate and strength increases over time is another sign of raising t-levels. These signs are even easier to recognize in women though.
RSrising, that has to be one of the most insightful posts i’ve read in a long time.
Makes you want to be like that high T man… My doc said the best way to increase T is to workout… hmm.
yeah, and not smoke the hash.
Dude, I grapple, and I don’t use any of that shit, powerdrive included. If you are good enough at grappling, you don’t need it. Go smoke some weed then come to my gym and I’ll show you what a real asswhoopin is.
although i dont anymore from legal reasons turned into a straighter path, i was a straight up pothead for many years, pretty much consecutively. i never grappled, but i used to LOVE to burn then go to practice or play pick-up [basketball]. although i never felt as explosive while high, it seamt like everything unfolded in slow-mo for me, like i was two steps ahead of everyone else. i cant comment on “stacking” it with anything else, but i can say i always felt on top of my game while high. if you feel it helps, do it, as long as you dont get in trouble
A) Weed increases estrogen levels and decreases T levels. I’m just saying it. You’re just believing it. Okay?
B) If you want to be a recreational drug user and improve your concentration and learning ability while grappling, try something that actually increases concentration and/or learning ability. Like Adderall. Start with a very low dose–it’s an amphetamine, and thus will have effects on your body, not just your mind. (Potential heart failure comes to mind. Also, psychotic episodes have been known to occur with Adderall–it can affect the mind badly, too. Let the buyer beware.)
C) Powerdrive and/or Ephedra would also be good choices. Weed is not.
D) I can’t believe it’s not butter.
I mean, I can’t belive NeilG didn’t post this.
Further, I can’t believe I justified this with a response.
Goo.
Dan
Don’t mean to jack your thread but I’ve got a similar situation.
I’m a thai boxer who has smoked weed on and off for the last nine years (Jeeesus!) I’m 25 now and it’s been a month since I smoked. In that period of time, my hair loss has increased(I use rogaine), I’ve been getting acne/hair all over my body and my sex drive has gone through the roof. I’ve lost 10lbs since I quit and I’m as ripped as ever. It’s like I’m going through a second puberty. I’ve never done steroids, always been strong and athletic, but I can’t figure out this latest physical metamorphis. It’s not the first time I quit smoking pot, I’ve gone without it before for years, but literally it’s like puberty. My facial hair isn’t patchy any more, my girlfriend says my dick seems thicker, and even though I’ve lost weight, my muscles seem more sculpted/larger, I’m sweating a ton when I workout and I’m a lot stronger. I don’t necesarily attribute this to not smoking, this started happening a month before I quit. I just got a physical for my boxing license, I don’t know how to approach this question with a medical system that still sees credibility in a body mass index. Most HMO’s just don’t have the physicians who are qualified to answer my questions. What the fuck is the deal? Can shit like this happen in your mid twenties? Have any of you older body builders noticed “stages” in which your body changed/improved?
If I was able to do anything athletic after smoking weed, I’d be straight back to my dealer for a refund!
Update: I have found more significant information regarding marijuana and sex hormones. In addition, I can say that after stopping smoking my libido is through the roof. TW.
Male fertility:
Do cannabis or THC have a negative influence on sex hormones and sperms?
Answers:
Wayne Hall, Nadia Solowij & Jim Lemon
High doses of THC probably disturb the male and female reproductive systems in animals. They reduce secretion of testosterone, and hence reducing sperm production, motility, and viability in males. It is uncertain whether these effects also occur in humans. Studies in humans have produced both positive and negative evidence of an effect of cannabinoids on testosterone, for reasons that are not well understood. Hollister has argued that the reductions in testosterone and sperm production observed in the positive studies are probably of “little consequence in adults”, although he conceded that they could be of “major importance in the prepubertal male who may use cannabis.” The possible effects of cannabis use on testosterone and spermatogenesis may be most relevant to males whose fertility is already impaired for other reasons, e.g. a low sperm count.
(Please note: This text has been taken from a scientific article. Some sentences have been changed to improve understandability.)
Hall W, Solowij N, Lemon J. The Health and Psychological Consequences of Cannabis Use. National Drug Strategy Monograph Series No. 25. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1994.
Laura Murphy
In human males, cannabis smoking has been shown to decrease blood levels of the three hormones LH, FSH, and testosterone. Moreover, an increased incidence of low sperm count has been reported in men who were heavy marijuana smokers. Other studies did not find measurable differences in men who were light or heavy marijuana users. Acute THC treatment produces a consistent and significant dose- and time-related decrease in LH and testosterone levels in male rodents. In the male rhesus monkey, an acute dose of THC produced a 65% reduction in blood testosterone levels by 60 min of treatment that lasted for approximately 24 hr.
(Please note: This text has been taken from a scientific text. Some sentences have been changed to improve understandability.)
Murphy L. Hormonal system and reproduction. In: Grotenhermen F, Russo E, eds. Grotenhermen, F., Russo, E. (eds.): Cannabis and cannabinoids. Pharmacology, toxicology, and therapeutic potential. Haworth Press, Binghamton/New York 2001, in press.
Lynn Zimmer & John Morgan
By giving large doses of THC to animals, researchers have produced appreciable effects on sex hormone levels. However, the effects vary from one study to another, depending on the dose and timing of administration. When effects occur, they are temporary. (…) In neither male nor female animals have researchers produced permanent harm to reproductive function from either acute or chronic marijuana administration. (…) There is no convincing evidence of infertility related to marijuana consumption in humans. There are no epidemiological studies showing that men who use marijuana have higher rates of infertility than men who do not. Nor is there evidence of diminished reproductive capacity among men in countries where marijuana use is common. It is possible that marijuana could cause infertility in men who already have low sperm counts, However, it is likely that regular marijuana users develop tolerance to marijuana’s hormonal effects. (…) Marijuana has neither a masculinizing effect in females nor a feminizing effects in males.
Zimmer L, Morgan JP. Marijuana Myths Marijuana Facts. A review of the scientific evidence. New York/San Francisco: The Lindesmith Center, 1997.
House of Lords
Animal experiments have shown that cannabinoids cause alterations in both male and female sexual hormones; but there is no evidence that cannabis adversely affects human fertility, or that it causes chromosomal or genetic damage.
House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology. Cannabis. The scientific and medical evidence. London: The Stationery Office, 1998.