Natural Bodybuilder - Blood work results: Total testosterone is very low

[ItsInHisBlood]

Hello guys,
I am 20 years old and i've been training since 16. I never took any steroids in my life.
I train 5 times a week, my diet is extremely strict.
Bodybuilding is my passion and I plan to begin competition next year.

Here are my actual stats :

-5'7
-162 lbs
-5.5 % bodyfat

As I said I am very concentrated on my diet with approx 3500 calories coming essentially from rice, pastas , chicken, tuna, salmon and sometimes steak with a total of proteins of 230-240g / day. My fats come generally from olive oil and fish oil. Supplements consist of whey and casein proteins , creatine / glutamine / BCAAs and a multi.

Now having an idea of my journey, here is the reason i'm posting.
Last week I did a blood work at my local doctor to know a bit more on my vitamins/minerals and hormones levels.
First thing i'd like to point is the fact the doctor did the test late in the afternoon, and I've been reading that testosterone levels are decreasing throughout the day. In fact it was already 7 PM !
Second, the blood sample was taken 1 hour after my training and I think this could have an influence.

Results :

Total testosterone : 194.2 ng/dL
SHBG : 22.8 nmol/L

Free testosterone wasn't taken.

Now, i'm very surprised of those results because i really thought they'd be much , much higher.
At the gym, i'm considered relatively gifted because of my conditioning all year round and because of my pumps / vascularity.

Are those results being false due to the time they were taken or is it possible I have a real deficiency and should get treated ? I plan to do a second blood test ,in the morning this time. But i'd like to have some opinions of you guys first.

I thank anyone who could help as I am a bit confused with those news.

(PS : I'm from western Europe and my English isn't my first language, thank you )

[dece870717]

The "normal" ranges for Total test according to my lab is 249-836 ng/dL . Test does drop throughout the day but it should never get to 80 year old man test levels by the end of the day. It's possible the results could be wrong for some reason, a re-test would be a good idea but considering that you are natural and if your body fat is actually that low it really wouldn't be much of a surprise that your test would be that low.

Very low body fat means very low leptin levels and the leptin hormone is basically like a master hormone for a lot of other hormones, including testosterone production. Most naturals when they get to contest ready shape end up with basically castrated range levels with their testosterone. Of course AAS user never have to worry about anything like that when we're replacing natural test with synthetic which is obviously a huge advantage and a good reason why we can get to very low bodyfat levels while keeping high amounts of muscle mass/hardness and still have rampantly high sex drives despite the fact that our bodies are basically starving at such low bodyfat levels. If anything you could try clomid to bring levels up and see how well that works out, another possibility is that you are not getting enough fat in your diet and testosterone along with other important hormones are actually synthesized from fat/cholesterol(main reason why very low fat diets make people depressed).

[ItsInHisBlood]

Thanks for the reply.
Well I have in fact low bodyfat but I think it's more of my genetics than anything. I mean I can still bulk and take mass.
I think I have a good amount of fat in my diet also.

On the results , my CK level was very high with 978 U/L instead of 190 ( normal ).
This is partly due to a small injury I had at my front deltoid.
Do you think CK level could actually be the reason my test is so low ?
Thanks !

[dece870717]

Would you say you get around 80-100g of fat a day?

With regards to Creatine kinase, that level is almost always high with any athlete or anyone that trains. It is a by product of muscle being broken down which happens to anybody lifting weights or doing anything physically intensive.

[ItsInHisBlood]

I think I am more in the 60-70g / day.
Thanks for the info about CK.

[Userat204]

Dece is dead on with this. Your diet and possibly training are likely the cause. Test estro as well.

Your TT is very low. It's hard to base this on averages, you could have a guy with a TT of 450 still suffering symptoms of hypogonadism. A better basis is symptoms along with blood work but I'd imagine your diet is playing a role

[ItsInHisBlood]

Thanks for reply.
I will get blood work done today or tomorow and keep you guys up to date.
I'll ask for a full hormone test this time.
From this I'll be able to tell if it is the diet or not.

[dec11]

Hello guys,
I am 20 years old and i've been training since 16. I never took any steroids in my life.
I train 5 times a week, my diet is extremely strict.
Bodybuilding is my passion and I plan to begin competition next year.

Here are my actual stats :

-5'7
-162 lbs
-5.5 % bodyfat

As I said I am very concentrated on my diet with approx 3500 calories coming essentially from rice, pastas , chicken, tuna, salmon and sometimes steak with a total of proteins of 230-240g / day. My fats come generally from olive oil and fish oil. Supplements consist of whey and casein proteins , creatine / glutamine / BCAAs and a multi.

Now having an idea of my journey, here is the reason i'm posting.
Last week I did a blood work at my local doctor to know a bit more on my vitamins/minerals and hormones levels.
First thing i'd like to point is the fact the doctor did the test late in the afternoon, and I've been reading that testosterone levels are decreasing throughout the day. In fact it was already 7 PM !
Second, the blood sample was taken 1 hour after my training and I think this could have an influence.

Results :

Total testosterone : 194.2 ng/dL
SHBG : 22.8 nmol/L

Free testosterone wasn't taken.

Now, i'm very surprised of those results because i really thought they'd be much , much higher.
At the gym, i'm considered relatively gifted because of my conditioning all year round and because of my pumps / vascularity.

Are those results being false due to the time they were taken or is it possible I have a real deficiency and should get treated ? I plan to do a second blood test ,in the morning this time. But i'd like to have some opinions of you guys first.

I thank anyone who could help as I am a bit confused with those news.

(PS : I'm from western Europe and my English isn't my first language, thank you )

for a start, you need a proper test done, with a full hormone panel tested

[Swifto]

for a start, you need a proper test done, with a full hormone panel tested

You can actually calculate his Free T with those two numbers...

I agree though.

[cro]

pretty bright 20 year old.good luck.

[ItsInHisBlood]

pretty bright 20 year old.good luck.

Thanks mate.

Getting an appointment this monday ( morning ) for the second blood work.

By the way here is a pic of myself 1 year and a half ago. I'm now a good 10 lbs of pure muscle heavier ( yes I don't have any actual pic ! ).

What do you think ? Would I have my chances into competition world ?

Thanks for reply.

[dec11]

Thanks mate.

Getting an appointment this monday ( morning ) for the second blood work.

By the way here is a pic of myself 1 year and a half ago. I'm now a good 10 lbs of pure muscle heavier ( yes I don't have any actual pic ! ).

What do you think ? Would I have my chances into competition world ?

Thanks for reply.

i wouldnt call that 5%, more like 10% mate. why dont you put up a current pic? how can we answer if you're comp material from a pic from 1.5yrs ago?

[Lemonada8]

did you have your thyroid checked?
How is your metabolism? like gain weight easy/hard?
like its been said, your strict diet may be playing a part but anyways u should get a full workup to see why its so low. With your age, it shouldnt be that low.

you never have done AAS, have you done any prohormoens? or test boosters? those can have worse effects than AAS itself.r

Stay away from them, you are lookin good now! and you have good base so when you do take the plunge (in several years) if you keep it up you will have good results, be sure to educate yourself the best thing you can do

[ItsInHisBlood]

did you have your thyroid checked?
How is your metabolism? like gain weight easy/hard?
like its been said, your strict diet may be playing a part but anyways u should get a full workup to see why its so low. With your age, it shouldnt be that low.

you never have done AAS, have you done any prohormoens? or test boosters? those can have worse effects than AAS itself.r

Stay away from them, you are lookin good now! and you have good base so when you do take the plunge (in several years) if you keep it up you will have good results, be sure to educate yourself the best thing you can do

I had in fact my thyroid checked because my dad did some hyperthyroidism but everything is perfectly normal.

I more of a meso/endo type, I gain weight but purely muscle , my body fat never got over 10 % but I easily gain muscle I'd say.

To answer your question : No AAS , prohormones but I did once try the animal stack 2 months ago , which is suppose to boost testosterone.
You think this could be the cause ?

And yes as I didn't have any real difference I won't take any test boost anymore.

Thanks for the reply Lemonada.

[ItsInHisBlood]

i wouldnt call that 5%, more like 10% mate. why dont you put up a current pic? how can we answer if you're comp material from a pic from 1.5yrs ago?

In fact I was 9% bf on this pic. As I said I don't have any current pic. I've been off the gym 3 weeks for my shoulder injury , so when I'll be back and in best shape I'll do a new one
This picture was basically just to know opinions about my genetics as I was 18 there.

[Far from massive]

I did not read all the replies so if its been said already sorry,

Get another test done, The test itself can be bad and also you level of test can vary (day to day and week to week) for a number of reasons. In addition I am pretty sure that very low fat intake can lead to a low test score ( some of the members with more knowlege feel free to correct me if this is a misconception).

[dec11]

In fact I was 9% bf on this pic. As I said I don't have any current pic. I've been off the gym 3 weeks for my shoulder injury , so when I'll be back and in best shape I'll do a new one
This picture was basically just to know opinions about my genetics as I was 18 there.

im confused now, just put up a current pic when you can, your age and stats are all over the place with each post

[ItsInHisBlood]

Hello guys.
Just got the first part of the results (2nd blood test)
Total testosterone : 423.6 ng/dL
SHBG : 28.7 nmol/L

Growth hormone and the rest will come on monday.

I know the results are satisfying and that i'm now far away from my previous result wich was 194.2 ng/dL of total testosterone.
But this still seems low to me...
This blood work was done on morning , empty stomach and no traning for the past 3 weeks.

Opinions would be appreciated.

[ItsInHisBlood]

Hello.
Just got the rest of the results so here is everything :

Total testosterone : 423.6 ng/dL
SHBG : 28.7
Free testosterone : 0.98 ng/dL
Androstanediolglucuronide : 10.8 ng/mL ( what is this ? )
Growth hormone : <0.1 ng/mL

I'm pointing the fact I was off training during 3 weeks before this blood test and didn't have any specific diet during those weeks.
Blood test was taken at the morning without eating anything before.

I would really appreciate any opinions and interpretations.
Thank you.

[musclelover]

Do you have all the symtoms of low test mate?
Theres a list on here and google them aswell.

It would really be unfortunately for being so young to have to low and wanna compete. If you definately have low test then drugs are the only way you will be able compete which is not recommended until you get to atleast 24 25 mate.

Good luck ML

[ItsInHisBlood]

No difficulties to build muscle i'd say.
But sometimes tired from nothing and demotivated.
Totally healthy in sexual life.

Just checked the Free testosterone normal levels..and i'm super low compared to normal range...
Please help

[Brohim]

If you run a calorie deficit it can lower test level's. Low fat diet's can too. Also test can fluctuate as you saw you tested 200 points higher now than you did last time. If you have no problems gaining muscle and metabolism is ok, aka no symptoms then I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Try to drink water from a BPA free container as well. Lot's of chemicals can interfere with your Testosterone level's.

[ItsInHisBlood]

I think I was in a big overtrainin when I did my first blood test.
But trust me , it doesn't come from my diet I know what i'm putting into my body and I get plenty of everything.
My problem is that after 3 weeks of normal lifestyle.. I still am low for a 20 years old healthy guy...and when seeing my free testosterone it seems it is extremely low ?

[Brohim]

YOu have to post the ranges to tell.

[Bonaparte]

sounds like your numbers came back low because:
1) You're way too lean (if anywhere near 5.5% bf)
2) your diet lacks adequate saturated fat and cholesterol
3) the test was taken late in the day.

[FCVtec]

I know this has nothing to do with what he's asking but if you really got that body posted on pic @ 18 without ever taking any steroids or PH then you are freaking blessed. I don't wanna sound like a hater but I have a hard time believing that is a all natural 18 yr old, that's just me. Then again I was 125lb @ 18 yrs old so I have a hard time accepting that some people could be that freaking beast that young LOL!

[ItsInHisBlood]

Hey Bonaparte.
I suppose you're refering to the first blood test.
I did another one please check the results and tell me what you think of it.
Thanks for your answer.

[gearbox]

I know this has nothing to do with what he's asking but if you really got that body posted on pic @ 18 without ever taking any steroids or PH then you are freaking blessed. I don't wanna sound like a hater but I have a hard time believing that is a all natural 18 yr old, that's just me. Then again I was 125lb @ 18 yrs old so I have a hard time accepting that some people could be that freaking beast that young LOL!

They are the few..I work with high school fooball players and a team of 150, I have a four guys 3 black one white all lean ripped up and large and there still 15-17... I mean a completely sculped chest and lats delts abs....its crazy...cause they will tell you I had pizza for lunch today...

[ItsInHisBlood]

Hello FCV.
Well really I take it as a compliment cause I just know what I am

Being said, I'd really like to solve this problem of test rapidly because I want to have everything in hand to be the best to enter the comp world..
I'm just a bit ennoyed not to get the answers I want from my doctor so I thought I could have them here.

[FCVtec]

Hello FCV.
Well really I take it as a compliment cause I just know what I am

Being said, I'd really like to solve this problem of test rapidly because I want to have everything in hand to be the best to enter the comp world..
I'm just a bit ennoyed not to get the answers I want from my doctor so I thought I could have them here.

If all you are telling is the truth then you should take it as a compliment, If that's the case then your first cycle alone could turn you into a beast! Like I said, if what you say is true I would assume you got good enough genes to be a pro. Just my opinion, but I am no expert.