Low Hormones Due to Overtraining

Some guys, it seems, can develop hypogonadism from simple overtraining. Now, we have all read that overtraining does indeed lower hormone levels, so this is not that new. Still, I wonder…with all the high exertion, high frequency work being promoted in training these days, it makes me wonder.

Yeah. I’m the living example of that, I crashed my T levels to 123 ng/dl by pure overtrainning and overdieting (undereating) in only months, and based on the insane libido I had (I was HORNY AS HELL 24/7), I was probably around 800~1000 ng/dl before the crash.

There’s also studies that show that endurance athletes have 60-85% lower testosterone levels than untrained men.

[quote]Spyro wrote:
Yeah. I’m the living example of that, I crashed my T levels to 123 ng/dl by pure overtrainning and overdieting (undereating) in only months, and based on the insane libido I had (I was HORNY AS HELL 24/7), I was probably around 800~1000 ng/dl before the crash.

[/quote]

This is speculation…you have absolutely no proof of your previous hormone levels so guessing what they might have been is misleading at best…there are many things that can go wrong to cause loss of libido other than T levels…

when i was 21 (last year at this time), i had my testosterone measured at 426 ng/dl, which in my opinion is way too low for a 21 year old, but not low enough to say i was hypogonadal. i did and still do suffer from low testosterone symptoms. i was on, and still was up until last week, a split where i was in the gym 5-6 days a week. fairly high volume too.

last week i took a week completely off from the gym, and only plan on going 3 days a week now. so far the only difference i see is my resting heart rate dropped 10-12 bpm. i do plan on getting another testosterone and thyroid test soon to see if it actually makes a difference though.

i should mention when i got my testosterone tested i was on a testofen/tribulus product along with ZMA, so maybe my natural testosterone is even lower without supplements. the supplement didnt make me feel any better either.

right now im on d-aspartic acid, nettle root, and an OTC aromatase inhibitor. saw no difference when i was in the gym 5-6 days a week. i will note how i feel on them after cutting back time in the gym.

My original post had a link to another site that had a nci study implicating overwork and its association with hypogonadism. The moderators, per rules on this site, removed the link. I simply brought this up because I had never really heard this before…I knew overwork could lead to TEMPORARY or accute reduction in T production, but I had never seen any study indicating long term T reduction.

Just thought this was interesting.

Note: I also think that “normal” levels really differ for different people. Someone who is at 500 for example, might really be at his normal level. However, when you add in weight training and additional muscle mass accumulated from that, I really am curious about whether or not higher levels of muscle actually REQUIRE higher levels of T in order to “feel right”. In other words, and individual who is at 500 before any training, might still be at 500 after years of training, but the additional physical workout it took to attain any increase in muscle might not be enough to sustain “normal” feel.

I know many “natural” bodybuilders who all seem to suffer from low T. They all carry pretty good muscle mass (not steroid like mass, but still admirable)and train very hard…but they all are simply drained all the time and don’t seem to be enthused about anything. Now, this is not everyone, but I’ve seen it more often than not.