How I Went from a Natural Testosterone Level of 0 to 672 in Only 8 Weeks

July 30, 2014 By Mike Cernovich 69 Comments

And I have the blood work to prove it.

As regular readers know, I believe in telling the truth – the truth about how I live my life and the truth about TRT.

Although I do not advocate that men go on TRT, I have no shame about my experience with TRT, HGH, or anabolic steroids.

As an experiment, I went off of TRT cold turkey. No AIs. No SERMS. No nothing. For details, check out: “How I Increased My Testosterone Level Naturally By 200 Points In 2 Weeks.”

I performed alpha male body language exercises to increase my testosterone levels.

Did those alpha male body language exercises work? Yes. As this video shows, my natural testosterone level is at 672 – that’s well above average and it’s the highest testosterone level I’ve had in a decade.

Why do these exercises work? Check out: “Science Shows Dominant Behavior and Posture Increase Testosterone.”

(Please like or share this video. It boosts my SEO and helps get the message out. It’s time for the gurus to start showing their blood work.)

To raise your testosterone level, start performing these exercises daily.

http://www.4dspark.com 4DSpark

I tried out the exercise yesterday. How many set and reps should we be aiming for? I did 2 sets of 12 reps to try it out but didn’t know if I should be aiming for less reps or more sets of higher reps?
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  I don’t count sets/reps. I go by feel or instinct. I do the body weight 5-10 times a day.
rgove

670% is not the same as 670 ng/dL. You just failed first year high school chemistry.

I mean this in the most positive way. If you want people to take you seriously when writing about scientific topics, you’ll have to get the basics right.
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  Thanks buddy but I got an A- in Organic Chemistry.
  
  It’s a good headline and I’m not trying to write for PhDs.
  
  I post the labs. People can decide for themselves what to believe.
- http://nootroponaut.com/ Nootroponaut
  
  So it’s not right…but pointing it out while not clarifying it doesn’t help further anyone’s understanding of percentages and ratios.
  - Danger & Play Blog
    
    If you click on his other comments, you can see he’s a negative person. I left up his comment in the interest of transparency but banned him.
    
    If he cared about the truth, he could have emailed me; or he could have done the math and I’d have updated my post. He has no interest in helping us further the truth.
    
    He is a gamma male who believes that the secret to gaining status is to tear other men down rather than to help build me up.
    
    Anyhow, he’s not welcome here.
Mattk

I just got my free testosterone done today. I’m 22 years old and I’m only at 440! Pretty disappointing. Doctor said it was normal but obviously its not after doing my research and reading this site along with others. I eat very health (juice veggies, red meats, nuts, etc) but I have been depressed over the last year due to a physical ailment I have suffered, which has disallowed me to lift any weights at all. So my question is, what is the best way to go about increasing my testosterone? I feel like I’m to young for TRT and I feel like if I get over my depression, I will increase to normal levels. Thanks
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  I just showed what I did and showed the exercises. The information is all on this site. Read and more importantly apply it all for 6-8 weeks. Then get measured again.
http://www.4dspark.com 4DSpark

I’m curious if you know why these exercises would cause such a massive increase? Is it all just your body telling you you need more testosterone because of how you’re carrying yourself? Pretty cool if that’s true.
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  Go through the categories. It lowers cortisol. It signals to your body that you take up space. I explain all of this in the YouTube videos. That’s why they are included in this post.
- CoffeeCrazed
  
  CH had an interesting article once showing how as women adopted more masculine behaviour, that their T levels increased. The corrolary is that as men are more feminized, they are lower T.
  
  I wonder, simple hypothesis, if this kind of activity doesn’t so much increase T but allows it to come back to natural levels by remasculinizing oneself. Yes, I get its an increase as well.
  - Danger & Play Blog
    
    Also, I don’t drink water out of plastic botters.
    
    I eat a lot of saturated fats. Lots of almonds.
    
    I have minerals in my diet.
    
    I do mindset training designed to make me more focused and aggressive.
    
    I stand and walk like a man.
    
    I only read inspirational aggressive sites and do not read negative bullshit or whining and bitchign websites.
    
    I don’t allow negative people to post comments.
    
    These exercises are just part of the picture.
    
    Remember, I am the one who invested “lifestyle game.”
    
    D&P is an entire lifestyle redesign.
    - anon1
      
      brilliant, going to try this out aggressively.
Sook

I respect you and the site Mike.

I noticed LH levels are high in both tests. This is unusual post trt or cycle – I have been in the community for a while and I have never seen this happen naturally.

This is, however, characteristic of clomid use. Have you used clomid to help in the restart?
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  Nope. Look at my old lab reports in the post I linked to. I mentioned that I went cold turkey.
  
  As I said in the video, anyone who wants can pay for a drug test and I’ll take it.
  
  I am easy to find, hold regular meet-ups, and am rather friendly in real life. Bring a video camera. Film me turning down a drug test. Post it to YouTube.
  
  So there’s no reason to wonder. Anyone is welcome to come drug test me, day or night.
Sook

Fair enough Mike. I like the honest approach.

While I have no doubt the posture exercises help raise testosterone. This is likely to be temporary and marginal. Although, can be part of a positive spiral of results.

I just think the truth is that most people who come off cycles or trt will need a proper pct plan. Or, more correctly a proper pct plan would help more than going off cold.

While many people can and have recovered naturally, most old school lifters, I think as standard advice it is not the best.

Most sites get pcts wrong along with plans on how to naturally increase test levels.
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  Are you new to the site?
  
  I documented my TRT journey. 18 months on TRT. There’s a bunch of blood work videos. Go watch them.
  
  Gave exact protocol – 50 mg test prop EOD.
  
  I didn’t take anti-estrogens, SERMs, etc. while on TRT and don’t believe people need to.
  
  I documented my PCT.
  
  My PCT = going cold turkey. Took my last injection May 30th (or thereabouts).
  
  Started doing exercises in earnest.
  
  I went from 0 to 200 to 672.
  
  What evidence do you have for the proposition that my T increase is “temporary and marginal”?
  
  Again, I posted everything.
  
  Who else is doing that? Please show me the sources. I read AFBoard and GH15 (the only two boards worth reading about this stuff).
  
  I have never seen anyone do what I did.
  
  If someone else has, please send me the link. I enjoy reading about this stuff.
  - Sook
    
    Mike I have been browsing for the site for a little while.
    
    You do a great job of chronicling your journey. I enjoy reading your posts and they are helpful.
    
    I am just trying to bring some balance here. I honestly do not believe that for most people if they quit trt or a cycle cold turkey they could recover as well as you have. Your results are above average at eight weeks in and it is clearly working for you.
    
    But for many others it would not work and they would need additional support to recover natural levels. I would be happy to post what I think would be helpful if that is constructive – I do not want to take away from your topic so I won’t for the moment. Much of this can be used to naturally increase T levels also – which all men should try pre-trt.
    
    I am also on TRT and can post blood work. I would also add for the majority of men AI is likely to be helpful. There is an ideal zone for testosterone, E2 and the T:E2 ratio for health, libido and well being.
    
    For most people who have 15% body fat and higher they are likely to need an AI. If you are lean with low body fat you probably won’t need it.
    - Danger & Play Blog
      
      ” I honestly do not believe that for most people if they quit trt or a cycle cold turkey they could recover as well as you have.”
      
      Why do you believe that?
      
      We are on the next level here. I don’t write about what everyone else is writing about. This is not the 4 Hour Workweek where I rewrite stuff that is out there.
      
      That’s why everything is documented.
      
      I don’t have “beliefs” or “opinions.”
      
      I experiment. I take labs. I share those labs.
      
      It’s all out in the open.
      
      My results *might* be atypical. How can we know when no one else is doing what I’m doing?
      - Joshua
        
        Garden variety post-modernism.
        Nothing can be said to indicate anything, nothing can be known, all exceptions disprove all rules.
        Facts are inconvenient because then the person with the facts has a “privileged” position relative to the person who “feels” differently.
        Not worth debating- for such people there is no such thing as a fact, anything and everything is open to debate purely on the basis of “you never know…”
      - Sook
        
        It isn’t about you never know. It is about the large body of science which supports that certain drugs can be useful in restoring healthy testosterone levels i.e. clomid, nolva, adex. Also, I would be inclined to use GHRP/GHRH to increase local IGF-1.
        
        I think a little debate and challenge is healthy.
        
        I have no doubt posture exercise could help but as part of a wider programme. I just wouldn’t only use them.
        
        This is similar to the comments regarding AI use on TRT – you don’t need them but it is a big leap to then say no one else does. I feel better with AI use and so do many other men – I have blood work to prove my own journey also.
        
        I just think the readers should see all sides and do their own research, try everything and see what works – with blood work to confirm.
      - Danger & Play Blog
        
        If I had used AIs or SERMs, you’d be the first to jump in to say, “How can you know your posture exercises work? Confounding variables!”
        
        Just admit to yourself that you are a negative person always looking to poke holes in what others do rather than a man of action willing to make your own bold moves.
        
        I’ve used you to make the points that I knew haters would raise. You’ve done what I needed you to do. Have a nice day.
      - Invictus
        
        You’d have thought he’d at least give it a go. Maybe it doesn’t work for everyone but if he’s that worried why not just supplement it with the drugs. All upside, no downside. What would you recommend instead of the cable exercises for someone with a home gym setup? I have dumbells and a bar.
JP C

Hi Mike, just curious, do these excercises supplement a normal routine or is that all you are doing? If you already answered that question, I missed it……I went off TRT cold turkey a couple years ago, always looking to increase….Thanks
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  I do them all the time. High reps, low reps, no weight, just the stretches.
  
  Watch the full playlist. I included it for a reason.
  
  The Mindset training podcasts and posts are also essential reading.
  
  I am getting results that no one else gets (or even believes) because I am teaching and doing things no one else has done.
  
  There are 500+ posts and 50+ podcasts. If you are serious, go down the rabbit hole.
Robert

Got tested last year. Was in the mid 600’s. Was 32 at the time. I’m going to go again soon. But then I’ll try the exercises out for the 6-8 weeks and see if the number changes. I’m very curious about this.
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  Sounds great. Maybe what I am doing is unique to me. Maybe it works for everyone.
  
  I would love for all the guys to shut the fuck up, get the blood work done, do the exercises themselves, and get measured again.
  
  The blood test is $50.
  
  Too much jibber jabber.
  
  At D&P, we are men of action.
  - Robert
    
    Haha yea I agree. Nothing changes if nothing changes.
    
    I do some of the exercises anyway as they stretch my back and ease tension generated from sitting most of the day. I started doing bridges again. That movement feels similar to your exercises (and is an even better stretch). I wonder if that would increase T…
Dman

If your first reaction to extraordinary results is “this can’t work because of X” instead of “wow this awesome I wonder if it will work for me,” then you have a fundamental problem with mindset. Unlike most places, we can actually be sure that this is true, or at least be highly confident that it is.

I think many are so used to reading BS websites, that they think D&P is just another place where people are claiming to do crap that doesn’t work. This is a different beast.

Mike, I want t-shirts.
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  Thanks man. I do meets ups and post labs. Been spotted in public at gyms and coffee shops. Guys who claim to not believe are trolls.
  
  Working on shirts…..and something way cooler.
  - GrizzNasty
    
    I would totally purchase and proudly wear your tee shirt.
T and A man

Guys who are doubting, you’re not stating your case with empiricism. You’re stating your case from a post-modern frame where emotion is conflated with reason, and increased burden is placed on the proponent.

Skepticism of Mike is healthy, but if you want more proof, demonstrate your standard, or in this case, your test that can falsify.

“It can’t be true because everything we’ve been told about the male aging process and testosterone says so” isn’t a good foundation here. A central tenet of this site is that masculinity is demonized and the health consequences of testosterone are understated, otherwise who else thinks its rational for a doctor to send a 22 year old away with a test reading of 303 “on your way son, you’re within range, everything is fine”.

As I said,skepticism is fine. Do the tests yourself,add your data to the population sample. Mikes own efforts are subject to misdirected syllogism and bias due to the chance of genetic anomaly.

Its a problem worth solving, but solve it in a manly fashion. Act, think, create, learn
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  Dishonest people move the goal posts. They ask for proof, you give them proof, then they change the terms of the proof they want.
  
  Few have been trained in critical thinking. That is why there are so many sheep in this world.
  
  The man at D&P understand the scientific method and they understand that my claims are limited to: “Here’s a theory I read about. Here’s what I did. Here’s what happened.”
  
  The onus is on others to take (or not take) action.
  - T and A man
    
    Heh, I’m a bit less cynical I suppose. I’d made the presumption they’ve defaulted to denial due to conditioning. A toxic cultural force that this site is trying to overcome.
    
    They’ve an absence of a goal post rather than shifting it.
    
    I thought more about in the shower after I posted above, and the power of celebrity lending to credibility (mind you its a sign of a decadent society, but that’s a different discussion).
    
    Mark Sassoon can say its body weight exercises and brazil nuts and people instantly believe him.
    
    You disclose your exogenous test regime, when you switched off and corroborating blood tests and…..
    
    I thinks its a cultural force that’s your headwind
    - Danger & Play Blog
      
      That’s a great point on the power of celebrity – one I hadn’t even considered within the context of this post. Thanks.
http://www.forex-system.sk marian

Man that is amazing ! Do you also do normal gym routine ? how much of your testosterone rise would you ayssign to your posture exercise ? did you have any change in nutrition or something elese ? I started doing posture exercise – every other day after I finish weight training I load bar with about 130 kg and I do modified deadlifts for as long as I can in three sets along with other core exercises, man I feel like titan, like I could run thorugh the walls. In on month my posture change has been significant – thanks !
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  My training and nutrition is nothing special. The key for me has been the body posture exercises.
  - http://www.forex-system.sk marian
    
    When you do those exercises how much of your contentration is to do more weight and reps vs.complete stretch. I mean is it important to concentrate on strech or max efford ? Classicla heawy deadlifts have been known to rise testosterone, but concentration newer went to posture , do you think that is the key ?
    - Danger & Play Blog
      
      I posted videos. That’s exactly how I perform the exercises.
      - http://www.forex-system.sk marian
        
        Another great inspiration, I do them for over a month. Another thing in your websites adding value to my life AND MAKING PARADIGM SHIFTS all around world
DoubleLongDaddy

Ive been doing the exercises for 3 weeks now, the victor pride deadlift and mikes dumbell shoulder shrug. Im usually a pretty intense guy, very aggressive, but this all changed when I got a fucking false rape accusation at fucking 17. Its been 8 months since it happened, and in the last 3 weeks ive finally started to feel like myself again. Dont knock if you havent tried it guys.
- T and A man
  
  Sorry to hear about the accusation brother. It must be hard on your psyche.
  
  It may add a hard edge to your intensity, so make sure you channel it right. Act upon it properly though and you’ll move mountains.
  
  You’re amongst friends and winners here and we’d love to see you succeed.
  - DoubleLongDaddy
    
    Thank you brother! I wish I had more sincere people like you in my life!
Chase

cool article mike. This stuff works
http://theofficialjohnandre.com/ John Andre

Mike, why was it so low? Isn’t that abnormally low for a person your age?
darklightdispatch

Most of the TRT articles and podcasts are markedly positive about using test. Have you changed your mind on that? Apparently, you dont need to, but are you planning on going back on TRT at any point in the immediate future to further boost your numbers?
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  I went off TRT because it felt hypocritical of me to teach about dominant mindset while being on TRT.
  
  So I went off to prove my theories are true.
  
  What will I do next? Who knows. Maybe I’ll diet down to 180, get skinny, and then use insulin, hgh, and tren to show what it looks like going from a ripped 180 pounds to a ripped 210 pounds.
  
  Or maybe not.
  
  Just on a journey, my friend, sharing my thoughts and ideas while walking along….
Lazarus

When you posted the last installment in this saga I commented:

“It would indeed be interesting to see if you could regain your previous T levels naturally; given you are older now that would essentially be an increase compared to where you were pre-TRT. I don’t know if that is at all possible after TRT, though.”

Your pre-TRT level was 550 ng/dL, right? So not only was the age-realted decline offset, but you went above your younger baseline.

So that leaves me with the question: The guys who come off TRT and have problems getting their natty T back.. can posture exercises, competition, mindset and all the other stuff you talk about help some of them? Essentially, is the medical community underestimating the ability of the brain and testicles to restart itself? Not long ago my ignorant self was under the belief that “as soon as you start doing any type of steroid your natty T production is screwed up forever”.
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  Your question is what prompted me to stay off.
  
  I was 502 or so pre-TRT.
  
  I haven’t been 672 in a decade.
  - Lazarus
    
    I’m sure you were thinking about that regardless (it was a logical next step), but I am glad I could help shape your thinking.
    
    Your one-man-science-experiments make me optimistic though: A large piece of the missing T in today’s man is not from chemicals in our food/water (e.g. leftovers from birth control), over which we have no control. For us grown men (who eat a healthy diet) I do not think it is a serious health issue. For the unborn and infants, it is a whole other story. It is largely related to the gradual pussification (we are living in a prolonged time of peace – it is to be expected) of men, which we can much more easily influence by tricking our mammalian brains.
    
    I call it “tricking” since lower level primates cannot consciously take on these postures to raise their androgen levels. For them it happens naturally in competition with other males. Since they are unable to control the risky behaviors (fighting) which high T levels encourage, nature was wise enough to tune it down unless they were already in a position of power. Yes, that is a catch 22 – a catch 22 humans can override.
    
    Always look to the other great apes.. they are the key to understanding humans (hmm what is that in your logo).
Ben

Thanks, I’m getting more and more interested in this. I’ve been reading the articles and been doing the one where you stretch your arms backwards and open your chest during my stretching at the gym, but the fact you increased your testosterone so much doing these i’m going to work on adding the rest of them them to each workout. Maybe 5 minutes or so because i’m doing a fair bit in my workouts already.

I’m curious though why doing these exercises boosts your testosterone more than just a normal kind of workout? Like squats or normal deadlifts or whatever? Is it mainly because of the posture?
Simon Adolfsson

Hi D&P!
I really enjoy this site and I absolutely love the podcast. The insights man, the insights!
This site, along with various books exploring the human psycolochy (especially parts about being the man and a Venusianist) has developed me to become the ultimate man that I can be. The funny thing is, you being a lawyer helps me deal with myself becoming a lawyer (two years left on studies). I would like to the Alpha lawyer, just like you. I will start my own business doing law as soon as I am done with my studies.

Since you´re always improving yourself, I thought that I might share my first thought about the podcast and your speech. Have you tried getting rid of your lisp?

And again, I love this stuff.
Ben

Groundbreaking!
Trenbrah

If you don’t have a “connan machine” at your gym do you have an alternate exercise to recommend.
sj tiger

Mike,

How would you characterize the difference in how you feel now vs when your testosterone was over 1000?

Mood, Energy, Results in the gym, etc.
- Ben
  
  Yeah i’m definately interested in that too.
  - Danger & Play Blog
    
    Check out latest podcast. I talk about going off TRT. http://www.dangerandplay.com/2014/07/31/religion-spirtuality-aura-trt-public-speaking/
    - Ben
      
      Cool, thanks.. I hadn’t clicked on that article yet.
Ben

I started the exercises today. I can only do the Victor Pride and Dumbbell one and the stretch one at my gym, but i’m going to add it a few times a week to my workouts and see what the results are.

I’ve also been doing some Qigong stuff by Elliott Hulse called “Anabolic Energizers” that are meant to increase testosterone and other stuff, I definately feel better doing them 10 minutes a day.
JOHN

Good job man. It shows your advice is good.
I took my result today and it shows my T level is 720. Im late 30s man.
Though in the paper it is high enough, blood test result depends on the time blood has been taken.
My blood has been taken at 9:00 am. If your blood has been taken at the same time in morning, it means we are talking on same metrics.
reaper23

What was your stabilized baseline normal T level after coming off of TRT before starting the exercises and such?
- Danger & Play Blog
  
  There’s no such thing as “stabilized baseline normal T” after coming off of TRT without any PCT, but I know what you’re getting at. Before going on TRT I was just under 500. In labs before going on TRT, I was in the 500-600 range. 672 is the highest I’ve been naturally since starting to get blood work nearly a decade ago.
  - reaper23
    
    I’m just curious what to attribute the raise in the levels to. part of it had to be your body kicking back online. but yeah, moving past your previous high is good enough data to support the notion, given that isolating for causality here is really difficult.
    
    i think perhaps the more impressive salient point here is that you were able to restart natural test production at all minus pct. kinda throws a wrench in that old thinking.
    
    i assume my endo would prescribe hcg, clomid, etc if i wanted to go natty all over again. he wouldnt make much money off of telling me to just do some poses and exercises.
    - Danger & Play Blog
      
      Yep. Variables are impossible to separate.
Dominick

Good on you for finding a method that works for you, but this seems kind of quacky to me. how do you know that it was the exercises that brought your t levels back up? maybe your body rebounded by itself?(im giving you the benefit of the doubt because i don’t know what you put into your body).
Ian

Wow Mike-your’e a force of creative and imaginative content. Ive been partying all weekendand reading Roosh’s new book and youve got 6 new posts in the blink of an eye.

Do you think riding Harleys is manly?
Aurelius

I think that another very useful exercise is to maintain good posture throughout the day. Mike said in a former post somewhere that hunching over a desk all day literally turns you into an apathetic keyboard jockey due to the elicited hormonal response. I believe that is true from my experience, though not in an extreme sense. Hunching over in a chair leaves me feeling tired, spacey and lethargic.

Several months ago I made the conscious effort to sit upright at all times. It definitely takes some time to get used to. I gave myself the command “Head up, shoulder pinched back,” and I would check myself every half hour or so. It takes several weeks of constant reinforcement, but eventually upright posture will become a habit. I find that I no longer feel the urge to nod off, and feel more engaged and motivated throughout the day.

It also will help to hit the rear delts with band pull aparts and YTWLs, as many people will not have the strength/endurance to consistently maintain posture at first. Hammer that musculature with a beastie ball too. Your upper back will tighten and freak out at the newly imposed demand that you place upon it for the first few weeks.
Johnny

Mike is it possible for us guys in the 30s to hit stud levels of 1000 testosterone without harming ourselves or am I too delusional on this one?
Wolfzard

I’d started doing those exercises, i think are great but my question is, how many sets daily?

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