Dear friend and fellow athlete,

Blood work may not be the most exciting or sexy topic in bodybuilding. But ignoring blood testing could cost you years in the gym and pounds of precious muscle gains. This being said, it’s critical that you get your blood work done – especially in regard to checking IGF-1, testosterone and estradiol levels.

Over the past few days, I told you about the top anabolic steroids that models use to build their award-winning muscular physiques. In case you missed any of them, here are the links:

Winstrol Anabolic Steroid: Free Guide: Jaw-Dropping Muscle

Masteron Top Anabolic Steroid for Lean Muscle Gains

Build Muscle with HGH and Testosterone

I also told you about Test Stack No.17, the very-hard-to-come-by legal testosterone accelerator that can be used year round to keep your natural testosterone production sky-high, making you an alpha-male 24/7. A product like this is good to know about because, in addition to giving you Winstrol and Masteron-like gains, it can help you recover from a steroid cycle by bringing your testosterone levels back to where they should be after the steroids suppressed it. Sadly, it is currently out-of-stock.

But, here's the question... How do you know where your natural testosterone production should be? You learn that by getting a blood test.

This lesson about knowing your own testosterone levels is one that I learned the hard way. You see, I struggled for years to build muscle mass and get rid of the inner-tube around my midsection but nothing worked and I never got the ripped lean look of a top male underwear model or bodybuilder... until I learned that my testosterone levels were low... Way low. The first doctor I went to told me that my inability to develop a great physique was not due to low testosterone levels. He said my testosterone level of 370ng/dl was perfectly normal. Well, that level is perfectly normal - as I would later learn and will explain to you in this article - for a 90-year-old man!

Anyway, I dealt with my low testosterone levels and I am proud to say that my testosterone levels are now in the high end of normal - my levels are even better than a guy age 21! I use a rare dietary supplement, Test Stack 17, to more than double my testosterone levels... An increase of over 200% without resorting to permanent, irreversible, hormone replacement therapy. I'll tell you about the ingredients in it in a few days, but don't even bother sending me an email asking where you can get some; it has been out of stock for weeks now - and last time when there was a batch of just under 5000 bottles available, it sold out in 72 hours.

Today I want to tell you more about knowing your own testosterone level. Knowing this number is important for so many reasons. For example, if you decide to go on an anabolic steroid cycle, you will now have a baseline to use to know what your body should return to after your cycle is over.

It only seems logical to think that if we eat the right food and routinely hit the weights, we’re going to be perfectly healthy and have a ripped physique. And if you add lots of supplements to the equation, well... there’s no stopping you, right? But while beginning bodybuilders tell us that just by busting your butt, eating a solid diet and taking some (probably worthless) supplements are the golden ticket, there’s much more to worry about here.

This is especially the case when it comes to hormonal levels because hormones play a major part in determining your physique, sex drive and overall health. If you have high testosterone levels, for instance, you’re generally going to be happier, maintain a better physique, be more energetic and, most importantly, satisfy your lady again and again. On the other hand, low test leads to more body fat, less energy, being a dud in the bedroom, worse overall health, and potentially being beaten by a 15-year-old girl in arm wrestling.

Obviously none of these effects are traits of a desirable man, so it’s important that you know what’s going on with your testosterone and other hormone levels. And the primary tool that you have for doing so involves getting your blood work done.

Now the first thought that may pop into some of your heads might be “blood work is expensive,” and/or “I’m perfectly healthy – there’s no need for that.” But the truth is that most insurance companies spring for blood work, and testing could potentially save you tons of medical fees by identifying a problem early.

As for those who think that they’re fine because they work out and eat clean, well there’s still no guarantee that all of your hormones are at or near normal levels. Furthermore, why pour your heart into the gym and eat clean, only to ignore blood testing? This being said, let’s discuss some of the most important hormones that you want tested, what your results mean, and how to treat any problems.

A Visit to the Lab

Contrary to what some people may envision, getting blood work done isn’t some complicated process that’s filled with headaches. The most common way is to visit your family doctor, discuss what you’re concerned about, get a prescription for blood testing, and visit a local lab. As I mentioned before, many insurance companies will cover a portion of testing costs.

Of course, not everybody wants to deal with a doctor when getting blood work done. And the testing can get pricey, depending upon your insurance company’s policies. That said, some people like to deal with online labs so they can bypass the doctor and cut down on costs. But go this route at your own discretion and do some research before picking an online lab.

As for the exact hormones you should have tested, this varies based on the amount of money you’re willing to spend and how serious you are about muscle-building/health. But here are some of the main things I have done: IGF-1, total testosterone, free testosterone, free T3, free T4, estradiol (E2), SHBG and TSH. Whatever you do, make sure to at least get your total testosterone and if you can afford it or insurance will pay, get your IGF-1 and estradiol levels tested too. Here’s a closer look at why these hormones are so important:

Estradiol (Estrogen) – Seeing as how estradiol is a sex hormone that regulates a woman’s menstrual cycle, this isn’t exactly something that guys want to be full of. Sure every male has a small amount of estradiol in order to increase the longevity of our sperm cells; however, too much of this hormone can lead to major problems. An increased risk of prostate cancer, lower libido and decreased alpha traits are some of the main drawbacks to high estradiol levels in a male. Plus estradiol is a testosterone antagonist, which means it blocks androgen receptors and prevents your testosterone from doing its job.

Testosterone – Much has already been made about the importance of testosterone in men, but here goes anyway. High test levels are essential for packing on muscle, a great sex drive, a healthy heart and strong bones. Low testosterone leaves you feeling more fatigued, depressed, adds fat, increases osteoporosis risk and lowers libido. What’s bad is that your test levels can drop off without you even realizing it due to mineral deficiency (especially zinc), increased belly fat, elevated stress and even overtraining.

IGF-1 – Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (somatomedin C) has a number of benefits for adults, including fat loss, increasing lean muscle mass, building better bones and healing injuries. IGF-1 is also believed to promote longevity and offer anti-aging benefits. Since everything that’s been discussed so far is a positive thing, you definitely don’t want overly-low IGF-1 levels.

Understanding Blood Work Results

Once you’ve gotten your blood tests done, the next step is to interpret the results. Those who go through their doctor may sit down with the MD to discuss their test results and what the results mean. You should definitely ask the doctor for a copy of your blood work too, rather than taking their word for everything. Many times, a doctor told somebody that their testosterone levels were fine, only for the poor guy to find out that they’re actually very low-normal. And while this might be okay for the average person, it’s not okay for somebody who’s trying to pack on muscle or burn fat.

Assuming you’re not working with an MD, you don’t have to spend four years in medical school to understand a blood test. There is plenty of information about this on the internet, which makes it fairly easy to understand what a normal range is for each hormone. According to LabCorp’s Directory of Services page, acceptable male levels for the hormones that we discussed are as follows:

Total Testosterone: 348-1197 ng/dl (nanograms per deciliter)
IGF-1 (21-25 years old): 83-344 ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter)
Estradiol: 7.6-42.6 pg/mL (picograms per milliliter)

As you can see, it’s much easier to decipher blood test results when you’ve got a range to reference. It’s obviously better to be at the high end of testosterone and IGF-1 ranges – especially if you are younger and at the very low end of estradiol. So if one doctor tells a 20-year-old that his 350 ng/dl testosterone levels are perfectly fine, this guy should seek another MD’s opinion.

What to do about Hormone Imbalances

In the best case scenario, you’ll be discussing your blood tests with a doctor who’s reasonable and actually cares. The doctor will then treat you and prescribe the correct drugs to help restore your hormonal balance to normal levels. This way, you get their level of expertise and, more importantly, a prescription for treating the problem - and again, insurance pays!

Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world and not every doctor is going to treat you for low-normal levels of a hormone. Some may tell you that your testosterone is completely fine just because it barely fits into the normal range – never mind the fact that this normal scale could include everybody from a 25-year-old bodybuilder to an 80-year-old man who hasn’t got it up in a decade. Likewise, an MD might tell you that it’s natural for IGF-1 to decline with age – even if you’re just a few days past the age of 30.

So the point is that if a doctor isn’t willing to help you out just because your hormone levels barely make the cut, you have two main options: A) visit another doctor, or B) treat the problem yourself. The downside is that this means breaking the law and buying gear on the black market - much of which is counterfeit.

Assuming you’d like other alternatives besides juicing, there are some natural methods or supplements that can help. Using low testosterone as an example again, you could try the following methods to boost your T:

- Work out more
- Lose belly fat
- Eat a balanced diet (no crazy fad diets)
- Have sex in the morning (boosts levels throughout the day)
- Don’t overtrain
- Get your sleep

You should also grab a bottle of Test Stack No.17 the minute it gets back in stock.

I realize that this may not be ground-breaking advice to many of you. But it’s just one example of some means that you can use to boost test levels. Of course, much of what I listed above, Test Stack No.17 in particular, has a positive effect on other undesirable male hormone problems like low IGF-1 and high estradiol.

However, you won’t know that there’s a problem to treat unless you take the first and most important step: get your blood work done! Ideally, you’ll get blood work done at least once a year. But if you don’t have the money for this, get blood testing as often as your situation warrants. This is especially the case if you’re constantly feeling drained, not performing in the bedroom, showing little-to-no muscle gain, feel like you have lost your edge, and start accumulating ugly body fat at a rapid rate.

Yours in sport,

George Spellwin

PS, in tomorrows article, Gynecomastia & Christian, the Dancer Dude who Grew Double D's, I'm going to tell you about the very harmful effects of having high estrogen.

Our friend Christian fell victim to the Estrogen Epidemic and was essentially chemically castrated by all the estrogen-causing substances in the modern world. And I'll show you how you will be able to sail on the sea of estrogen (our modern world) with alpha-male levels of testosterone guaranteed to keep your testosterone levels way above those of average guys.

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