NYT Magazine on the Male Testosterone Boom

[Calm Logic]

Why So Many Guys Are Obsessed With Testosterone​#-why-so-many-guys-are-obsessed-with-testosteroneMarch/May 2026

...One more thing that muddies the picture: everyday problems such as obesity, stress, poor sleep and diabetes can drag testosterone down all by themselves, which turns the whole thing into a loop that feeds itself. Plenty of physicians push men to fix diet and training first and see whether T climbs back naturally, before anyone commits to T.R.T. Dr. Mohit Khera, a urologist at Baylor College of Medicine, argues that age on its own barely shifts T at all, and lays part of the blame on the fact that, as a population, we simply keep getting sicker.

...Because online clinics hand testosterone out so indiscriminately, the one thing most of those men will actually get is extra muscle. For plenty of them that is more than enough. The sales pitch, though, usually promises far more, insisting testosterone could repair both mind and body. “Online, everyone is saying testosterone is the solution to all of your problems,” Dubin says, then adds the plain caveat that it very clearly is not.

Without paywall: http://archive.today/2026.05.30-100...azine/testosterone-masculinity-trump-rfk.html

Further reading:




Muscle Dysmorphia, Obsessive–Compulsive Traits, and Anabolic Steroid Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - PMC



Muscle dysmorphia (MD) describes a body image disorder built on obsessive preoccupation with muscularity, together with compulsive habits such as over-exercising, rigid dieting and constantly inspecting the body. Researchers have tied MD to obsessive–compulsive ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"Muscle dysmorphia...exists at the intersection of obsessive–compulsive psychopathology and substance-related behavior"


https://gertitashkomd.com/high-dose-trt-and-tendon-ruptures-whats-the-risk/

 

[Vash]

Where do our feelings go?

We bury them in our muscles.

How do we bury them more effectively?

By getting even bigger muscles.

 

[FartfulCodger]

Some bloke with a handbag, of all people, trying to lecture me on the perils of “muscle dysmorphia”.

 

[Gr33dyOctopus]

FartfulCodger said:

Some bloke with a handbag, of all people, trying to lecture me on the perils of “muscle dysmorphia”.

The word is Murse. A MANS purse.

And sheeeit, muscles on their own are plenty for me, and on top of that I might end up with the Sydney Sweeney gyno mega rack!!!

 

[Airborne Daddy]

99 problems and a test level of 3200 still isn’t one….

 

[Vash]

Gr33dyOctopus said:

FartfulCodger said:

Some bloke with a handbag, of all people, trying to lecture me on the perils of “muscle dysmorphia”.

The word is Murse. A MANS purse.

And sheeeit, muscles on their own are plenty for me, and on top of that I might end up with the Sydney Sweeney gyno mega rack!!!

Don’t look this up on Google…

 

[HouseCat]

Vash said:

Gr33dyOctopus said:

FartfulCodger said:

Some bloke with a handbag, of all people, trying to lecture me on the perils of “muscle dysmorphia”.

The word is Murse. A MANS purse.

And sheeeit, muscles on their own are plenty for me, and on top of that I might end up with the Sydney Sweeney gyno mega rack!!!

Don’t look this up on Google…

Exactly me at this moment

 

[skaylife]

The main reason so many guys are this fixated on their testesteron level, in my opinion, is that they drink tap water

 

[HouseCat]

Gr33dyOctopus said:

FartfulCodger said:

Some bloke with a handbag, of all people, trying to lecture me on the perils of “muscle dysmorphia”.

The word is Murse. A MANS purse.

And sheeeit, muscles on their own are plenty for me, and on top of that I might end up with the Sydney Sweeney gyno mega rack!!!

Thanks Google! Makes sense now. She is blessed!

skaylife said:

The main reason so many guys are this fixated on their testesteron level, in my opinion, is that they drink tap water

I’m lost…is the joke that “men chase T because breathing is just what men do!”, i.e. “that’s simply how men are”, or is the claim that tap water influences how much obsession and/or testosterone a man ends up with? Not trying to be snarky, genuinely confused

 

[skaylife]

HouseCat said:

Gr33dyOctopus said:

FartfulCodger said:

Some bloke with a handbag, of all people, trying to lecture me on the perils of “muscle dysmorphia”.

The word is Murse. A MANS purse.

And sheeeit, muscles on their own are plenty for me, and on top of that I might end up with the Sydney Sweeney gyno mega rack!!!

Thanks Google! Makes sense now. She is blessed!

skaylife said:

The main reason so many guys are this fixated on their testesteron level, in my opinion, is that they drink tap water

I’m lost…is the joke that “men chase T because breathing is just what men do!”, i.e. “that’s simply how men are”, or is the claim that tap water influences how much obsession and/or testosterone a man ends up with? Not trying to be snarky, genuinely confused

It is only a joke. It’s common knowledge that tap water holds far too much ostrogeen from all the conception pills in use, which drags testesteron levels down. There was even a doctor who dared to state that tap water was one reason homosexuality rose back in the era

Another joke, about breathing. People sometimes ask which type of women I find most sexy? It makes no difference to me. Long as they can breath, that’s enough

 

[FartfulCodger]

Seriously now - Gemini tells me 90% of cosmetic procedures are done on women. Tummy tucks, facelifts, breast augmentations, it never ends.

Yet the moment I want to add muscle, that’s supposedly a form of body dysmorphia--a sign of shaky mental health, an emotional failing I’m meant to address.

Worth noting that some testosterone plus a gym membership costs far less than going under the knife, and no scalpel or general anesthesia is involved.

I’ve never heard of this author, but my guess is that if we were talking about cosmetic surgery for women, she’d frame it as courage--a bold claim of ownership over her own body, the freedom to be whoever she is, blah blah...

Oh, spare me.

 

[deleted.user.27]

I went on test to sort things out downstairs at 60, which got me into the gym, which got me a body I’m starting to be proud of. HGH is next on the list. Everyone should care about their body and their general health. And if someone told me eating dried white dog shit bought me extra years, I’d say pass the f####g hot sauce! !

 

[Meritocrat]

FartfulCodger said:

Seriously now - Gemini tells me 90% of cosmetic procedures are done on women. Tummy tucks, facelifts, breast augmentations, it never ends.

Yet the moment I want to add muscle, that’s supposedly a form of body dysmorphia--a sign of shaky mental health, an emotional failing I’m meant to address.

Worth noting that some testosterone plus a gym membership costs far less than going under the knife, and no scalpel or general anesthesia is involved.

I’ve never heard of this author, but my guess is that if we were talking about cosmetic surgery for women, she’d frame it as courage--a bold claim of ownership over her own body, the freedom to be whoever she is, blah blah...

Oh, spare me.

Oh yea. And it’s worse than that - with cosmetic surgery, it’s all about getting things for “free”. Every drop of testosterone on earth buys you nothing without the gym work behind it. Put it another way: AAS gains are EARNED, yet people still have #$%^ crying foul about men using AAS’s. The $!mp3d3m!c force is strong. As for tap water, that could be one reason in a thousand.

 

[5byfive]

FartfulCodger said:

Seriously now - Gemini tells me 90% of cosmetic procedures are done on women. Tummy tucks, facelifts, breast augmentations, it never ends.

Yet the moment I want to add muscle, that’s supposedly a form of body dysmorphia--a sign of shaky mental health, an emotional failing I’m meant to address.

Worth noting that some testosterone plus a gym membership costs far less than going under the knife, and no scalpel or general anesthesia is involved.

I’ve never heard of this author, but my guess is that if we were talking about cosmetic surgery for women, she’d frame it as courage--a bold claim of ownership over her own body, the freedom to be whoever she is, blah blah...

Oh, spare me.

Honestly, surgery might have cost me less than the home gym did. That road is every bit as addictive as peps.

 

[MikeyMike]

Funny that a piece about “toxic” masculinity only uses that phrase once! Still, glad it exists. Most men who stand to gain from TRT would get something out of reading it.

It amazes me that fertility worries get pinned on TRT, when excess weight plays at least as large a role, maybe larger, in male fertility.

TRT since April for me, HGH since late May. Complete game changer - my gym goals are getting demolished. At 52 I’d tried everything else to raise Test and win back the muscle I’d dropped; losing 35 pounds had produced no gains at all. Now muscle and strength are coming, my libido is back and my marriage is much better for it. I’m a big fan of TRT: it put my levels at 1200 and changed my life.

 

[endlrls]

Vash said:

Where do our feelings go?

We bury them in our muscles.

How do we bury them more effectively?

By getting even bigger muscles.

oh boy…

 

[skaylife]

Vash said:

Where do our feelings go?

We bury them in our muscles.

How do we bury them more effectively?

By getting even bigger muscles.

It’s not the size that counts

 

[jordekorn]

Vash said:

Gr33dyOctopus said:

FartfulCodger said:

Some bloke with a handbag, of all people, trying to lecture me on the perils of “muscle dysmorphia”.

The word is Murse. A MANS purse.

And sheeeit, muscles on their own are plenty for me, and on top of that I might end up with the Sydney Sweeney gyno mega rack!!!

Don’t look this up on Google…

Well, that settles it - I’m off to do exactly that…

 

[Skidude]

Calm Logic said:

Why So Many Guys Are Obsessed With Testosterone​#-why-so-many-guys-are-obsessed-with-testosteroneMarch/May 2026

...One more thing that muddies the picture: everyday problems such as obesity, stress, poor sleep and diabetes can drag testosterone down all by themselves, which turns the whole thing into a loop that feeds itself. Plenty of physicians push men to fix diet and training first and see whether T climbs back naturally, before anyone commits to T.R.T. Dr. Mohit Khera, a urologist at Baylor College of Medicine, argues that age on its own barely shifts T at all, and lays part of the blame on the fact that, as a population, we simply keep getting sicker.

...Because online clinics hand testosterone out so indiscriminately, the one thing most of those men will actually get is extra muscle. For plenty of them that is more than enough. The sales pitch, though, usually promises far more, insisting testosterone could repair both mind and body. “Online, everyone is saying testosterone is the solution to all of your problems,” Dubin says, then adds the plain caveat that it very clearly is not.

Without paywall: http://archive.today/2026.05.30-100...azine/testosterone-masculinity-trump-rfk.html

Further reading:




Muscle Dysmorphia, Obsessive–Compulsive Traits, and Anabolic Steroid Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - PMC



Muscle dysmorphia (MD) describes a body image disorder built on obsessive preoccupation with muscularity, together with compulsive habits such as over-exercising, rigid dieting and constantly inspecting the body. Researchers have tied MD to obsessive–compulsive ...

View attachment 249


pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"Muscle dysmorphia...exists at the intersection of obsessive–compulsive psychopathology and substance-related behavior"


https://gertitashkomd.com/high-dose-trt-and-tendon-ruptures-whats-the-risk/






View attachment 250

Genuinely appreciate the feedback, and I respect the “harm reduction” aim.

The wording a lot of these studies use, plus the assumption that TRT exists only for cosmetic or vanity reasons, looks like an overstated conclusion to me.

I am talking about TRT only here. I have not gone anywhere near supraphysiological dosing.

I would agree that many of us, myself included, are after every benefit going - which takes in wanting to look better as much as feel better.

I also think it’s a slippery slope, the same as most of the peps and compounds we buy with no grasp of the full physiological picture. That area is unquestionably more dangerous and can leave lasting damage.

That said, I agree with a few of the points I’m about to paste in: people differ, high doses are hard to work out when labs show no big reaction, and there is plenty on offer besides muscle.

What do you make of this:

A dose of 150 mg per week is not considered a high dose when that is what your body needs to sit in a normal, healthy physiological range. [1, 2]

Whatever you were reading was probably leaning on older clinical guidance or strict academic protocols, which tend to treat 100 mg per week as the ceiling for replacement. Modern TRT clinics and their specialists accept that real-world biology is all over the place. [1, 4]

Why 150 mg Counts as Standard, Not “High”

• Individual Metabolism: No two men clear exogenous hormones at the same speed. A 100 mg dose could leave one man sitting at a healthy 700 ng/dL while another stays subtherapeutic at 350 ng/dL. [1, 2]
  
• The Role of SHBG: SHBG (Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin) soaks up testosterone like a sponge. When a man’s SHBG runs high he will usually need more per week (often 150 mg to 200 mg) simply to release enough active testosterone into his tissues. [1, 2, 4]
  
• Clinic vs. Academic Disconnect: Older academic literature tends to aim at the smallest dose that clears the basic clinical symptoms. Specialized modern clinics instead tune levels up into the upper-normal physiological range (typically 700 to 1,000 ng/dL), where patients describe the strongest symptom relief. [1, 2, 4]

What the TRT range actually looks like

Injectable testosterone (cypionate or enanthate) is broadly split by medical consensus into these bands: 2, 3, 4, 5]

• Low/Conservative Dose (75–100 mg/week): Best suited to men who respond strongly, who run low SHBG, or who are older.
  
• Moderate/Common Dose (100–150 mg/week): The usual “sweet spot” for most men on TRT.
  
• Higher Therapeutic Dose (150–200 mg/week): Often needed by bigger men, fast metabolizers, or anyone with high SHBG.
  
• Abnormal / Performance Doses (200 mg+ / week): Seldom needed for genuine medical replacement; go into this territory and the odds of side effects climb, such as thick blood (high hematocrit) or elevated estrogen. [1, 2, 3]

In the end, the figure in the syringe counts for far less than what the blood work shows. If 150 mg lands your trough levels (the low point just before the next injection) inside a standard, healthy male range, then it is legally, medically and biologically a replacement dose—not a “high” or performance-enhancing dose.

 

[miameow]

Calm Logic said:

Why So Many Guys Are Obsessed With Testosterone​#-why-so-many-guys-are-obsessed-with-testosteroneMarch/May 2026

...One more thing that muddies the picture: everyday problems such as obesity, stress, poor sleep and diabetes can drag testosterone down all by themselves, which turns the whole thing into a loop that feeds itself. Plenty of physicians push men to fix diet and training first and see whether T climbs back naturally, before anyone commits to T.R.T. Dr. Mohit Khera, a urologist at Baylor College of Medicine, argues that age on its own barely shifts T at all, and lays part of the blame on the fact that, as a population, we simply keep getting sicker.

...Because online clinics hand testosterone out so indiscriminately, the one thing most of those men will actually get is extra muscle. For plenty of them that is more than enough. The sales pitch, though, usually promises far more, insisting testosterone could repair both mind and body. “Online, everyone is saying testosterone is the solution to all of your problems,” Dubin says, then adds the plain caveat that it very clearly is not.

Without paywall: http://archive.today/2026.05.30-100...azine/testosterone-masculinity-trump-rfk.html

Further reading:




Muscle Dysmorphia, Obsessive–Compulsive Traits, and Anabolic Steroid Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - PMC



Muscle dysmorphia (MD) describes a body image disorder built on obsessive preoccupation with muscularity, together with compulsive habits such as over-exercising, rigid dieting and constantly inspecting the body. Researchers have tied MD to obsessive–compulsive ...

View attachment 249


pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"Muscle dysmorphia...exists at the intersection of obsessive–compulsive psychopathology and substance-related behavior"


https://gertitashkomd.com/high-dose-trt-and-tendon-ruptures-whats-the-risk/






View attachment 250

the "only" benefit???

Calm Logic said:

Why So Many Guys Are Obsessed With Testosterone​#-why-so-many-guys-are-obsessed-with-testosteroneMarch/May 2026

...One more thing that muddies the picture: everyday problems such as obesity, stress, poor sleep and diabetes can drag testosterone down all by themselves, which turns the whole thing into a loop that feeds itself. Plenty of physicians push men to fix diet and training first and see whether T climbs back naturally, before anyone commits to T.R.T. Dr. Mohit Khera, a urologist at Baylor College of Medicine, argues that age on its own barely shifts T at all, and lays part of the blame on the fact that, as a population, we simply keep getting sicker.

...Because online clinics hand testosterone out so indiscriminately, the one thing most of those men will actually get is extra muscle. For plenty of them that is more than enough. The sales pitch, though, usually promises far more, insisting testosterone could repair both mind and body. “Online, everyone is saying testosterone is the solution to all of your problems,” Dubin says, then adds the plain caveat that it very clearly is not.

Without paywall: http://archive.today/2026.05.30-100...azine/testosterone-masculinity-trump-rfk.html

Further reading:




Muscle Dysmorphia, Obsessive–Compulsive Traits, and Anabolic Steroid Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - PMC



Muscle dysmorphia (MD) describes a body image disorder built on obsessive preoccupation with muscularity, together with compulsive habits such as over-exercising, rigid dieting and constantly inspecting the body. Researchers have tied MD to obsessive–compulsive ...

View attachment 249


pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"Muscle dysmorphia...exists at the intersection of obsessive–compulsive psychopathology and substance-related behavior"


https://gertitashkomd.com/high-dose-trt-and-tendon-ruptures-whats-the-risk/






View attachment 250

This guy obviously hasn’t spent time on looksmax.org - nobody there treats testosterone as the fix for every looks-maxing problem.

Calm Logic said:

Why So Many Guys Are Obsessed With Testosterone​#-why-so-many-guys-are-obsessed-with-testosteroneMarch/May 2026

...One more thing that muddies the picture: everyday problems such as obesity, stress, poor sleep and diabetes can drag testosterone down all by themselves, which turns the whole thing into a loop that feeds itself. Plenty of physicians push men to fix diet and training first and see whether T climbs back naturally, before anyone commits to T.R.T. Dr. Mohit Khera, a urologist at Baylor College of Medicine, argues that age on its own barely shifts T at all, and lays part of the blame on the fact that, as a population, we simply keep getting sicker.

...Because online clinics hand testosterone out so indiscriminately, the one thing most of those men will actually get is extra muscle. For plenty of them that is more than enough. The sales pitch, though, usually promises far more, insisting testosterone could repair both mind and body. “Online, everyone is saying testosterone is the solution to all of your problems,” Dubin says, then adds the plain caveat that it very clearly is not.

Without paywall: http://archive.today/2026.05.30-100...azine/testosterone-masculinity-trump-rfk.html

Further reading:




Muscle Dysmorphia, Obsessive–Compulsive Traits, and Anabolic Steroid Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - PMC



Muscle dysmorphia (MD) describes a body image disorder built on obsessive preoccupation with muscularity, together with compulsive habits such as over-exercising, rigid dieting and constantly inspecting the body. Researchers have tied MD to obsessive–compulsive ...

View attachment 249


pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"Muscle dysmorphia...exists at the intersection of obsessive–compulsive psychopathology and substance-related behavior"


https://gertitashkomd.com/high-dose-trt-and-tendon-ruptures-whats-the-risk/






View attachment 250

Yup, crystal clear. Just head over to looksmax.org.

FartfulCodger said:

Seriously now - Gemini tells me 90% of cosmetic procedures are done on women. Tummy tucks, facelifts, breast augmentations, it never ends.

Yet the moment I want to add muscle, that’s supposedly a form of body dysmorphia--a sign of shaky mental health, an emotional failing I’m meant to address.

Worth noting that some testosterone plus a gym membership costs far less than going under the knife, and no scalpel or general anesthesia is involved.

I’ve never heard of this author, but my guess is that if we were talking about cosmetic surgery for women, she’d frame it as courage--a bold claim of ownership over her own body, the freedom to be whoever she is, blah blah...

Oh, spare me.

Pretty sure women catch at least as much criticism, if not more, over body dysmorphia any time one of them has plastic surgery or simply drops weight. Anyone who doesn’t celebrate the fuller shape isn’t “inclusive” enough nowadays. People just love to hate, men or women.

Honestly, the man is a clown and nobody should take him seriously.