Testosterone: we hear it thrown around constantly as the silver bullet for curing all kinds of symptoms. Join me in Episode #309 as I sit down with Dr Adam Hotchkiss, podiatric physician and foot surgeon turned human optimisation specialist, to answer all your burning questions about testosterone, TRT, steroids, and more. This is an important listen for any men considering using steroids to enhance their physique or looking to safely increase testosterone without compromising fertility.
Dr Adam Hotchkiss, originally a podiatric physician and foot and ankle surgeon, shifted his career focus from surgery to health coaching, motivated by the reactive nature of traditional medicine and his personal commitment to human optimization. Dr Hotchkiss, who has competitive experience in CrossFit, powerlifting, and bodybuilding, has applied his knowledge in nutrition, supplements, and performance-enhancing drugs to coach over 6,000 individuals. His holistic approach includes nutrition, exercise, collaborations with physicians, and comprehensive lab work, aiming to enhance physical, mental, and spiritual health and prevent diseases.
We take a deep dive into testosterone in this episode, covering what it is, what’s considered normal and healthy levels in men, and symptoms of low testosterone. Dr Hotchkiss breaks down how lifestyle factors can influence your testosterone, explains how to boost it (and whether you need to), and covers concerns about fertility and heart disease.
Specifically, we discuss:
- Introduction (00:00)
- Adam Hotchkiss’ Journey: From Podiatry to Hormonal Health Optimisation (03:55)
- Understanding testosterone’s functions, symptoms of deficiency, and impact on overall health (12:00)
- How the body makes testosterone? (20:56)
- Understanding Total, Free, and Bioavailable Testosterone Levels (24:35)
- Examining Testosterone Reference Ranges and How They’ve Changed Over Time (29:46)
- Role of Oestrogen in Testosterone Replacement Therapy Benefits (38:27)
- Preserving Fertility While on Testosterone Therapy: HCG and Other Options (48:48)
- HCG and Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT): What You Need to Know (55:17)
- Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT): When Is It Necessary? (1:01:09)
- Understanding Testosterone Replacement Therapy: Bioidentical vs Synthetic (1:04:56)
- The Science Behind Steroid Abuse: What Young Men Need to Know (1:12:39)
- How Does Testosterone Affect Cardiovascular Health? (1:16:02)
- Optimising Testosterone Levels Through Lifestyle Changes: Nutrition, Sleep, Exercise (1:20:28)
- Do Testosterone-Boosting Supplements Really Work? (1:33:55)
- Should You Optimise Testosterone Levels? Case Study and Discussion (1:36:30)
- Trenbolone Exposed: Exploring the Evidence on Side Effects (1:44:35)
- Outro (1:54:11)
I hope this episode helped you better understand the risks of misusing steroids, and the potential benefits in optimising your lifestyle to improve testosterone naturally – if it’s needed at all. There are plenty of predatory sales tactics in place to guide individuals towards treatments that are completely unnecessary, and Dr Hotchkiss provided an empowering explanation in this episode.
Connect with Dr Adam Hotchkiss on Instagram and learn more on YouTube.
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More about Dr Adam Hotchkiss
By training, Dr. Adam Hotchkiss was a podiatric physician and foot and ankle surgeon. He found that 90% of his treatments in medicine were reactive in nature. Patients sought treatments from him when a preventable disease like diabetes or atherosclerosis had progressed to the point where amputation may be their only choice. Rarely did he have the opportunity to empower healthy patients to prevent disease.
In his personal life, Adam was passionate about human optimization. He’d been competitive in CrossFit, powerlifting, and bodybuilding and had extensive experience nutrition, supplements, hormones and performance enhancing drugs in these arenas. He aimed to enhance his health in every facet: physical, mental, and spiritual. He became a physician with the hope he would help people do the same.
Given these experiences, Adam changed his focus from surgery to overall human optimization and disease prevention through health coaching. He’s coached over 6000 people, taking a holistic approach and utilizing nutrition, exercise, physician collaborations, and in-depth laboratory work to improve systemic markers and overall well-being.
