Protocols / PERFORMANCE

Testosterone Protocol

Fix the habits that actually move testosterone.

Most of what moves testosterone is in your habits: losing excess fat, sleeping enough, drinking less and training consistently. This protocol covers those first, then gives an honest verdict on Tongkat Ali, Fadogia, boron, zinc and vitamin D, with safety notes, and tells you when the right next step is a doctor, not a supplement.

€9 · one-time payment · instant PDF · by Anthony Falcone

What's included

  • When to see a doctor (symptoms and tests)
  • Body fat, sleep, alcohol and training levers
  • Supplement verdicts: Tongkat Ali, Fadogia, boron, zinc, vitamin D
  • Safety notes and EU dose limits
  • 12-week plan with a retest
  • 20 peer-reviewed references

Built for

Build Muscle · More Energy · Peak Performance

Inside the PDF: 8 chapters

  1. Before You Start: When to See a Doctor: Low testosterone is a medical diagnosis, not a feeling. If you have the symptoms below, see a doctor before you try anything in this guide: the cause can be something that needs treating, and a blood test is the only way to know.
  2. What Moves Testosterone: Most of what you can do yourself comes down to four habits. Supplements come last, because their effects are small or uncertain.
  3. Body Fat: Excess body fat is strongly linked to lower testosterone, and losing it is the lifestyle change with the best evidence for raising it.
  4. Sleep: Sleep is the cheapest lever you have: in a lab study, cutting it short lowered testosterone within a week.
  5. Alcohol: Even moderate, regular drinking lowered testosterone in a controlled trial, and alcohol also disturbs sleep.
  6. Training: Training is good for your health and your body composition. The short testosterone rise after a heavy session is not what makes it work.
  7. Supplements: What the Trials Show: Most 'testosterone boosters' have never been tested in people. Here is what has, how strong the evidence is, and who should not take them. If your testosterone is truly low, a supplement is not the answer: see a doctor.
  8. Your 12-Week Plan: Give the basics three months before you judge them, then check the result with your doctor.

Safety notes

  • Testosterone treatment is a medical decision between you and your doctor, with benefits, risks and monitoring. This guide gives no advice on it. Never use testosterone, steroids or other hormones bought without a prescription. Treatment is not recommended for men planning to have children soon (Bhasin et al., 2018).
  • See your doctor if you snore loudly, someone has seen you stop breathing in your sleep, or you are very sleepy during the day. These can be signs of sleep apnoea, which needs treatment, and untreated severe sleep apnoea matters if testosterone treatment is ever considered (Bhasin et al., 2018).
  • Fadogia agrestis has never been tested in a human trial. In rats it raised testosterone (Yakubu et al., 2005), but 28 days of the extract changed markers of testicular function in a way the researchers called adverse, at every dose they tested (Yakubu et al., 2008). With no human safety data, we give no dose and advise against it.
  • Boron: the study usually cited for boron and testosterone is 8 men taking 10 mg a day for one week (Naghii et al., 2011). 10 mg a day is also the EU upper limit for adults from all sources, food included (EFSA, 2004). We do not recommend a boron supplement.
  • Zinc: never more than 25 mg a day from supplements, the EU upper limit (EFSA, 2014). Long-term high doses can lower your copper levels. In the zinc study, testosterone only rose in men who were deficient (Prasad et al., 1996); if your zinc is normal, more will not help.

References (20)

  1. Wu, F.C.W. et al. (2010). Identification of Late-Onset Hypogonadism in Middle-Aged and Elderly Men. New England Journal of Medicine, 363(2), 123-135. doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa0911101
  2. Bhasin, S. et al. (2018). Testosterone Therapy in Men With Hypogonadism: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 103(5), 1715-1744. doi.org/10.1210/jc.2018-00229
  3. Corona, G. et al. (2013). Body weight loss reverts obesity-associated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Endocrinology, 168(6), 829-843. doi.org/10.1530/EJE-12-0955
  4. Leproult, R. & Van Cauter, E. (2011). Effect of 1 Week of Sleep Restriction on Testosterone Levels in Young Healthy Men. JAMA, 305(21), 2173-2174. doi.org/10.1001/jama.2011.710
  5. Watson, N.F. et al. (2015). Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep, 38(6), 843-844. doi.org/10.5665/sleep.4716
  6. Sierksma, A. et al. (2004). Effect of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Plasma Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate, Testosterone, and Estradiol Levels in Middle-Aged Men and Postmenopausal Women: A Diet-Controlled Intervention Study. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 28(5), 780-785. doi.org/10.1097/01.alc.0000125356.70824.81
  7. Bull, F.C. et al. (2020). World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(24), 1451-1462. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-102955
  8. Vingren, J.L. et al. (2010). Testosterone Physiology in Resistance Exercise and Training. Sports Medicine, 40(12), 1037-1053. doi.org/10.2165/11536910-000000000-00000
  9. Leisegang, K. et al. (2022). Eurycoma longifolia (Jack) Improves Serum Total Testosterone in Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials. Medicina, 58(8), 1047. doi.org/10.3390/medicina58081047
  10. Tambi, M.I.B.M., Imran, M.K. & Henkel, R.R. (2012). Standardised water-soluble extract of Eurycoma longifolia, Tongkat ali, as testosterone booster for managing men with late-onset hypogonadism? Andrologia, 44(Suppl 1), 226-230. doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0272.2011.01168.x
  11. Talbott, S.M. et al. (2013). Effect of Tongkat Ali on stress hormones and psychological mood state in moderately stressed subjects. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10(1), 28. doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-10-28
  12. Yakubu, M.T., Akanji, M.A. & Oladiji, A.T. (2005). Aphrodisiac potentials of the aqueous extract of Fadogia agrestis (Schweinf. Ex Hiern) stem in male albino rats. Asian Journal of Andrology, 7(4), 399-404. doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7262.2005.00052.x
  13. Yakubu, M.T., Akanji, M.A. & Oladiji, A.T. (2008). Effects of oral administration of aqueous extract of Fadogia agrestis (Schweinf. Ex Hiern) stem on some testicular function indices of male rats. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 115(2), 288-292. doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2007.10.004
  14. Naghii, M.R. et al. (2011). Comparative effects of daily and weekly boron supplementation on plasma steroid hormones and proinflammatory cytokines. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, 25(1), 54-58. doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2010.10.001
  15. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (2004). Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Dietetic products, nutrition and allergies related to the Tolerable Upper Intake Level of Boron (Sodium Borate and Boric Acid). EFSA Journal, 2(8), 80. doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2004.80
  16. Prasad, A.S. et al. (1996). Zinc status and serum testosterone levels of healthy adults. Nutrition, 12(5), 344-348. doi.org/10.1016/s0899-9007(96)80058-x
  17. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (2014). Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for zinc. EFSA Journal, 12(10), 3844. doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2014.3844
  18. Pilz, S. et al. (2011). Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on Testosterone Levels in Men. Hormone and Metabolic Research, 43(3), 223-225. doi.org/10.1055/s-0030-1269854
  19. Paez-Allendes, L. et al. (2026). Vitamin D Supplementation, Total Testosterone, and Androgen Bioavailability Markers in Adult Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrients, 18(13), 2090. doi.org/10.3390/nu18132090
  20. EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (2023). Scientific opinion on the tolerable upper intake level for vitamin D, including the derivation of a conversion factor for calcidiol monohydrate. EFSA Journal, 21(8), 8145. doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8145

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General education, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition, take medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to your doctor before you start.