65: Why Testosterone Affects Your Drive to Do Hard Things

-Intro-

Are you ready to revolutionize your health and reconnect to your primal self? Welcome to the Primal Shift Podcast.

My goal with the Primal Shift podcast is to show you how to achieve optimal health, and that includes the health of your body's largest organ, your skin. Today's sponsor, OneSkin, has a line of topical supplements powered by the OS01 peptide. It's the first ingredient scientifically proven to reduce the accumulation of senescent cells.

That's one of the hallmark signs of aging. And for a limited time, my listeners will get 15 percent off their first Oneskin purchase with code MKUMMER at Oneskin. co. That's O N E S K I N. co. And now back to the episode.

Michael Kummer: Are you struggling with doing difficult and challenging things like getting into a cold plunge or changing your diet or going to bed earlier or not using your phone as much in the evening?

If that's the case, then you're either a lazy bastard or, or you might have low testosterone. And I'm not 100 percent sure if that applies equally to both men and women, but I've noticed one thing during my experiments with different supplementations and HCG to move my Testosterone levels from the lower end of normal to the higher end of normal or optimal because out of the box despite doing as much right as I possibly can, I can't get my testosterone levels, my total testosterone above 400 and it's the same for my brother, you know, so I don't know if there is a genetic component or something else, but nothing that I've tried without using supplementation.

Uh, or HCG, or something of that nature, moves the needle significantly. And, as part of my experimentation, I've noticed that when my testosterone levels are on the lower end of normal, again, still within the normal range, but definitely on the lower end of normal, my desire to push myself, to endure pain, to feel pain, to do challenging things, physically in particular, are diminished.

And I did some research and I discovered that even in the wild, you know, they've done studies on rams, male sheep, and during the mating season, also known as the rut, The RAMS testosterone levels increase significantly, so their desire to fight, to show aggression, and to endure pain, which, what they're likely going to endure during a fight, is significantly increased, because without those higher testosterone levels, they wouldn't be willing to get into those fights and fight for, you know, a female.

And obviously, you know, in human, you know, it's slightly different, just because you have, um, testosterone levels on the higher end of normal doesn't mean you become aggressive and you You know, your propensity to fight is increased, it certainly wasn't the case with me, but I've noticed my desire to push myself and the way I perceive pain.

So when I work out and I reach a certain limit, then with normal, normal low levels, I'm not It feels incredibly painful and I'm like, you know what? I don't really want to push myself that hard today. I just take it easier. You know, I stay within that threshold or under that threshold. When my levels are on the, in the upper end of, of normal, in the optimal level, on the optimal range, which is what I would say, then, I just, you know, crushed through it.

And I don't even feel the pain as painful as it would feel otherwise. And I just go through it, my desire to endure pain, and then knowing that the pain doesn't actually feel that painful, um, everything changes. And so it's significantly easier than to do difficult things, be it, you know, working on tough projects, uh, pushing through deadlines, exercising, you know, making changes to your diet, you know, all of the things that are difficult Um, and challenging are much easier, or at least they appear to be easier.

They are perceived to be easier, making them much more likely to be done. And so circling back to what I said initially, if you struggling with making hard decisions or with making, uh, changes that are, uh, inconvenient, that are uncomfortable, that are difficult and challenging, and you just don't feel like doing them, then it might be worthwhile getting a testosterone check, then see where it is.

I mean, if your doctor says it's normal, you know, look at the numbers and because the normal range is somewhere from 250 to 1100. It's a huge range and it makes a significant difference if you're on the lower end or if you're on the higher end. And I can tell you from personal, from hands on, from personal experience, firsthand experience.

And so Look at your levels, check them out, and in particular if you're male, again, I'm not entirely sure if that same concept applies to females. Um, but obviously hormones, you know, play a major role in, in females as well, and their ability to, to push and to do certain things. I mean, just looking at the, the menstrual cycle during, during pregnancy.

Certain phases of that cycle, you're more likely to push, uh, your ability to push and to endure is much better than during the lu luteal phase, for example. So I'm sure there are, there is a, uh, similar concept there, but especially, you know, if, if you're male and your desire to do hard things is low, get your levels checked.

And if need be, maybe, you know, choose some of the supplements. I'm in the process of reviewing some of, comparing them, uh, comparing them to HCG, which is a pharmaceutical that, you know. helps your testes or that encourages your testes to produce, to produce more of your own testosterone. Um, and I'm going to share my, my findings, um, soon on the blog as well as on the YouTube channel, maybe on this podcast.

And so, you know, check that out, but consider, you know, maybe do something to boost your levels a little bit, so to increase your desire to do hard things and it's much easier to make the dietary change, to go to bed early, to do all the things that you want to do to improve your health and well being.

And likely in the process you'll also increase your testosterone levels naturally a little bit or maybe a lot depending on your, you know, genetics, your circumstances and, and other factors. Um, and it's a win win, you know, so try that out and, uh, let me know how it works out for you.

Outro: In the next episode of the Primal Shift podcast, we'll be joined by special guest Bates.

A relationship coach who has walked the path of navigating modern relationships and personal transformation. Bates brings his experience and insights into how lifestyle changes, like diet and wellness, can create friction in relationships and how to manage those challenges. He'll share his expertise on setting boundaries, maintaining healthy connections, and staying true to your goals.

Whether it's in dating, marriage, or dealing with family dynamics, tune in for practical advice on balancing your health journey with the complexities of relationships.