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TODAY, UNITED STATES Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced annual testosterone screening for all U.S. troops over age 30. The idea is to create a physically bigger and stronger army (Hegseth was very vocal in his 2024 book about how the military is becoming “effeminate and apologetic.”)
In a video Hegseth captioned “The High-T Department of War” on X, he said the intention of the screening is for “restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight.”
Soldiers found to have low testosterone would be recommended testosterone replacement therapy but it’s not mandatory—for now. Hegseth made it pretty clear that as part of the commitment to maintaining “our most decisive tactical advantage,” a key strategy is “ensuring you have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best.”
There is some merit in getting your testosterone checked after a certain age. Your T levels reach a peak starting in your 30s and naturally decline after 40. If levels fall too low, you run the risk of losing muscle mass, bone density, among others.
But will boosting testosterone make you a better soldier? That’s one of the things that MH Fitness Director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S, and exercise physiologist and strength coach Dr. Pat Davidson discuss in a special episode of Strong Talk.
“People assume [testosterone is] this ticket to muscle and strength, and it obviously sets the stage for one to build more muscle and strength, but only if they’re training properly and if they’re getting other things down, too,” says Samuel. Sleep, recovery, food, stress, symptoms, and performance all shape your T number.
While Samuel believes there’s no downside to making guys more aware of their T levels, meaningful data will only start to trickle in after two to three years. For soldiers especially, the smarter approach is to look at trends over time, rather than chasing one result or using testosterone replacement therapy as a quick fix.
One thing that often gets lost in a conversation about testosterone is nuance. Hegseth mentioned he wants to get soldiers to the “right” levels of testosterone. That’s pretty broad considering a normal T range runs from 264 to 1,000 nanograms per deciliter.
And “right” can be challenging to lock into under the unique circumstances of being a soldier. The sleep restriction, food restriction, and physical stress from boot camp or an intense mission can cause T to acutely go down. Those conditions are a recipe for creating “the worst testosterone results possible,” Davidson says. Recovery generally helps bring levels back up.
Samuel and Davidson also cover what can happen if a soldier does opt into testosterone replacement therapy. Fertility is a concern— testosterone replacement therapy can decrease natural production of testosterone with some guys finding their levels suppressed for months or years after discontinuing treatment.
And while a testosterone level in the normal range is generally good for your health, “I just think that we overestimate the impact that higher natural testosterone levels are going to have,” Davidson says. Watch the whole conversation for more insights on testosterone, strength, and health.
Want more deep-dive fitness wisdom from Samuel and other celebs and experts who’ve been on our Strong Talk podcast? Check out all our episodes here.
Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, MS is the associate health & fitness for Men’s Health and has previously written for CNN, Scientific American, Popular Science, and National Geographic before joining the brand. When she’s not working, she’s doing circus arts or working towards the perfect pull-up.
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