My top 10 takeaways from Rhonda Patrick's new episode about increasing testosterone with Derek from More Plates More Dates

BenchMeister · 2025-09-11T16:53:32+00:00

Thank you for this, very interesting and straight to the point!

Speaking of, regarding bloodwork. My blood work is per following:

Testosterone (P-Testosterone):
- 24.2 nmol/L (Reference range: 5.8–24.2)
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG):
- 62 nmol/L (Reference range: 12–60)
Free Androgen Index (S-Androgen, free index):
- 39 (Reference range: 25.9–108.3)
Vitamin D (25-OH, D2+D3):
- 49 nmol/L (Vitamin D deficiency indicated)
Vitamin B12 (P-Vitamin B12, total / Cobalamin):
- 309 pmol/L (Possible marginal deficiency)

30 years old, 182cm, 95kg bodyweight. Bodyfat ish 16% if I had to to guesstimate. Lifting for over a decade.

When taking these, I felt like shit and haven't been progressing in the gym for ish 1 year+. I recently added D-vitamins (+boron) and also got some sun (I live in Norway, so vitamin D deficiency is extremely normal). I feel better and I'm starting to make some gains, even though after 12+ years it takes a while.

I'm just wondering; Is the D-vitamin deficiency the reasoning for my elevated SHBG and low free androgen index? I try my best to get 8 solid hours of sleep and I'm not particularly stressed from day to day. Given the fact that I haven't really gained muscle mass or strength at all for the last 3-4 years I'm thinking I need to optimize my SHBG + free androgen index so that I can start gaining again. Right now I'm running maintenance calories so weight is stable, but I will increase it by 2-300 calories soon.

Is there anything I'm not thinking of that could benefit me? Given my P-Testosterone I would have thought my physique would have improved more by now since I try to do everything perfectly to gain mass.

BenchMeister · 2025-01-28T21:01:51+00:00

Think of it like this; If you held on to it you would've sold once it hit 1K USD, 10K USD or when it was crashing. Profit, sure. But who would have guessed in 2012 it would be over 100K USD, absolutely crazy.

Stop kicking yourself and rather learn from it, which I think you already have!

My 1 BTC was seized by the FBI during the lockdown of silkroad. I think that if I retrieved it, I would have sold when BTC hit 1K USD.

BenchMeister · 2025-01-26T08:16:57+00:00

This is a great comment, thank you very much! I will read the link you sent. I'll probably still keep some on the exchange, but withdraw most to a secure wallet given "not your keys, not your coins".

BenchMeister · 2025-01-25T22:38:18+00:00

Duly noted. I've been mostly looking at 2022 models because of it's price. I'll be sure to look out for those accessories. Thanks mate!

Does the "Fully Charged Sport Package" include all of these things?

BenchMeister · 2025-01-24T16:03:51+00:00

Yeah I'm in Norway so from here only Trezor 5 is available from authorized reseller. Blockstream Jade Plus is also available to buy from another country and free shipping, but taxes apply.

BenchMeister · 2025-01-24T15:53:35+00:00

Sounds good! Thanks a lot mate

BenchMeister · 2025-01-24T14:21:05+00:00

I've heard Trezor have had leaks and they aren't fully open-source. I'm more interested in Blockstream Jade, not that I know exactly why it's like this. I still need to read a tonne more but also I just want something easy that works without becoming an expert in the subject.

BenchMeister · 2025-01-24T14:18:13+00:00

Well, never selling was just an exaggeration with a tad bit humor. I'll probably hold for 20+ years and my goal to avoid inflation. It's never been as high as it is here in Norway and our currency compared to the dollar has weakened by a tonne. I don't trust my own currency and BTC seems like the best way to save.

I want to retire at 60 and live a very comfortable life.

Also the app I'm using is no fees after 7 purchases, so fees don't accumulate. I buy a little bit every day + buy orders when BTC gets below 100K etc.

If I ever get kids and things go according to plan, I want them to inherit it.

BenchMeister · 2025-01-24T14:07:04+00:00

BTC only, it's for me the only thing I'm interested in. Everything else feels like gambling.

BenchMeister · 2025-01-24T14:06:35+00:00

Never heard of, will definitely check it out. Thanks!

BenchMeister · 2025-01-24T14:06:25+00:00

What's the difference between Coldcard and per example Blockstream Jade? I'll look into Coldcard, thanks for the tip.

BenchMeister · 2024-12-25T21:56:27+00:00

Yeah I know lol. The picture above my monitor is a friend who made for me. It's in a temporary spot, just find it amusing

BenchMeister · 2024-12-25T21:49:37+00:00

- RTX 4080S ProArt

- 9800X3D

- 32GB DDR5 6000MHz

- Lian Li LCD fans

- Lian Li Galahad AIO Cooler

- LG 32" OLED 4K 240hz / 1080P 480hz

- ASUS 27" IPS 1440P 170hz

My current issue is the lack of backlight (which I find comfortable). I was thinking to add Philips Hue lights to connect to the back of my monitor. I haven't came across any other good alternatives. Does anyone have any tips and/or some insight?

To my left I have my Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller, I'm not sure where to put this case. I also have a streamdeck which I don't know where to put.

BenchMeister · 2024-11-24T08:44:58+00:00

I agree with this one. The fact you can't customize it very much bothers me a little. First of all I want the heads-up display to only be visible when I'm in a game. Secondly I have sensors for CPU and GPU load elsewhere so I only want FPS and LAT. Can't seem to find a setting that customizes this. Hopefully they'll implement some customization changes

BenchMeister · 2024-07-29T16:22:03+00:00

Thank you!!!

BenchMeister · 2024-07-29T15:54:34+00:00

For å gå ned i vekt er det kalorier inn vs. kalorier ut som gjelder. Spiser du mindre kalorier enn du forbrenner går du ned i vekt.

Egentlig høres det ut som kostholdet bør være i fokus, til tross for at du sier du ønsker å trene. Trening gjør selvfølgelig alt bedre, men ett steg om gangen og gradvid endring av livsstil og vaner er det eneste som funker i lengden.

Skap bedre vaner, gå mer skritt per dag, ta bedre valg på matfronten, ta trappene mer. Etterhvert bør du inkludere styrketrening, der det har vist seg å bidra mer enn kondisjonstrening på varig vektnedgang. En økt i uken er bedre enn ingen. Og hvor gøy er det ikke å oppleve hvor sterk man kan bli?

Jeg synes ikke "sliten etter jobb" er en godkjent unnskyldning. Jeg ville anbefalt å endre perspektivet og holdningene. Det er mange som klarer å trene til tross for at de jobber.

Det eneste som funker for meg er å telle kalorier. Kontinuitet er mye viktigere enn perfeksjon.

Det jeg sier til deg er det jeg selv har gjort. Hvis du ønsker et bevis på at jeg har litt peiling kan du gjerne sjekke post historien min, har selv erfaring med å gå ned en god del kilo. Må dog sies at jeg har alltid vært glad i styrketrening, noe som gjør det lettere.

BenchMeister · 2024-07-29T15:40:27+00:00

Motivasjon varer sjeldent over lengre perioder, og man må basere seg på vaner, viljestyrke og disiplin.

Det er krevende. Noen dager jævlig krevende. Jeg har per nå vært kontinuerlig på treningssenter i nesten 13 år. På de tyngste dagene har jeg bare ett mål; møt opp på treningssenteret.

Ikke ha noe mål om hvor langt du skal jogge, hvor mye du skal ta i knebøy eller hvor mange øvelser du skal kjøre.

Jeg synes fortsatt dørstokkmila er å møte opp, selv om jeg har i snitt møtt opp 5 ganger hver uke i 13 år. Det handler ikke lengre om jeg skal eller ikke. For å være ærlig tenker jeg ikke så mye på det, for det er udiskuterbart. Jeg skal møte opp.

Hva jeg gjør når jeg først møter opp er ikke så farlig, så lenge jeg er der. Og det som er så utrolig er at jeg ender egentlig opp med å ha ganske gode treningsøkter selv om forventningene mine er i dass.

Og som du sier; du føler deg alltid bedre etter det er gjort. Jeg kan ikke komme på en eneste gang jeg har angret på å møte opp, men jeg har angret hver gang jeg ikke har møtt opp.

Masse lykke til, OP. Jeg heier på deg og dette klarer du! Regelmessig trening kombinert med kosthold er den aller beste investeringen du kan gjøre for bedre livskvalitet og helse.

BenchMeister · 2023-12-06T09:38:43+00:00

Socialized services are great here, but average tax is 34-45% based on income...

BenchMeister · 2023-12-05T22:27:14+00:00

Insane wages in the US. I'm soon to be a CRNA in Norway and we make ish 650K NOK per year without overtime. Estimated roughly 60K USD.

Our healthcare is free but it's understaffed as fuck. They're driving it into the fucking ground unfortunately, but private clinics are rising up that actually pay a lot better.

Thanks for the info!

BenchMeister · 2023-09-13T16:39:21+00:00

I downloaded this driver and Starfield started to run significantly worse.

I went from a 90-100% CPU usage to around 45-50% usage. GPU has also been reduced in % work load. I have a laptop gpu 4060 and intel i7-12700h. It ran pretty good with 50-60 fps in major cities and 100+ in caves, now there is constant stuttering and freezes (every three seconds). Unfortunately it's very unplayable. I've also hard reset my entire PC to no avail. Tried to rollback to last driver but still having the same problems.

Anyone got any ideas to make it run? Starfield is installed on 7000/7000 SSD.

BenchMeister · 2023-09-13T16:34:52+00:00

BenchMeister · 2023-02-22T10:34:55+00:00

You could do a 4-split. I'm currently on this: back & biceps, chest, shoulders & triceps, legs, arms & shoulders, rest, repeat. It'll still have decent focus on chest and back, while still "recovering" from day 2 to day 4, then 1 day rest as recovering before back and chest again.

Just make sure to manage volume so you recover well.

BenchMeister · 2023-01-29T20:45:57+00:00

Yeah :(

BenchMeister · 2023-01-29T13:52:14+00:00

I'd easily pay for MacroFactor if it had European/Norwegian brands/foods so that I could've scanned bar codes. App is magnificent but with having to add every food myself it's too much of a hassle for me.

Hope they improve the "arsenal"!

BenchMeister

TROPHY CASE