Lately I’ve been seeing a lot more publicity being given to HRT, aka Hormone Replacement Therapy, for more and more individuals.  Mainly, these are made up of trainers looking to burn more body fat, lose more weight, gain more lean muscle mass, and longevity.  To make a very long story short, once your body hits a particular age (which is largely determined by genetics, but usually around 25-35 years old) the endocrine system (which is the system within the body that creates and regulates all of the hormones) begins to make less and less of some of the main sex hormones, estrogen, testosterone, and growth hormone, IGF-1, insulin, etc., all of which have a direct impact on body transformation.

If anyone of these hormones is below normal levels in your body you’re going to have a much more difficult time reaching your weight loss or muscle gaining goals, even while following workout programs like P90X, INSANITY, or Shakeology: The Workouts DVD program.  It’s a very good idea to ask your doctor or general care physician to approve a blood test, full panel, to test for your levels of all of these hormones (estrogen, testosterone, and growth hormone, IGF-1, insulin, etc.).  Who knows, if you’re found to be deficient in any of these then you’re doctor may consider putting you on a HRT / Hormone Replacement Therapy protocol.