Habits and Hustle
Episode 432: Kris Gethin: The Natural Blueprint for Building Muscle After 40
Fri, 14 Mar 2025
Can you build muscle naturally as you age? In this week’s Fitness Friday episode, I talk with fitness expert Kris Gethin, as he reveals that declining testosterone may be the hidden culprit behind your struggle to maintain muscle mass after 40. Most middle-aged fitness enthusiasts who maintain impressive physiques rely heavily on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), but Kris shares a completely natural approach that works. We discuss surprising testosterone-killers lurking in your daily environment—from cooking with Teflon to the metal fillings in your teeth—and provide practical, scientifically-backed strategies to boost your hormone production naturally. We also dive into cutting-edge biohacking techniques like red light therapy, ice baths, and even how dental work dramatically improved Kris's own hormone levels after suffering from long COVID. Kris Gethin, a renowned transformation expert and entrepreneur, has revolutionized the fitness industry with his no-nonsense, results-driven approach to bodybuilding and coaching. As the founder of Unmatched Supps and former CEO of Kaged Muscle, he has established himself as a pioneering force in the supplement industry while developing the innovative DTP (Dramatic Transformation Principle) training method. Through his podcast, he shares evidence-based fitness insights with a global audience, drawing from his extensive experience coaching elite athletes and celebrities. What we discuss: Natural testosterone optimization vs. HRT dependency Environmental testosterone killers Compound exercises that stimulate hormone production Red light therapy benefits and application techniques How ice baths and saunas can elevate testosterone levels Unexpected connection between dental health and hormone production Natural alternatives to Ozempic and GLP-1 medications for fat loss Supplements that support testosterone (vitamin D with K2, creatine, progesterone, DHEA) Blood sugar stabilization techniques for maintaining muscle and losing fat Thank you to our sponsor: AquaTru: Get 20% off any purifier at aquatru.com with code HUSTLE Therasage: Head over to therasage.com and use code Be Bold for 15% off TruNiagen: Head over to truniagen.com and use code HUSTLE20 to get $20 off any purchase over $100. Magic Mind: Head over to www.magicmind.com/jen and use code Jen at checkout. BiOptimizers: Want to try Magnesium Breakthrough? Go to https://bioptimizers.com/jennifercohen and use promo code JC10 at checkout to save 10% off your purchase. Timeline Nutrition: Get 10% off your first order at timeline.com/cohen Air Doctor: Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code HUSTLE for up to $300 off and a 3-year warranty on air purifiers. Bio.me: Link to daily prebiotic fiber here, code Jennifer20 for 20% off. Momentous: Shop this link and use code Jen for 20% off To learn more about Kris Gethin: Website: https://www.krisgethin.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krisgethin/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/krisgethin Find more from Jen: Website: https://www.jennifercohen.com/ Instagram: @therealjencohen Books: https://www.jennifercohen.com/books Speaking: https://www.jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements
Chapter 1: How can you naturally build muscle after 40?
How do people as they're like middle-aged maintain and also still build muscle and look the same like you? Like you're 50 years old and you're still ripped. And I'm presuming you're not on any steroids since you are natural. No, HRT, nothing like that. Not even HRT? No.
Because what I was going to actually ask you, and I didn't want to be rude, but now that you mentioned it, most of the people I know who are in their middle age, like 45, 50, even 55, whatever, who look really muscular, they're on... a lot of HRT. They're on testosterone. They're cycling a lot of other HGH. They're doing a lot of peptides.
They're really doing a lot of injectable things to kind of get, really to kind of get them to that place where they can really lean out. How do we do it naturally?
Chapter 2: What are common environmental testosterone killers?
Okay. Well, that's a very open-ended question. So the one thing that I really focus on is, uh, you know, there's a lot of estrogenics in our society, you know, estrogen mimickers, you know, we could be cooking with Teflon. We could be utilizing the microwave. We could be open ourselves to a lot of EMF. Some people are more electrosensitive than others. You know, there's plastics.
People are utilizing plastics all the time. They're eating out of plastics. And then obviously it can be in our water. So always look at people's air, water, and their environment to ensure that, okay, the skincare products that you're using, the hair products, the laundry detergents, Is it natural or is it synthetic? Have they got estrogen mimickers in there?
You know, because obviously that's all going to lower your testosterone levels. The one thing that I say is the big, big thing. People knock out fat from their diet and they knock out their sleep and their testosterone levels are obviously got a tank and then they go on TRT, but they haven't fixed the root cause. Now they're just putting a bandaid on it. So I always look at the root cause first.
Are they getting asleep? Are they getting sunlight? Maybe there are testosterone precursors that they need to take, such as vitamin D with K2, obviously, and creatine, progesterone, DHEA. There's so many things that you can do to help elevate your testosterone levels, number one.
And then when it comes to maintaining that muscle, obviously testosterone helps with that, you may need to, as you're getting a little bit older, decrease the frequency of your training and the volume of your training. So I used to train like six days a week. I recover very, very well, fortunately, for my age. So I brought it down to five times a week now. But some people that may have a...
a higher biological age than myself, may need to bring it down to four days a week, possibly three days a week. Again, focusing on the quality, taking larger, longer rests between sets to ensure that you're pushing heavy. And then maybe you are focusing a little bit more on your compound moves.
to ensure that you are releasing your testosterone because testosterone in that respect is released more on compounds. And then as we know, things like the sunlight or red light therapy can help with testosterone as well. So can sauna and ice baths. Ice baths have been shown to really elevate testosterone levels in more and more studies as of recent.
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Chapter 3: How can red light therapy and ice baths boost testosterone?
Thomas over at Morosco Forge is leading the charge with that.
Really? Yeah. So, so ways to naturally enhance your testosterone is ice baths, red light therapy. I have this amazing, I use this like tri-light from TheraSize, it's like a bendable red light. Which one do you use? Are you using a one like a panel or what are you using?
I've got them all, I think. I know. Yeah. So I've got, yeah, I've got the panels that I'll use in the morning. I've also got what's called a serothrive on my head and I use it for the belly as well for gut health. And I have a Lumaflex that is specifically for joints, you know, so I use them all. I'm a big fan of a red light.
So wait, if you have all these different body part ones, how does it work? Are you basically just, is it like a, are you in like a blanket? Are you just like have pads all over your body or?
No, the serothrive is two different modalities. One is like a band that goes around the head and that's focused specifically on brain health. And then you have another one that's like a pad so big that you have on your belly that is specifically targeting for gut health. And then I have another one.
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Chapter 4: Can dental health affect hormone levels?
That's a small one that I usually take when I'm traveling for joints, but maybe I'll use that to help set my circadian rhythm in the morning when in, uh, or yeah, wherever I'm traveling to, I have the panels at home that I'll get under naked because I want to make sure that I am shining it on my balls as well for my testosterone production.
And of course, for my collagen and help set the circadian rhythm and skin health, et cetera.
I'm shocked that you've never tried that tri-light though from Therasage. It's like you can take it wherever you go. You can travel with it. It goes, it can go anywhere. Your stomach, your balls, your face, wherever you want.
Okay, I'll check that out. Please send me a link. I'll check that out. I don't know if I've ever seen that one.
I'm going to buy you a present. I'll get you one. Send me your address and I will send you one for being a guest on my show.
I appreciate that. Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
The other thing that I was going to say, and maybe this person would be a great guest for you in the future, is Dr. Dome from Germany. He's like the world's leading biodentist. And the one thing that I noticed when I got long COVID, my testosterone levels really, really dropped and I had difficulty getting them back up. I had two metal implants in my mouth. He removed those implants.
I also had a gold tooth because it looked cool and I got it knocked out years ago by a donkey of all things. But when I had this donkey, my sister owned a donkey and I was stroking the donkey one day and it decided to headbutt me. So not a real cool story.
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