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Auto-generated transcript of @averyfisk_'s video. Quoted here for educational fact-check commentary; original creator retains all rights to the video content.
- 0:00The only way to guarantee you're getting the most out of your cycle is to lower your SHPG before pin one.
- 0:04So what even is SHPG? It stands for sex hormone binding gombulins.
- 0:07So basically the more SHPG that you have, the more it's going to bind to the testosterone making it less available.
- 0:11That is why when you have lower SHPG and you get blood work back, your free testosterone is going to be higher.
- 0:16So if you take two people, one with 25 SHPG and one with 50, and they're running, let's say, the same dosage of 500 milligrams test, right?
- 0:22And then you get blood work back. One of them is going to have higher free testosterone, obviously the one being with the lower SHPG.
- 0:28And even though they're running the same dosage, one of them is only getting half the hormonal benefit.
- 0:31So how can you actually lower your SHPG to get more out of your current dosage?
- 0:35Well, if you take a supplement that's very underrated in the bodybuilding community called BORON,
- 0:38take about 6 to 12 milligrams of that every single day.
- 0:41Studies have actually proven that that will lower your SHPG by about 10 to 25%.
- 0:45Therefore, giving you about 10 to 25% more gains of your current dosage.
- 0:49So even taking a natural supplement like that can do a lot for your cycle.
- 0:52So another factor that plays very heavily into your SHPG is obviously going to be your insulin sensitivity.
- 0:57I've said this many times when in order to maximize your insulin sensitivity,
- 1:00there's a couple different things you can do.
- 1:01Obviously, you can take supplements like, you know, metformin, you can take beryn, you know,
- 1:05500 milligrams three times a day typically does it for most people.
- 1:07But also one of the most natural and easiest ways that you could do without taking anything is just to do cardio, right?
- 1:12Doing cardio about two to three times a week is proven to actually raise your insulin sensitivity
- 1:15and therefore lowering your SHPG in the process.
- 1:18Now, you may already be lowering it by the supplements you're currently taking.
- 1:21A lot of people don't know about magnesium glycinate,
- 1:23taking about 400 milligrams of that every single night before bed.
- 1:25And then zinc about 50 milligrams of that before bed also correlates to lower SHPG on studies as well.
- 1:30So, you know, the supplements that you're already taking might already be lowering your SHPG and you don't even know it.
- 1:34That being said, there also may be a habit that you participate in that is raising your SHPG,
- 1:38therefore making everything else negligent.
- 1:40So actually drinking alcohol is going to correlate to higher SHPG.
- 1:43So if you're able to even limit that a little bit to, you know, a couple of times a week or completely cut it out,
- 1:47it's going to do amazing things for your current cycle.
- 1:49And it's actually going to require you do not, you know, raise your doses as high,
- 1:52but actually be able to get more gains out of what you're already doing.
- 1:55Before you consider raising your dosage, what I would always consider,
- 1:58and I tell this to my clients, is you want to pull blood work to kind of see where your SHPG is sitting,
- 2:01that therefore you can actually know how to get the most out of your cycle
- 2:04before having to add in more compounds and, you know, raise your testosterone dosage.
- 2:07Obviously, if you're able to maximize what you're already doing,
- 2:10it's going to minimize side effects, you know, actually give you more longevity
- 2:14and also just give you more gains overall.
- 2:15So hope that helps.
Does one factor really boost TRT gains by 50%? Let's check
Quick answer
SHBG directly affects the bioavailability of testosterone by binding it in circulation, meaning total testosterone levels can be misleading without knowing the free fraction. The supplements discussed, particularly boron and berberine, have modest evidence supporting SHBG reduction and insulin sensitization respectively, but effect sizes in published trials are far smaller than the creator implies. Metformin, which the creator mentions casually alongside supplements, is a prescription medication requiring clinical oversight and should not be self-administered for SHBG optimization.
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Cardiovascular Safety of Testosterone-Replacement Therapy
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Testosterone therapy in men with androgen deficiency syndromes: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline
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What this exact clip is really saying
This FormBlends review is specific to "Does one factor really boost TRT gains by 50%? Let's check" from Avery Fisk. We read the clip as a TRT social video fact-checks claim about Testosterone, then separate the useful signal from what a short social video cannot prove. The page-specific claim focus is: SHBG directly affects the bioavailability of testosterone by binding it in circulation, meaning total testosterone levels can be misleading without knowing the free fraction.
The reason this review is not generic is the source wording and the canonical claim label "trt this factor alone could give you 50 more gains out of the sa." In this clip, the useful excerpt is: "The only way to guarantee you're getting the most out of your cycle is to lower your SHPG before pin one." That wording changes the review because it points to Testosterone evidence, safety, and patient-fit context, not a one-size-fits-all protocol.
The source trail for this page is checked against Cardiovascular Safety of Testosterone-Replacement Therapy (2023), Testosterone therapy in men with androgen deficiency syndromes: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline (2010), and Functional testosterone deficiency in aging men: Clinical impact, diagnostic pathways, and treatment strategies (2026), plus the creator's own wording. Testosterone decisions still need an eligibility review, medication-interaction screen, access check, and quality-control review before anyone treats a social clip as medical advice.
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This page is built to answer the specific claim behind the clip, then separate what is useful from what still needs clinical context. That makes the URL more than a repost: it gives Google, readers, and AI retrieval systems a concise verdict with source and safety boundaries.
Claim being checked
SHBG directly affects the bioavailability of testosterone by binding it in circulation, meaning total testosterone levels can be misleading without knowing the free fraction.
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Testosterone evidence, safety, and patient-fit context
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What it helps with
- SHBG directly affects the bioavailability of testosterone by binding it in circulation, meaning total testosterone levels can be misleading without knowing the free fraction. The supplements discussed, particularly boron and berberine, have modest evidence supporting SHBG reduction and insulin sensitization respectively, but effect sizes in published trials are far smaller than the creator implies. Metformin, which the creator mentions casually alongside supplements, is a prescription medication requiring clinical oversight and should not be self-administered for SHBG optimization.
- SHBG does reduce free testosterone availability, but no published study supports the claim that a 2x SHBG difference produces a 50% difference in muscle gains from the same testosterone dose.
- Naghii et al. (2011) found boron at 10mg daily reduced SHBG by approximately 9% in healthy men over one week, a real but modest effect well below the creator's upper claim of 25%.
What it may miss
- It may not cover eligibility, contraindications, medication interactions, lab history, or dose escalation.
- Compound access, legal status, and product quality still need a separate safety check.
- Social video captions rarely show the full evidence base behind a claim.
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Compare the claim against a FormBlends guide, safety page, and licensed-provider review before acting.
Start provider reviewWhat You'll Learn
- SHBG does reduce free testosterone availability, but no published study supports the claim that a 2x SHBG difference produces a 50% difference in muscle gains from the same testosterone dose.
- Naghii et al. (2011) found boron at 10mg daily reduced SHBG by approximately 9% in healthy men over one week, a real but modest effect well below the creator's upper claim of 25%.
- The insulin-SHBG relationship is mechanistically solid: Plymate et al. (1988) established that insulin suppresses hepatic SHBG production, making insulin sensitivity a legitimate target for SHBG optimization.
- Berberine has published evidence for insulin sensitization comparable in some studies to low-dose metformin, but metformin itself requires a prescription and should not be self-administered for SHBG management.
- Zinc and magnesium supplementation has modest peer-reviewed support for effects on free testosterone in athletes, but these are not replacements for baseline bloodwork and clinical oversight.
- Alcohol intake is associated with elevated SHBG in some studies, and the general advice to reduce alcohol consumption before attributing poor cycle response to dosing is reasonable.
- Pulling bloodwork to assess SHBG, free testosterone, and total testosterone before raising doses is genuinely sound clinical advice and is consistent with standard TRT monitoring practice.
Our take · Written by FormBlends editorial team · Reviewed by FormBlends Medical Team · This is not a transcript. It is our independent review of the video above.
What did @averyfisk_ actually say?
The creator argued that SHBG (which they called "sex hormone binding gombulins") is a key lever for maximizing testosterone cycles. Their central claim: two people running the same 500mg testosterone dose can get wildly different results based on SHBG levels alone, with lower SHBG translating to higher free testosterone and therefore "half the hormonal benefit" or double it.
They then ran through a supplement protocol: boron at 6-12mg daily to lower SHBG by "10 to 25%," magnesium glycinate at 400mg nightly, zinc at 50mg, berberine at 500mg three times daily, and metformin for insulin sensitivity. They also flagged alcohol as an SHBG-raiser and recommended pulling bloodwork before adjusting doses. The throughline was optimization before escalation, which is actually a reasonable framing even if several specific numbers were inflated.
Does the science back this up?
Partially, yes, but the creator significantly overstates effect sizes. The SHBG-free testosterone relationship is real and well-documented. But the leap from "lower SHBG" to "50% more gains" is not something any published study supports, and that framing should be called out directly.
On boron: a 2011 study by Naghii et al. in the Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology found that 10mg of boron daily for one week reduced SHBG by about 9% in healthy men. That is at the low end of the creator's claimed 10-25% range and involved a short duration. A 2015 review by Pizzorno in Integrative Medicine also noted boron's modest effects on sex hormone binding. The evidence exists, but "proven" is too strong a word for results this inconsistent across populations.
On insulin sensitivity and SHBG: this connection is well-supported. Higher insulin levels suppress hepatic SHBG production. Research by Plymate et al. (1988, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism) established this mechanism clearly. Cardio improving insulin sensitivity is also solid ground.
On magnesium and zinc: a 2011 study by Cinar et al. in Biological Trace Element Research found that zinc and magnesium supplementation in athletes was associated with higher free testosterone, likely partly through SHBG modulation. The effect is real but modest.
What did they get wrong (or right)?
They got the basic mechanism right. SHBG does bind testosterone and reduce free fraction. Lower SHBG does mean more bioavailable testosterone at the same total dose. That is not controversial.
What is wrong: the "50% more gains" headline is not backed by any evidence in the transcript or in the literature. The creator never cites a study linking SHBG reduction to measurable muscle hypertrophy outcomes. Free testosterone correlating with anabolic signaling is plausible, but gains are multifactorial. Conflating "more free testosterone" with "more gains" in a 1:1 ratio is a logic jump that no serious endocrinology paper makes.
The creator also mispronounces SHBG as "sex hormone binding gombulins," which is a small thing, but the actual term is sex hormone-binding globulin, and credibility matters when you are advising people on hormone management.
The metformin recommendation is the most problematic moment. Metformin is a prescription drug. Casually suggesting it as a supplement option alongside berberine, without any clinical context, is irresponsible. It also interacts with several compounds common in bodybuilding stacks.
What should you actually know?
If you are on TRT or any exogenous testosterone protocol, SHBG is worth monitoring. A clinician reviewing your bloodwork will look at both total and free testosterone, and SHBG is part of that picture. But optimizing SHBG through supplements is not a substitute for proper dosing, and the effect sizes here are modest at best.
Boron, magnesium, and zinc are low-risk additions with plausible mechanisms. The evidence for each is real but limited in scope and effect size. None of them will double your gains. Berberine has legitimate insulin-sensitizing data behind it, similar to metformin in mechanism, and is available without a prescription. Metformin is not a supplement. Do not take it without a prescribing clinician.
The creator's advice to pull bloodwork before raising doses is genuinely good guidance. Escalating testosterone doses without knowing your current hormonal picture is a common mistake with real consequences, including elevated hematocrit, suppressed LH and FSH, and cardiovascular strain.
Bottom line on the "50% more gains" claim
This is a marketing headline attached to a real but modest effect. The science behind SHBG and free testosterone is legitimate. The claim that manipulating SHBG alone gives you a 50% gains advantage from the same dose is not supported by published research. The supplement recommendations have uneven but not zero evidence. The metformin suggestion crosses a line that a responsible health communicator should not cross without clinical framing.
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About the Creator
Avery Fisk · TikTok creator
14.1K views on this video
This factor alone could give you 50% more gains out of the same dosage! #bodybuilding
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers based on this video and our medical team review.
What does the video say about shbg does reduce free testosterone availability,?
SHBG does reduce free testosterone availability, but no published study supports the claim that a 2x SHBG difference produces a 50% difference in muscle gains from the same testosterone dose.
What does the video say about naghii et al. (2011) found boron at 10mg daily reduced?
Naghii et al. (2011) found boron at 10mg daily reduced SHBG by approximately 9% in healthy men over one week, a real but modest effect well below the creator's upper claim of 25%.
What does the video say about the insulin-shbg relationship?
The insulin-SHBG relationship is mechanistically solid: Plymate et al. (1988) established that insulin suppresses hepatic SHBG production, making insulin sensitivity a legitimate target for SHBG optimization.
What does the video say about berberine has published evidence for insulin sensitization comparable in some?
Berberine has published evidence for insulin sensitization comparable in some studies to low-dose metformin, but metformin itself requires a prescription and should not be self-administered for SHBG management.
What does the video say about zinc?
Zinc and magnesium supplementation has modest peer-reviewed support for effects on free testosterone in athletes, but these are not replacements for baseline bloodwork and clinical oversight.
What does the video say about alcohol intake?
Alcohol intake is associated with elevated SHBG in some studies, and the general advice to reduce alcohol consumption before attributing poor cycle response to dosing is reasonable.
Sources & references
Citations extracted from our medical team's review. Click any citation to search PubMed.
Read More on This Topic
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Not medical advice. This video was made by Avery Fisk, not by FormBlends. Our write-up above is an editorial review, not a medical recommendation. Talk to your doctor before making any decisions about medications or treatments.