TRT dosing claims on TikTok: what fitness creators get wrong

What did @kmartfit actually say?

The creator claims that men starting TRT for the first time typically begin on "anywhere between about 90 milligrams of testosterone upwards of 150 per week." They also say patients at their clinic, Harley-Meds, get a follow-up blood test at three months to check whether levels have reached an "optimized range." The video ends as a direct recruitment pitch: comment "TRT" to switch clinics.

To be clear, this is promotional content for a specific telehealth clinic. That framing matters when you're evaluating whether the medical information is educational or exists primarily to sell a service. Both can be true at once, but viewers should know which one they're watching.

Does the science back this up?

The dose range cited is broadly consistent with clinical practice, but the phrasing glosses over important nuance. Testosterone cypionate and enanthate are typically initiated between 75 mg and 200 mg per week in real-world clinical settings, so the 90-150 mg window isn't invented. However, dosing is not a one-size range.

A 2020 paper by Mulhall et al. in the Journal of Urology reviewing AUA guidelines notes that starting doses should be individualized based on baseline serum testosterone, symptom burden, hematocrit, and cardiovascular risk profile. The Endocrine Society's 2018 clinical practice guidelines (Bhasin et al., Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism) recommend targeting mid-normal physiologic testosterone levels, which varies considerably between patients. Saying 90-150 mg is the standard start implies more uniformity than actually exists in evidence-based prescribing.

What did they get wrong (or right)?

Credit where it's due: the three-month follow-up blood test is genuinely standard practice and the creator gets this right. Bhasin et al. 2018 specifically recommends measuring serum testosterone 3-6 months after initiation, along with hematocrit and PSA in appropriate patients. Monitoring is not optional, it's the mechanism by which dosing is adjusted safely.

What the creator gets wrong, or at least incomplete: the phrase "optimized range" is doing a lot of unscrutinized work here. There is no universally agreed clinical definition of "optimized" testosterone. The Endocrine Society targets the mid-normal range for age-matched healthy men. Some telehealth clinics push levels toward the upper end of normal or beyond, which increases risks including erythrocytosis, sleep apnea exacerbation, and suppression of endogenous production. The video presents optimization as a simple, shared goal without explaining what that range is, who sets it, or what the tradeoffs are.

• The dose range cited (90-150 mg/week) is within typical clinical use but not universally appropriate.
• Three-month bloodwork is accurate and genuinely good practice.
• "Optimized range" is marketing language, not a defined clinical target.

What should you actually know?

If you're considering TRT, the dose range mentioned is a reasonable ballpark, but it is a starting point for a conversation with a prescriber, not a prescription. Your actual starting dose should depend on your baseline testosterone level confirmed by morning serum testing, your symptoms, your hematocrit, your age, and your cardiovascular history.

Three-month monitoring is the floor, not the ceiling. Safe TRT protocols also include hematocrit checks, because testosterone raises red blood cell production and elevated hematocrit increases clotting risk. A 2021 review by Ramasamy et al. in Translational Andrology and Urology found that erythrocytosis is the most common adverse effect of injectable testosterone, occurring in up to 44% of patients on certain regimens. That is not a minor footnote.

Finally, any clinic, including Harley-Meds, should be evaluated on whether they do comprehensive intake labs, monitor regularly, and adjust doses based on your individual response. A comment on TikTok is not a clinical intake. A good telehealth TRT provider will run labs before prescribing anything.

Is this video trustworthy?

Partially. The core clinical information about dosing ranges and follow-up labs is not fabricated. But this is a sales video dressed as education, and the "optimized range" language is vague enough to justify almost any prescribing decision. Viewers should treat this as a starting point for asking better questions, not as clinical guidance.