What did @sponlinecoaching actually say?
The creator is mid-skydive, injecting roughly 33mg of testosterone three times per week, totaling about 100mg weekly. Their core claim is that "the best dosage for you is anything that's going to put you into normal high range" — roughly 650 ng/dL in the US or 25-27 nmol/L in the UK. They also draw a firm line: hitting 2,000 ng/dL (US) or 60 nmol/L (UK) means you are "running a cycle," not TRT. The caption reinforces that dosing is individual and requires blood work. That framing is broadly reasonable, and the threshold language is worth examining closely.
Worth noting upfront: the creator is not a named clinician, they are a fitness coach filming while jumping out of a plane. Context matters when evaluating health guidance.
Does the science back this up?
The reference ranges cited are broadly consistent with clinical guidelines, though the nuance gets compressed. The American Urological Association (2018) defines eugonadal testosterone as 450-1000 ng/dL, with treatment targets typically in the 400-700 ng/dL range for symptomatic men. The European Association of Urology and the British Society for Sexual Medicine (BSSM) guidelines use nmol/L and generally target 15-30 nmol/L, making 25-27 nmol/L a reasonable upper-normal aim.
The "2,000 ng/dL equals a cycle" line has real clinical backing. Mulhall et al. (2018, Journal of Urology) and the Endocrine Society's clinical practice guidelines both flag supraphysiologic levels above roughly 1,000-1,200 ng/dL as outside therapeutic TRT intent. The BSSM 2017 guidelines similarly recommend keeping levels within physiologic range to minimize cardiovascular and hematologic risk. The creator's threshold is a bit aggressive on the lower bound, but directionally correct.
What did they get wrong (or right)?
They got the core framework right: TRT is about restoring physiologic levels, not maximizing them, and blood work is non-negotiable. Credit where it is due.
What is compressed or oversimplified: the creator implies 650 ng/dL is "very, very top end" for a US target. The AUA's 2018 guidelines suggest 400-700 ng/dL as a reasonable therapeutic window, which makes 650 ng/dL toward the high end, not exceptional. More importantly, trough versus peak timing of blood draws is completely absent from this advice. A trough level of 650 ng/dL and a peak level of 650 ng/dL represent very different clinical pictures depending on injection frequency and ester used.
The 100mg per week total dose, delivered in three doses, is within the range many clinics use, but presenting one's own protocol as a benchmark is not clinical guidance. Individual pharmacokinetics vary substantially. Pastuszak et al. (2017, Journal of Sexual Medicine) showed wide interindividual variability in testosterone levels at equivalent doses.
- The UK/US unit conversion is handled correctly, which is actually a common source of patient confusion online.
- The "cycle vs TRT" framing oversimplifies, but the underlying point about supraphysiologic dosing is defensible.
- No mention of hematocrit, estradiol, or PSA monitoring is a gap in otherwise blood-work-focused advice.
What should you actually know?
If you are on TRT or considering it, the creator's core message is sound: dosing should be guided by lab values, not a fixed milligram number copied from a fitness influencer. But there is more to blood work than total testosterone.
Estradiol (E2) rises with testosterone and contributes to cardiovascular risk and symptom burden if unmanaged. Hematocrit elevation is a well-documented TRT side effect tied to erythrocytosis and thrombotic risk. Morgentaler et al. (2016, Mayo Clinic Proceedings) and the Endocrine Society guidelines both recommend monitoring hematocrit, PSA, lipids, and estradiol alongside testosterone levels. A total T of 650 ng/dL means little if your hematocrit is 54% or your estradiol is undetected.
The "normal high range" target language also deserves scrutiny. Some men feel optimal at 500 ng/dL; others report persistent symptoms at the same level. Symptom resolution, not a number, is the clinical goal according to current BSSM and Endocrine Society guidance. If a prescriber is only chasing a number without assessing your symptoms, that is a red flag regardless of what range you land in.