Video summary
Dr. Mike Israetel addresses the relationship between steroid use and longevity, arguing that while anabolic steroids do accelerate the dying process through specific physiological mechanisms, they are not a guaranteed death sentence for everyone who uses them. He explains that drugs negatively impact health by growing heart muscle in ways that impair pumping efficiency, elevating blood pressure, and causing cholesterol levels to damage arteries. However, he notes that many users can mitigate these risks if they strictly control other variables like insulin management and do not carry excessive body weight relative to their frame. Israetel emphasizes that even with genetic advantages or careful health monitoring, the combination of high doses used for extended periods while maintaining a large physique significantly increases mortality risk, effectively causing one to "roll the dice" where genetics become the only loaded factor determining survival. The discussion highlights extreme examples in bodybuilding to illustrate these risks and exceptions. Israetel contrasts his own experience with that of Chris Bumstead, noting that while elite athletes like Bumsted retire young due to their massive muscle mass relative to their height, others face different outcomes based on genetics. He cites Ramy Brooks as an example where carrying 340 pounds off-season creates a much higher health burden than someone weighing less but similarly muscular. Conversely, he references the "Golden Era" of bodybuilding in the 1980s and mentions figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger to show that many pro athletes live into their seventies and eighties despite past drug use, suggesting that media hysteria about immediate death was exaggerated at the time. He also shares a story about his mentor BR Chavez's grandfather who took oral steroids for decades while working in coal mines; although this individual lived well into his sixties or seventies, Israetel warns against relying on such rare genetic outliers as a model for most people to emulate. For those seeking longevity rather than maximal muscle size through drugs, Dr. Israetel recommends a sustainable training approach that mimics the benefits of cardio while minimizing gym time and social stressors from "sweaty nasty people." He suggests working out two to four times per week for 30 to 45 minutes using compound movements like pull-ups, rows, dips, squats, and deadlifts. By utilizing short rest intervals (around ten seconds) between alternating muscle groups, individuals can achieve high repetition sets that provide cardiovascular benefits essential for extending lifespan without the overkill of training two hours daily six days a week. This method allows people to maintain necessary physical activity levels while keeping their schedule manageable and reducing overall stress on the body compared to exhaustive gym routines or drug-enhanced bulking cycles. Sleep is identified as another critical pillar for longevity, serving as the ultimate system resetter that reduces chronic stress. Israetel applies an 80/20 rule to sleep duration, suggesting that if a person feels well-rested and only needs one or two cans of Nootropic coffee throughout the day rather than multiple energy drinks after 2 p.m., they are likely getting sufficient rest between seven and nine hours for most people. He acknowledges rare genetic mutations where individuals function on as little as four hours, citing Tim Kennedy's experience running out of ammunition while awake for days or Ross Edgley's ability to swim around Great Britain without sleep, but notes that these cases are statistically improbable like being hit by lightning twice. For the vast majority, chronically feeling un-rested is detrimental to both life quality and span, making consistent sleep hygiene—such as keeping rooms dark, cool, and free of blue light—a non-negotiable component of a healthy lifestyle. To ensure that health strategies are effective, Israetel advocates for regular blood work rather than relying solely on how one feels or anecdotal evidence about others' longevity. He promotes the use of advanced testing services like Function Health, which monitors over 100 biomarkers including heart health, hormone levels, thyroid function, and nutrient deficiencies to provide actionable recommendations from expert physicians. This approach allows individuals to track their progress scientifically rather than guessing based on external appearances or isolated success stories. By combining a moderate training regimen focused on compound movements with adequate sleep hygiene and regular medical monitoring, individuals can optimize their chances of living longer without needing to resort to the high-risk strategies associated with extreme bodybuilding drug protocols.
Read the full video transcript
what is it that the drugs are doing
that's speeding up the dying process
yeah what aren't they doing that speeds
up that uh they're growing your heart
muscle in a way that makes your heart
worse at pumping blood they are
consistently presenting you with
cholesterol levels that do nothing good
for your arteries they are elevating
your blood pressure now many of those
variables I have kashed so I could be
lucky and be looking at less than five
years but there's also an element of
where carrying that much excess body
weight starts to be a standin for the
muscle when you weigh I'm 5'6 and I
currently weigh
235 you weigh 235 pounds of 56 you are
I'm uh like one obesity category away
from the highest one all the time on BMI
correct yep but like the amount of
weight you carry around the amount more
forcefully your heart has to pump blood
Etc that still [ __ ] counts fing 100%
And so to quote Donald Trump on the
heartbeat thing again he's not 100%
wrong um that definitely is a factor so
if you happen to have used lots of
steroids but you kept most of your
health values in check and you just had
dog [ __ ] genetics for being jacked and
you never got really big you're probably
looking at less than five years off your
lifespan on average but I've been pretty
big for my size for a long time and my
parents are both teeny tiny people with
very small frames I also have a very
small frame I just have a lot of muscle
on it
relatively speaking and a lot of weight
and I have had for years and that's
absolutely a big [ __ ] problem do you
I think about Chris Bumstead when you
talk about that someone who's just
retired age 30 okay
62 63 I think he steps on stage at like
2 20 230 something like that I'm not too
sure very mysterious what the classic
guys actually weigh but yeah 220 to 240
or something yeah um I think about him
you know trying to get in and get out
he's like you know Navy SEAL Team Six
like kicking a door down shot someone in
the face six times and then like you
can't get me anymore I don't have any
more Olympia trophies yeah all right uh
I
wonder wonder how much he's been able
obviously genetically Elite uh I wonder
how much he's been able to get in and
get out so to speak the more you can get
in and get out the better um I never
used preposterously high
doses mostly because I was like I don't
exactly want to dilate tomorrow tomorrow
but also because for me high doses were
just not so great with my psychology and
stuff yeah but uh for someone like Chris
Bumstead I mean his degree of muscle
mass and body weight that he carries for
his height and frame were never like
insane do you know who big Ramy was yes
like is um that's gonna put you in the
grave a lot sooner cuz you are carrying
am one isn't he like 340 off season
correct so he literally is 100 lb more
than seum at probably a slightly shorter
height like that's the kind of thing
that's going to affect you so just to
review real tail end 100% so to review
the muscularity part if you are very
underused it's probably not a huge deal
for longevity but being of at least
normal musculature for the average
person of your sort of height and frame
and age is probably your best bet at
longevity having a little extra muscle
can help can hurt probably cancels out
on average so if you're jacked as a
Natty unless you got super fat to do it
like I did when I was natural no big
deal Y and then as you use drugs if you
use drugs to get jacked but you're
really good at controlling your health
variables you never had excessive
cholesterol you never had uh chronic
high blood sugar from mismanagement of
insulin and growth hormon [ __ ] like that
if you did a good job managing that and
you never got enormous enormous yeah
like the drugs definitely kill you
faster but not psychotically faster I
mean there are dozens and dozens of
Golden Era Pro bodybuilders that are
still live today they're in their 70s
and 80s Arnold's still kicking it like
if this [ __ ] was remember one of my
mentors um Dr Mike Stone uh told us
something about the steroids when we
were in PhD program he's like you know
we in the 80s knew that the media was
lying because you just went into locker
rooms and gyms you just didn't see any
dead bodies because you know like 80s
anti-drug hysteria was a totally
different level like one ster injection
you're criminal you're in jail you're
addicted to heroin somehow also and
you're for sure dead like tomorrow that
absolutely doesn't happen however last
category is if you get very very large
stay large for a long time stay on tons
of gear for a long time and don't attend
to the various Health consequences at
that point you're rolling the dice and
the only way in which the dice are
loaded is with your genetics because
there are Juiced up people that have
been jacked for forever they're beat red
and they just like don't die and they
live into their 80s not the great model
for most people because they just have
ball or genetics one of my friends and a
mentor of mine BR Chavez had I believe
like a grandfather or an uncle who like
worked literally in the coal mines and
he had like uh some kind of chest
condition this is an amazing story it
was the 1960s and he like went to the
doctor and he's like H something in my
like some lungs or [ __ ] and they're like
oh yeah here are Diana ball tablets
dball tabs oral stairs right so you just
got a script for oral steroids and he
was on them for like a generation
straight this is an oral drug you're not
supposed to take for longer than like
six to eight weeks he was just on it all
the time and I was like all right so
what was he like he was like jacked and
mean and he lived like well into his
like late 60s or 70s and [ __ ] coal
mining right and BR broad said once he
was like I think he just died because he
was just like God [ __ ] this he just
don't want to be alive anymore the thing
is most of us do not have genetics like
that so really important to say like if
you know someone that's lived a long
time in spite of everything
do you want to take that chance on
yourself I wouldn't anything else to say
mus actually that's question there is
something else to say if I want to take
a non- bodybuilder but longevity
approach for training for this yes very
rough hee what do I need to do yes
training two to four times per week for
30 to 45 minutes at a time mostly
compound movements large muscle mass
movements underhand pulled out in
pull-ups rows close grip bench presses
dips overhead presses squats deadlifts
Etc stuff like that obviously vanity
[ __ ] you can do usually with relatively
short rest breaks for sets of 10 to 30
repetitions per set alternating muscles
that aren't involved in one movement
with those that are involved in the
other so do some close grip benches take
a quick 10-second breather do some
underhand pull Downs quick 10-second
breather and back and forth and back and
forth that should constrain your
workouts to a small amount of time
interestingly enough if you're working
out exclusively to get more life at the
end of your life like you're also
consuming a lot of life being in the gym
around sweaty nasty people so you have
to integrate that in but this keeps the
duration of you spending time in the gym
lower but also because of the short rest
intervals and the higher
repetitions it allows you to have some
of the benefits of cardiovascular
exercise that are U sort of enhancing to
both quality of life and how long you
live and so that's probably the best way
to do it it it's very minimal effect on
your schedule and it has probably as
much as you'll ever need to extend your
lifespan or make it higher quality if
you're training in the gym like two
hours a day six days a week and you're
like for longevity like it's not it's
not bad for you necessarily but it's
Overkill you're overshooting yeah
definitely sleep what about sleep
sleep's a big deal sleep is the ultimate
stress reducer in and every 's life like
that's pretty much the one of the main
purposes of sleep is to kind of reset
the whole system and sleep is a thing
where again that 9010 8020 rule comes in
handy if you're mostly sleeping enough
to feel well rested which means if you
need like [ __ ] newtonic I need eight
cans of monster to keep me awake after 2
p.m. you're not getting enough sleep but
if a can or two of nutonic throughout
the day is all need to be your sharpest
then you're good to go and you're
probably getting enough sleep 7 to n
hours for most people as good of quality
of sleep as you can manage keep the room
dark keep the room cool few distractions
no blue light a few hours before bed all
the general sleep recommendations that
are really awesome if you just checklist
that and you usually get really good
sleep a night or two every few weeks you
stay up all night or you get you know
really busy with work you don't sleep
few hours no big deal generally that's
the
recommendation chronic low amounts of
sleep in a way that has you feeling it
is a big deal some people just don't
need as much sleep as others Joo uh is
that true supposedly so the 430 a.m.
thing which I'm reliably told by some of
my friends that are fathers that they
beat on an almost nightly basis easy I'm
never asleep they've got dad [ __ ] to do
yeah exactly um but yeah I mean there's
that genetic mutation that I think the
same likelihood of you having that that
requires you to only sleep maybe four
hours a night and feel okay is the same
likelihood as you being hit by lightning
twice holy [ __ ] it's like super super
unlikely a few very very rare anyway um
Joo is one of those people that I've
heard I think basically what most
special forces select for are people
that can deal with sleep de very well
very big deal because if you if you need
lots of sleep consistently and you also
degrade
very heavily in your cognitive and
physical function you just won't make it
through selection even if you're a
straight up killer that's the kind of
guy you want to be like an elite
bodyguard for someone like the president
who sleeps normal hours if you have a
decent rotation for your bodyguarding
shifts you can be like a Delta Force
Level shooter you're just like look if I
don't get my sleep I'm I'm good to know
when after a few days Tim Kennedy told
me this story maybe you ask him about it
tomorrow if you're chatting to him ask
him about the time he ran out of ammo
and he'll know the story and uh I think
he said he was awake for like the only
time he slept was when he was concussed
by an IED going off holy [ __ ] in like 48
maybe more hours he's asleep for awake
for two full days runs out of every
different platform every different
magazine every different piece of
ammunition that he had and uh he just
realized that okay that's that's what
the job demands of you Ross edley who I
think uh wanted an intro to you to have
a chat at some point oh dope um I asked
him you know he's done all of these
crazy swam or did a a triathlon holding
a tree uh Triathlon he's the first
person in history to ever swim around
great Britany did six hours on six hours
off for basically seven months uh he's
just done the longest single distance
River swim in history uh it's 300 miles
oh my God 55 hours without touching land
without sleeping without anything 55
hours straight through and um I asked
him what his superpower is and it
completely makes sense all of those
things together are him allowing to deal
with sleep deprivation and to digest
food in very strange situations yeah
some people's digestion will shut down
and Ultras and stuff so he's able to
have piping hot porridge to keep him
warm when he was in the Yukon swimming
in in Canada piping hot por like a
internal hot water bottle heating him
from the stomach out um but then get
back to moving and being horizontal if
you feed me food I need to be vertical
for at least 45 minutes afterward just
the way my digestive track put together
I don't like being horizontal um so what
I'm saying is certain people deal with
digestion sleep and very very very
different ways yes so for those people
that don't need as much sleep don't feel
like you have to get it but if you're
genuinely not well rested chronically
you're doing some reduction of lifespan
and and life quality 100% what about
regularity of sleep I've heard that the
regularity can impact longevity as much
as the duration yeah yeah it's probably
a little bit of an exaggeration though
maybe not by much especially in extreme
cases it can be pretty nasty shift
workers fir fight as nurses correct um
sleeping roughly with the day and night
cycle uh and getting to bed and waking
up at roughly the same time on most days
is probably a good idea for some people
that like that Brian Johnson robotic
lifestyle every morning you wake up at
the same time every night you go to bed
at the same time dope but for most
people they're going to take a hit on
social quality of life factors and yeah
if you stay up a night or two a week a
little later and wake up a little later
it's just not going to be a big deal but
regularity is a really really good thing
it's a thing that should be built into
your life anyway and violating every now
and again is okay always being in the
mix of God knows when I go to sleep and
wake probably not ideal for Longevity if
you haven't been feeling as sharp or as
energized as you'd like getting a blood
work done is the best place to start
which is why I partnered with function
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the data and insights you receive are
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getting your blood work analyze like
this would usually cost thousands but
with function it is only $500 function
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now you can get the exact same panels I
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health.com slod wisdom that's function
health.com slod wisdom thank you very
much for tuning in if you enjoyed that
clip which come on you did how about
watching the full episode with the
beautiful Dr Mike right here