Ageing is inevitable. Fading is optional.

Why NZ Men Over 40 Feel DifferentA straight guide from someone who has been there.

Ian Gleghorn · Founder, TESTO® · New Zealand

A note before you read this, from Ian

This is what I wish someone had handed me at 50.

At 50 I was quietly running on less: less energy, less drive, less of the man I knew I still was. Nobody gave me a straight answer about what was actually happening. The supplement aisle was full of hype. The medical system offered prescriptions. Nobody was meeting men where they actually were.

So this guide is written for one man: the one who is still showing up, still doing the work, but knows something has shifted. It is general information, not medical advice. Where the evidence is thin, I'll say so.

If that's you, read on.

What's in this guide

  1. What actually shifts, and when
  2. The signs men don't talk about
  3. Use it or lose it
  4. What natural support can and can't do
  5. How to read a supplement label
  6. The everyday levers
  7. What to look for in a formula
  8. My daily routine
Section 1

What actually shifts, and when

The hormonal picture most men never get explained

Testosterone peaks in your late teens and twenties and declines gradually from there. It is a slow drift, not a cliff, and it varies a lot from man to man. Weight, sleep, general health and medication all play a part.

Your late 30s: the quiet start

Most men don't notice this phase because life is busy enough to explain it. You're working hard, sleeping less, possibly managing young children or a growing business. Recovery takes longer, the afternoon wall hits harder, and you're probably blaming stress or sleep. You're not wrong, but those aren't the whole story.

Your early to mid 40s: the shift becomes harder to ignore

This is when most men first notice something they can't fully explain away. You're in the gym but not progressing the way you used to. Drive that used to feel automatic now takes effort to summon. Libido shifts. Not gone, but quieter. Sleep feels less restorative, even when you get the hours.

Your late 40s to early 50s: weight and hormones travel together

Weight tends to settle around the middle, and it is harder to shift. That matters for your hormones. A large European study followed men aged 40 to 79 for over four years: the men who gained weight saw their testosterone fall, and the men who lost weight saw it rise (Camacho 2013). Most men call this getting older. Some of it is within reach.

Why your doctor might say you're fine, and you're both right

Most blood tests measure total testosterone: everything in your blood. Much of it is bound to a protein called SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin), and the bound part isn't available to your cells. What's left is the free testosterone your body can use.

SHBG doesn't only move one way. On average it rises with age (Wu 2008), but it falls with weight gain (Camacho 2013). So two men the same age can get very different numbers, and the heavier man is often the one with lower SHBG, not higher. Both total and free testosterone matter.

Timing matters too. Testosterone is highest in the morning. In men in their thirties, a 4pm reading typically runs 20 to 25 per cent below the same man's 8am reading, narrowing to about 10 per cent by 70 (Brambilla 2009).

Some practitioners call this whole picture andropause: the gradual hormonal change men go through from their late 30s on. The term is not universally recognised in mainstream medicine, but the pattern is real, and plenty of men going through it are told their bloods are normal.

One reading, taken once, tells you less than you'd think. Test early in the morning, and ask your doctor whether SHBG and free testosterone were measured, or only total.

The three numbers worth knowing

  • Total testosterone. What most tests measure. Useful, but not the whole picture.
  • Free testosterone. The fraction not bound to proteins, available for your body to use.
  • SHBG. The protein that binds testosterone. Rises with age on average, falls with weight gain. Often not tested.

Read more: Free vs Total Testosterone: What NZ Men Need to Know.

Section 2

The signs men don't talk about

Named, explained, and not your fault

Men describe the shift in their own words. These are the seven things they say most often, when they finally say anything at all.

1. The afternoon wall. It's 3pm and you're done. Not sick. Not stressed. Just empty. You used to carry the whole day and still have energy for the evening.
2. The gym plateau that won't shift. You're still training but not progressing. Recovery takes longer. Here's something few men are told: with age, strength drops faster than muscle size, two to five times faster in studies that measured both (Mitchell 2012). That's the part worth defending.
3. The flat feeling you can't explain. Harder to name. Not depression. Not sadness. A kind of flatness, a turning-down of everything. Life is fine. You're fine. But the things that used to excite you don't quite land the same way. If it runs deeper or lasts, talk to your doctor.
4. The sleep that doesn't restore. You get the hours but wake unrefreshed. Sleep and testosterone are linked: in one lab study, a week of five-hour nights lowered young men's daytime testosterone by 10 to 15 per cent (Leproult 2011). If you snore heavily or someone has seen you stop breathing at night, see your GP.
5. The confidence that's quieter than it used to be. Less appetite for risk, more second-guessing, more avoiding the hard conversation. Plenty of men describe it. It's common, and it's worth noticing rather than putting down to character.
6. The body changing without permission. More weight around the middle, less definition. Your waist is worth measuring: for most men, over 102cm is a health flag, and under 94cm is the target (Heart Foundation).
7. The relationship gap. The last thing men admit and the first thing their partners notice. It's not just libido, though that changes too. It's presence: being fully there, engaged and connected. Partners often read it as disinterest. The man often can't explain it, because he doesn't fully understand it himself.

The common thread: men blame themselves, their schedule, their stress, or simply age. The reality is more specific, and more of it is within reach than most men think.

Section 3

Use it or lose it

The most important thing I know about staying strong after 50

Between the ages of 15 and 30, I fractured my left elbow four times, and it took six surgeries. The result is a permanent 30-degree loss of extension in that arm. It doesn't straighten fully, and it never will. At the gym, plenty of standard movements don't work for me the way they're designed to. So I modify them and get on with it, because the alternative, stopping, is the one thing I know makes everything worse.

The body responds to the demands placed on it. Stop placing demands and it stops maintaining. Muscle is expensive to keep, and the body sheds what it doesn't use. Bone responds to load. The men who keep moving age differently from the men who don't.

What "keep moving" actually means after 50

It doesn't mean training like you're 25. It means finding the version of physical challenge your body can sustain and recover from, and doing it consistently.

Lever What it looks like
Strength training, two sessions a week Two to three sets of seven to nine reps, at a weight where fifteen would be too many (Borde 2015). The case for it is strength, bone and independence. It won't raise resting testosterone (Potter 2021), and that's not why you do it.
Daily walking, 6,000 to 8,000 steps For adults 60 and over, the benefit levels off in this range; more steps beyond it barely change the outcome (Paluch 2022).
Sleep, 7 to 9 hours A regular wake time, Saturday included, matters as much as the hours (Windred 2024).
Modifications, adapt but keep going The changes you make for injury or age aren't defeats. They're the practice of the principle itself.

If you have a heart condition, kidney disease or diabetes, or get chest pain, unusual breathlessness or dizziness when you exert yourself, talk to your doctor before you start (Riebe 2015).

Section 4

What natural support can and can't do

Honest expectations

This is where most of the category loses you with hype. Here is the straight version.

What it can do What it can't do
Support healthy testosterone levels, energy, blood flow and libido, taken daily alongside the basics. Replace treatment for a man with diagnosed low testosterone. That is a decision for you and your doctor.
Fill common nutrient gaps. Zinc and vitamin D shortfalls are common in New Zealand men. Make up for poor sleep, no training and a poor diet. It works alongside the lifestyle, not instead of it.

TESTO is a dietary supplement. It is not a treatment for any medical condition.

When to expect results

Taken daily with breakfast, men tell us energy usually lifts first, around weeks two to four. Past the 4pm wall, with something left at the end of the day. Drive and stamina follow from weeks four to twelve, along with desire that's there when the moment is. From three months on, it's about feeling like yourself again, and often someone close notices before you do. Some of our customers have taken it every morning for years.*

*Based on customer-reported experience. Individual results vary.

In my experience, the men who get the most out of it are the ones who don't stop and start.

Section 5

How to read a supplement label

Two numbers tell you more than the weight

A label that lists only a weight, say 500mg of an ingredient, tells you less than it seems. A raw herb and a concentrated extract can differ many times over in how much of the active compound they carry. Two numbers tell you more: the extract ratio and the standardisation percentage.

Tells you less Tells you more
500mg Panax ginseng root. Raw herb, no extract ratio. Panax ginseng extract with a stated ratio (for example 15:1) and a stated ginsenoside percentage.
Fenugreek, no standardisation listed. 600mg fenugreek, standardised to 50% saponins: the dose used in a 12-week placebo-controlled trial (Rao 2016).
"Proprietary blend, 800mg total." One number for several ingredients. Each ingredient listed with its own dose.
Zinc as zinc oxide. Zinc as glycinate, which is better absorbed than zinc oxide (Devarshi 2024).
Vitamin D, form not stated, or D2. Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), the form your skin makes from sunlight.
Look for the extract ratio and the standardisation percentage. Together they tell you how much of the active compound is actually in there.
Section 6

The everyday levers

Four things that shape how much of the benefit you capture

Sleep: the foundation

Hold your wake time steady, Saturday included. In a study of over 60,000 people, the more regular sleepers had a 20 to 48 per cent lower risk of dying over about six years than the least regular, depending on how regular, after adjusting for age and health (Windred 2024). It's observational, so it shows an association, not proof. Caffeine late in the day matters too: a standard coffee wants to be about eight to nine hours before bed (Gardiner 2023).

Strength training: train for strength, not hormones

Two short sessions a week does the job (Borde 2015). Lifting won't raise your resting testosterone (Potter 2021), and the short spike after a session doesn't predict your gains (West 2012). Train for strength, bone, balance and independence. Those are what go, and those are worth defending.

Body weight: the lever that moves hormones

This is the one with the clearest hormonal link. Men who gained weight saw their testosterone fall; men who lost weight saw it rise (Camacho 2013). Your waist measurement is a simple check.

Stress: real, but not the way you've been told

Short-term stress moves testosterone either way. Sustained suppression is real, but in the studies it comes with severe energy deficit and very little sleep, and it recovers with food and rest (Friedl 2026). Look after the basics and stress loses much of its grip.

Section 7

What to look for in a formula

How to tell a considered formula from a marketing exercise

1. Fenugreek seed extract, standardised to saponins

The most studied herbal ingredient in this category. In a 12-week placebo-controlled trial of 120 men aged 43 to 70, 600mg of a standardised extract raised total and free testosterone compared with placebo (Rao 2016). Look for the saponin percentage on the label.

2. Zinc, in a well-absorbed form

Zinc contributes to normal testosterone levels. A shortfall lowers testosterone, and correcting it helps (Te 2023). In the last national nutrition survey, 39 per cent of New Zealand men weren't getting enough (University of Otago and Ministry of Health 2011). Look for zinc glycinate, which is better absorbed than other forms such as zinc oxide (Devarshi 2024).

3. Vitamin D3

About one in three New Zealand adults are below the recommended vitamin D level, most often in late winter and early spring (EHINZ). Look for D3 (cholecalciferol), the form your skin makes from sunlight.

4. Red Panax ginseng, standardised to ginsenosides

Used medicinally for more than 3,000 years (Nair 2012), and widely studied for energy and men's sexual health. Look for a stated ginsenoside percentage, not just a raw weight.

5. Epimedium, standardised to icariin

Known as horny goat weed. Used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries for sexual health and energy. Its key compound, icariin, is studied for its role in healthy blood flow. Look for a stated icariin percentage on the label.

6. Selenium

Selenium contributes to normal sperm production, and New Zealand soils are low in it, so diets here can run short (Medsafe). Don't double up if you already take another supplement containing it.

7. Black pepper extract, standardised to piperine

It's there to help your body absorb the others. Look for a stated piperine percentage.

8. Every dose disclosed, and a named formulator

A formula that shows you every individual dose has nothing to hide. And ask who made the decisions about which ingredients, which forms and which doses. A named formulator with disclosed credentials is a meaningful signal.

Section 8

My daily routine

What I actually take, not a recommendation for you

I'm 60 and still training. This is what I take.

What Dose Why
TESTO® 2 capsules with breakfast Seven research-backed ingredients, every dose on the label. Formulated by natural health and formulation specialist Jenni Lane, with over 25 years in the industry.
Whey protein After training An easy way to reach the 25 to 30 grams of protein per meal recommended for older adults (Bauer 2013).
Creatine monohydrate 5g daily One of the most researched sports supplements. I take it for strength.
Glycine 3g before bed Part of my wind-down routine. The evidence for it is limited, so I won't oversell it.
Consistency beats optimisation. The basics every day beat the perfect stack some days.

Always read the label and use only as directed. Consult your healthcare professional before use if you have a medical condition or are taking prescription medication, including anticoagulants (including warfarin), antiplatelet medicines, or medicines used to control blood sugar.

If you're still showing up, this was built for you.

TESTO® is formulated by natural health and formulation specialist Jenni Lane, with over 25 years in the industry. Seven research-backed ingredients, every dose on the label. NZ made since 2012, manufactured in a GMP certified facility. Your first order is covered by our 90-day money-back guarantee, with free shipping across New Zealand and Australia.

See TESTO®

Common questions

Does testosterone drop after 40?

Yes, gradually, and it varies a lot between men. Weight, sleep, health and medication all affect it. Men who gain weight tend to see their testosterone fall, and men who lose weight tend to see it rise (Camacho 2013).

What's the difference between total and free testosterone?

Total testosterone is everything in your blood. Much of it is bound to a protein called SHBG and isn't available to your cells. Free testosterone is the part your body can use. Both matter, and many standard tests only measure total.

When is the best time to get tested?

Early morning. Testosterone is highest then, and an afternoon reading can run 20 to 25 per cent lower in younger men (Brambilla 2009). Ask whether SHBG and free testosterone were measured.

Is a testosterone supplement the same as testosterone therapy?

No. TESTO contains no testosterone or hormones. It's a dietary supplement that supports your body's own levels. Testosterone replacement is a prescription medicine, managed by a doctor.

Sources

Important information: This guide is general information, not medical advice. If you have a diagnosed medical condition or take prescription medication, talk to your healthcare professional before starting any supplement. TESTO® is a dietary supplement and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.