Inflammation.

As simple as that.

People don’t respond to testosterone or anabolic stimuli simply because their cells are under attack.

Toxins like free radicals damage cells, making them resistant to testosterone and muscle growth signals.

This low-grade oxidative stress and inflammation drags out recovery for weeks, even if you feel fine and ready for your next workout.

The problem?

Your body never fully recovers—so over time, damage accumulates, increasing your risk of:

Injury (muscle & joint tissue become weaker)
Chronic fatigue & slow recovery
Anabolic resistance (your body stops responding to training & nutrition)

You can pump your body full of testosterone and protein, but if your cells are resistant, it won’t work.

Older individuals need more protein because they’re anabolic resistant—but even high protein intake doesn’t restore them to youthful muscle-building levels.

Why?

Because the underlying cause isn’t fixed.

So why does low-grade inflammation occur in the first place?

1. Nutritional Deficiencies: The Building Blocks Are Missing

Most guys think hitting macros is enough.

It’s not.

To build muscle, your body needs more than just protein & calories—it needs the right micronutrients to trigger growth and recovery.

If you’re deficient in key nutrients, your body:

Struggles to synthesize proteins properly
Fails to neutralize inflammation & oxidative stress
Loses energy efficiency at the cellular level

This is why the standard chicken and rice diet sucks for long-term progress. It's nutrient-poor.

2. Suboptimal Cellular Function: Broken Energy Systems = Poor Recovery

Muscle is energy-intensive—it requires high-functioning mitochondria to repair and grow.

But oxidative stress & chronic inflammation impair mitochondrial function, leading to:

Poor energy production (fatigue & slow recovery)
Lower ATP levels (weaker contractions & strength loss)
More ROS (reactive oxygen species), worsening inflammation

When cellular energy is compromised, recovery slows dramatically.

This is why young guys can bounce back in 24-48 hours, while older guys take a full week—their mitochondria are burnt out and inefficient.

The key?
✔ Mitochondrial support
✔ Endogenously made mitochondrial-specific antioxidants
✔ Balancing oxidative stress (not just blocking it with vitamin C)

Optimizing cellular function removes the bottleneck holding back growth and recovery.

3. Leaky Gut from Exercise: Your Own Training is Wrecking You

Exercise increases gut permeability—also known as leaky gut.

This means that toxins and bacterial byproducts from the gut leak into circulation, triggering systemic inflammation that:

Lowers testosterone & androgen receptor density
Slows muscle repair & regeneration
Weakens immune function, increasing recovery time

If your gut is compromised, your body is constantly fighting an internal battle instead of focusing on recovery and muscle growth.

The best approach?
✔ Strengthen gut lining
✔ Reduce endotoxin exposure
✔ Optimize digestion & nutrient absorption

If you’ve ever felt random inflammation, joint pain, or sluggishness after training, your gut might be the culprit.

4. Pathogenic Bacterial Overgrowth: The Silent Muscle Killer

An inflamed gut is a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria, which:

Increase systemic inflammation
Reduce nutrient absorption
Disrupt neurotransmitters, impacting motivation & recovery

Most guys try to blast bad bacteria with antimicrobials—which often makes things worse.

Why?

Because pathogenic overgrowth happens due to an imbalanced environment—not just the presence of bad bacteria.

The solution?
✔ Rebuild gut terrain (don’t just kill bacteria, create an environment where bad bacteria can’t survive)
✔ Use targeted probiotics (certain strains directly impact hormones (IGF-1 & GH) and muscle growth and fat loss)
✔ Support detox pathways to clear out endotoxins

The gut isn’t just about digestion—it controls hormones, inflammation, recovery, and performance.

Bottom Line: Inflammation is the #1 Factor Holding You Back

You can train hard, eat right, and even use testosterone, but if chronic inflammation is blocking your anabolic pathways, progress will always be slower than it should be.

This is why most guys feel stuck—they’re doing all the right things but getting half the results.

It's not that you need to upregulate androgen receptors with forskolin or carnitine-L-tartrate, you need to fix the underlying root cause.

That’s why fixing systemic inflammation is a core pillar in my Wolverine Healing Blueprint.

I'm extending the blueprint's availability by 11 hours

The Wolverine Healing Blueprint covers how to:
✔ Eliminate inflammation at the root cause
✔ Optimize mitochondria for rapid recovery
✔ Fix gut health for better hormone function & absorption
✔ Rebuild anabolic sensitivity for faster gains

You can get it here.

To next-level recovery & unstoppable gains,

Hansius

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