I’m Missing the Connection Between DHT Reduction and Muscle Gain

Doc,

I’m confused! We all know that finasteride reduces the amount of DHT in a man. This hormone is known to be the cause of secondary male characteristics, like hair growth and muscle development. So with reduced DHT levels, it should be HARDER to gain muscle, right.

Then how come in many of your previous posts you mention that taking finasteride makes it easier to build muscle since it increases testosterone levels by almost 20%? Granted testosterone levels increase since more of it doesn’t convert to DHT, but DHT, which is more responsible for muscle growth than testosterone, decreases!

How do you explain this?

I’m not seeing the connection here.

To clear any confusion, DHT blockage with Propecia may give you a small transient increase (not permanent or persistent) in testosterone levels, reported as high as 15%. These minor changes in hormones will not likely affect muscle mass (gain/loss) and are not long term.