Dinah Rodrigues — the creator of Hormone Yoga Therapy — still training at the gym with dumbbells. 🐾
Men over 40 don't have to choose between the gym and Hormone yoga. In my experience, the combination of smart strength training and Hormone Yoga Therapy for men is exactly what delivers the best results for testosterone, muscle quality, and overall health.
My experience: pull-up bar, bodyweight, and athletes from MMA to hockey
I train primarily with my own bodyweight and I love the pull-up bar. It's the most natural form of strength training for the male body after 40. At the same time, I work with active athletes — MMA fighters, hockey players, and cyclists.
With all of them, I see the same pattern. Those who only lift weights often have tight hips, overloaded backs, and locked-up groins. The muscles get stronger, but the skeleton and pelvic floor can't keep up. Fatigue injuries follow, sleep gets worse, and morning testosterone starts to drop.
Those who added HYT as a complement to the gym train longer, stay injury-free, and their muscles respond far better.
I once saw a documentary on Brazilian television about Dinah Rodrigues, the founder of Hormone Yoga Therapy. She was 94 years old at the time. And where was she? In a fitness gym, lifting dumbbells with her personal trainer. For me, that was clear proof. HYT and the gym don't cancel each other out. They complement each other perfectly.
Get ready — you have never trained anything like this.
Hormone Yoga for Men is not traditional yoga and it's not traditional strength training. It is preparation of the body for performance.
When men over 40 come to their first session, they expect stretching. Twenty minutes in, they discover they're working muscles they didn't know they had — and that breathwork does more than another set on the bench. It's a different kind of strength. Deep, internal strength that supports the skeleton and the hormones.
Why combining weights and Hormone Yoga works so well
1. Your body is ready to train and you prevent fatigue injuries.
HYT before training stretches and brings blood flow to muscles and joints. Relaxed hip flexors and a mobile pelvic floor mean better range of motion in squats and deadlifts. This helps you avoid the injuries that sideline men over 40 for weeks.
2. Your muscles become higher quality and respond better to training.
Every HYT sequence works with the breath and lowers cortisol. When the stress hormone drops, the body can produce optimal levels of testosterone. And it's in that environment of optimal testosterone that muscles are of higher quality — they recover faster and respond far better to weight training. It's not about volume at any cost. It's about the quality of the muscle.
3. Better sleep equals better gains.
Most testosterone is produced at night. Without quality sleep, muscles won't grow. HYT in the evening calms the nervous system.
What a smart week looks like for a man over 40 who combines both
With the hockey players and cyclists I work with, we use a simple model. Monday and Thursday mornings: 20 minutes of an HYT sequence focused on hips and breathwork. In the afternoon: bodyweight training — pull-up bar, push-ups, or light weights. Wednesday: HYT only and a walk.
The body stays consistently loose, well-circulated, and hormonally primed. The weights then aren't a fight against your body — they're a reward for it.
Final thoughts for active men
If you enjoy the gym, lifting, and the pull-up bar like I do — don't stop. Just be smarter about it than you were at 25. Add HYT as a complement.
This is how Dinah trained at 94 with her coach in the gym. This is how I train. And this is what I teach men over 40 who want to stay strong, healthy, and at optimal testosterone for as long as possible.
Hormone Yoga for Men is the best complement to strength training I know for an active man over 40.
Want the full sequence I use — and the one my athletes use too?
Peter Bavlsik
FAQ
Can I combine gym and Hormone Yoga Therapy?
Yes. In my experience, smart strength training + HYT for men delivers the best results for testosterone, muscle quality and overall health after 40.
Why do men over 40 get injured when they only lift?
Muscles get stronger, but tight hips, overloaded back and locked-up groin can't keep up. HYT brings blood flow, mobility and pelvic floor function, so you prevent fatigue injuries.
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