MAN UP REGIMEN: Lifestyle, Sexuality And Supplements For Men

Men love to share wisdom and what works with each other. We don’t necessarily give advice here, but we do share what works for us. This MAN UP Regimen is not necessarily a formal program but a collection of things that works for both me and my husband and has contributed to our overall well-being. Read it but also do your own research. I am just passing this on brother to brother.

I make posts on X about my progress in the gym and the continuing restoration of my manhood and masculinity. My muscles were growing and my waistline was shrinking. The weight loss was having weird effects on my skin and overall health. Nothing bad, just different from anything I experienced in my thirties. Getting in shape in your fifties is its own thing. I was also dealing with a stubborn digestive disorder that had been with me for years.

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A man on X sent me a private message and shared a regimen with me but he told me to be responsible with it and check myself. I started the regimen and felt results fairly quickly so I posted about it. I talked about my increased libido and focus, not to mention my better mood. I was also shooting bigger and healthier loads. 

Dozens of men hit me up in comments and DMs wanting the details on the regimen. But sharing it is not that simple. The supplements restore a biochemistry most older men no longer have, and bringing that system back online has consequences. A lot of men want to lose weight and feel better without considering the full range of effects. They expect only positives. That is rarely how it works. I did not want to share any of this without being clear about what a man might actually be signing up for.

The man knew I was already consistent with training and that I was sober from alcohol, drugs, and every mood-altering medication. His regimen was a short list of supplements that would help with the physical changes, especially skin tightening and muscle response at my age. He was direct about responsibility. Do not overtake them. Do not use them outside their purpose. Then he said something that stuck: “I know you used to get high and a few weeks in, you will feel like you are high. But you are not high. You will be feeling normal.”

He was right. At three weeks my mood and energy had shifted hard. By five weeks my libido came back like it was the early thirties again. Energy kept climbing. The downside showed up fast. I got cocky in the gym and injured myself. The libido turned into an obsession with sex I had not felt in years. Focus locked me at the computer for hours with almost no breaks. For a stretch of days I wanted to bate all day and ignore everything else.

Discipline was the only reason I did not. That is the real point of this regimen. It is more than pills. It starts with behavioral changes, small ones that stick and become the foundation. The man who sent the supplements already knew I was doing those things, so I am going to lay them out first. Together they form what we call the MAN UP regimen, and it includes a real amount of sexual integration. We will cover the behavioral pieces, then the supplements, then the sexual side at the end. That last part deserves its own article, but it cannot be left out of this one.

Behavioral And Lifestyle Changes

Sleep Schedule

A man needs sleep and lots of it. When I was younger, I tried to get away with a fucked up sleep schedule that I would then modify with lots of caffeine and “energy pills” and this left me with a whacked-out mood and often left me in an emotional mess. No man is exempt from this. No man can stay up late and then get up early all the time without serious effects on his physical and mental health.

To get on a sleep schedule, pick a time to wake up every day and stick to it. No matter what time you go to bed, just stick to that consistent wake up time. And do it for 90 days. Most men who have never been on a sleep schedule will find this enormously challenging. The men that I have helped with this simply cannot do it easily. They feel like they need to stay up late or go out late or whatever. They feel like they are missing out. I get it.

But at some point, sleep has to become the priority or everything else will be enormously difficult. The men I have mentored keep having setbacks, wanting to sleep in and finding excuses to stay up late watching movies that came out 40 years ago or chatting online with men 1,000 miles away. When a man makes himself and his sleep a priority, he gets to do everything he wants to do anyway and have the energy to actually do it. Besides, this is an on-demand world now. You used to have to stay up to watch the news at 11PM, but now anything you can do at 11PM can be done at 5PM.

A sleep schedule is non-negotiable and all the supplements and pills in the world will not make up or replace lost sleep.

A Good Diet

Fast food and pre-digested food can cause hormone imbalances and digestive issues. Unhealthy food doesn’t just affect your waistline, it affects your whole body. Fast food and processed food is scientifically designed to be addictive so you eat more. Men try to argue with me about this and I get it. The food tastes good. But once you know what it’s actually doing to you, it’s easy to stop.

Eating well is not more expensive. Getting meat from the butcher is often less expensive than getting it from a grocery store. Local meat from a local butcher is often of higher quality as well. We try and stay away from seed oils or highly refined oils in favor of olive oil, butter, lard and beef tallow. Most everyone in the 80s and 90s fell for the big lie that eating animal fats caused high cholesterol but those myths have been busted.

Sodas and sugary drinks will fuck you up as well and add calories that you don’t need. Stick with unsweetened water, tea and coffee and you will find that your mental and physical health will improve.

Your taste buds will get used to the new flavors of your life. You might go through uncomfortable withdrawals when you clean up your diet but when the changes are made for good, you might find that you can’t eat unhealthy crap anymore. We find that fast food and sodas have a chemical taste to them since we rarely eat them. We rarely eat candy or snacks except when we’re stressed out. We started to notice unhealthy eating habits creeping in whenever we had something stressful going on.

And stay away from artificial sweeteners. They will fuck up your gut microbiome and eventually give you IBS. If you take extra protein powders, look at the ingredients in the label. Get to know your sweeteners. The only sugar the human body is really designed to handle is sugar from fruits and vegetables. Sugars that take chemical processes or lots of refinement to make should be avoided. They can mess with your metabolism and actually cause your body to hold on to fat making getting lean difficult.

Get To The Fucking Gym

There is no excuse to be out of shape in this day and age. Working out can solve many of a man’s problems. A sedentary life breeds chronic disease. And don’t let the body positive crowd fool you. “Body Positivity” was started by the very food companies that sell unhealthy food. It feels good to have a good feeling body and to be able to walk long distances without running out of breath.

I personally find all different body types attractive and men with a little bit of weight are hot to me. But on my body, I want to be lean. I’ve had a lean athletic body and an out-of-shape body and I can tell you it feels much better to be in an in-shape body.

Start slow. For your first 90 days just get to the gym. Walk on the treadmill, engage with the other amenities like the sauna or pool. Make getting there the habit. A good rule of thumb is to keep going to the gym and don’t stop until you feel like going. Eventually you will be excited to go to the gym and nothing will be able to stop you.

Not only will you feel better, you will look better, too. Any man can be hot and sexy with a worked-out body and it’s one of the benefits of being a man. We got muscles and those muscles can grow pretty large with the right diet and sleep schedule. Plus your sex life will be way more exciting and filled with less shame.

No Alcohol Or Drugs

Nothing will mess with you more than drinking to excess. Not only does it fuck up your sleep schedule, it will lower your inhibitions and make you do things and say things you will regret. I’m in recovery, but I am not trying to get in the way of anyone’s good time. But drinking any amount of alcohol will have negative effects on your health.

It’s the same with drugs that alter mood. The high feels good until it doesn’t. And I am not just talking about illegal drugs here. Now that the myth of the chemical imbalance has been exposed, even psychiatric medications can numb us out to the realities of life.

When a man is numbed out, he accepts unacceptable things for himself. He has loose boundaries and let’s people walk all over him. Refusing to take drugs or drink doesn’t mean you don’t like to have a good time. It means that you care about your body and your health and your personal space.

A sleep schedule, a good diet, fitness routine and a sober life are all prerequisites to adding supplements. Often if a man stops abusing his body with food and substances, he might find he doesn’t need any extra help. Before reaching for the supplements, try these things first.

The Supplements

The Prescription Drug: Cialis

One of the first things I tried that was suggested to me was Cialis, also known as tadalafil. I didn’t have severe boner problems but I did have some digestive and gut motility issues that my doctor and I thought tadalafil could help with. I talked to my doctor and did my own research about it. She prescribed it to me off-label for digestive issues.

Cialis works by relaxing smooth muscle and improving blood flow. It lasts up to 36 hours so you’re not locked into a narrow window. You can take a low daily dose or a higher one when you need it. It helps with urinary flow too, supports the heart, and some research is looking at it for IBS. Athletes and bodybuilders use it because it seems to speed recovery. On the flip side, you can get headaches, indigestion, back pain, muscle aches, flushing, or a stuffy nose. Those usually fade. The serious stuff is rare but real: prolonged erection, sudden vision or hearing loss, or a dangerous drop in blood pressure. And if you’re using poppers, don’t mix them. You could die.

The side effect I noticed right away was that a man’s cock gets rock hard and ready without much warning. I consider that a benefit. I was already taking this before the man on X suggested the supplements to me and I feel that tadalafil supports me in ways that cannot be ignored. If I stopped taking it today, I would still get rockhard boners. But since it increases blood flow throughout the body, I will continue to take it unless I get serious side effects. 

The gym pump and vascularity is amazing, though. When I am at the gym, my muscles feel tighter and plumper than before I was on it. The feeling can feel weird at first if you are not used to it. I can push myself farther at the gym and I look great in the mirror all pumped up from the increased blood flow. These are side effects that I can live with. 

DHEA

This was the first supplement the guy on X suggested. DHEA is a natural steroid hormone your adrenal glands make. Your body uses it as the building block for testosterone and estrogen. Production drops as you get older. When levels are low you feel tired, your sex drive tanks, your mood shifts, and you lose muscle. Taking it can lower cortisol, the stress hormone that keeps a lot of men wound tight.

It takes three to six weeks before you really feel it. At six weeks I noticed I was calmer and more focused. The libido I had in my thirties came back hard. Orgasms got stronger and lasted longer. My digestive issues eased up. The extra focus is useful but it can pull you into work for longer than you planned, especially when the work is about men and sex.

I started at 200 mg, which is on the high side, but I’m in my fifties. Higher doses can push estrogen up, lower sex drive, cause acne, or raise blood pressure. That’s why the sleep schedule and staying sober matter. You need a clear head so you can notice if something starts going sideways. Get your levels checked if you can. Men’s health issues get downplayed a lot, so you have to advocate for yourself. A lower libido might be “normal” with age, but it doesn’t have to be the final word.

Pregnenolone

Taking DHEA alone will work, but pregnenolone is the starting material for the whole pathway. The guy suggested 50 to 100 mg. It’s made from cholesterol in the adrenals and the brain. It can sharpen memory and focus, help manage cortisol, and improve how you handle fatigue and sleep.

Too much can convert unpredictably into estrogen, testosterone, or more DHEA. You might get irritable, anxious, sleepless, or break out. Watch yourself. I get up early and usually sleep six or seven hours. Since starting this stack I wake up clearer and more ready to work. I still take short naps. When stress hits hard my sleep still suffers, but overall I’m getting sleepier at night and nodding off earlier. My body was used to running on stress hormones. These supplements seem to lower that constant jolt, so it’s taking time to adjust to feeling normal instead of wired.

Bonus Supplements That May Provide Support

The same guy pointed me toward an all-in-one that already includes DHEA plus a few supporting compounds. I’ve found them useful.

Ashwagandha at 100 mg helps the body handle stress and lower cortisol. It can improve sleep and take the edge off daily tension.

Diindolylmethane (DIM) at 50 mg comes from cruciferous vegetables. It helps the body break down estrogen in a cleaner way, which matters when you’re raising DHEA and don’t want excess estrogen floating around.

Black pepper extract at 5 mg acts as a bio-enhancer. It slows the breakdown of nutrients and helps more of what you’re taking actually get into your system.

Zinc at 50 mg supports testosterone, sperm quality, immune function, and prostate health. Since I started taking a solid daily dose my loads have gotten bigger and they come out with more force. A lot of men my age notice the volume drops off and things just dribble. Zinc has been bringing that back toward what I remember from earlier years. Nothing feels better than a strong, satisfying release.

Overall the combination has been solid for me at the six-week mark.

Advanced Gamma Vitamin E Complex

He also suggested a full-spectrum vitamin E, the advanced gamma complex with gamma-tocopherol, mixed tocopherols, and tocotrienols. Regular vitamin E misses some of the free radicals this one hits. It’s good support for the heart, the prostate, and the immune system.

Sexual Integration

Sexual integration sits at the center of the whole regimen even though it usually gets left for last. In a culture that ranks feminine values higher, most men never get clear instruction on how to handle their own sex drive. When I mentor men I spend a lot of time on this part. A surprising number treat sexuality as something that only exists when another person is involved. Straight men especially are often shocked to discover they have a full sexuality that stands on its own, independent of anyone else.

Integration means bringing the physical urge, the emotional honesty, and the personal responsibility into one piece instead of keeping them separate. It cuts down on the acting out and the shutting down. It lowers the low-grade anxiety that comes from carrying shame. A man’s body is built to produce sperm and fluid without pause. Regular semen release is not optional in the same way it can feel for women. It is part of the operating system.

This is not a deep dive. That needs its own space. But it belongs here because it is the piece that makes the rest of the work stick. Old rites of passage used to hand younger men some guidance on how to carry their sexuality without wrecking themselves or anyone else. Those structures are mostly gone. Without them men either treat sex like a dirty secret or swing the other way into constant excess. Neither leaves a man solid.

The starting point is simple and hard at the same time. Look at what you actually want without flinching. Do not shame it. Do not shame what other men are into as long as it stays between consenting adults. Talking openly with other men about sex and masturbation is one of the cleanest ways in. That is what we do here. It connects men instead of isolating them.

Pornography’s Role

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For men who have sex with men, pornography can be one of the tools that helps. It does not have to degrade. Used with intention it celebrates male sexual energy instead of hiding it. A lot of us grew up with the idea that looking at other men, getting hard to them, or beating off to them was something to keep buried. Pornography that centers male bodies and male desire can reverse that. It shows the drive out in the open. It lets a man see his own responses without the usual filters of shame or apology. 

That is different from the way porn is often talked about in general culture. For men who use it to clear the shame rather than feed it, the material becomes a mirror instead of a trap. Of course porn can be misused. Plenty of men do misuse it. The difference is in the relationship you have with it. When the aim is to stay present with male sexual energy instead of escaping into it, the same material starts working for you rather than against you. We engage with it often for exactly that reason.

We believe in openly discussing porn and pornography in reverent terms as it is a way for us to bond with other men. Sometimes watching porn in a group of other men is very freeing. Engaging in a circle jerk, either online or in person, is wonderfully life-affirming because we use each other as porn. Watching a man cum for you live and in person (or even on webcam) is beautiful. Men must be seen to heal, even in their most intimate moments. Especially in their most intimate moments. With male-only spaces virtually non-existent, bating with the bros becomes a healthy biological imperative. It’s not for every man, but for those who see the value in it, it can be a necessarily lifeline towards wholeness. 

Sexuality keeps changing across a lifetime. Integration is not a finish line. It is ongoing work. The MAN UP regimen is about living in the body and owning every part of it, including the sexual part.

This Regimen Is A Suggestion Only

The MAN UP regimen is not a checklist you run through once and then forget. It is a way of putting the pieces back in order. Sleep first. Clean food. Real training. No numbing agents. Then the supplements that help restore what age, stress, and years of living hard took offline. And running underneath all of it is sexual integration, the part most men skip because no one ever taught them it mattered.

None of this is exotic. Men are not that different from each other. We share the same basic wiring. The same need for rest, the same response to real food, the same drop in hormones with age, the same drive that wants regular release, the same tendency to either act out or shut down when that drive is ignored. What works for one man tends to work for others because the machine is largely the same. The details shift, the timelines differ, but the underlying system does not.

Still, do not take anything in this article as advice. The only man any of us is an expert on is himself. I have done a ton of inner work. Enough that I sometimes mentor men who want to integrate their sexuality or self-initiate into manhood. I do not do the work for them. I offer support, encouragement, books, and study guides. The rest is theirs.

Find your own path. Start where you are. Pay attention to what actually happens in your body and your mind when you change something. Keep what works. Drop what does not. The goal is not to become someone else. It is to stop fighting the man you already are and start living as him on purpose.