Review: THOR Testosterone Training Program by Christopher Walker

UPDATE: This is an old review, and some time after writing this, THOR was updated to V2.0, which includes some of my work too (creating a conflict of interest for review purposes). Regardless, I have still decided to keep this old review here this was written before I had any idea of my future involvement.

The THOR Testosterone Training Program is the new training manual from my great friend Chris Walker. It’s the definitive “no stone left unturned” answer to the never ending amount of emails and questions about how exactly should you be training to ellicit the maximal testosterone response and long-term hormonal adaptations.

THOR as you might know was a viking god with the epic hammer (as an absolute fan of the TV series Vikings, this pleases me), but the name is also an acronym for Testosterone Hormonal Optimization Resistance Training.

Well does this THOR workout routine work and what are my thoughts about the finished book? You can find that out below:

Closer Look at THOR

Thor Program created by Christopher WalkerIt’s not a secret that the author of the THOR Testosterone Training Program, Christopher Walker is my good friend and a business partner. In fact we’ve been hosting the testosterone podcast lately and brainstorming testosterone optimization for a long time now.

However make no assumptions that this review would not be honest or objective, just like any of the previous reviews on AM, I will be pointing out the positives and negatives of the program. I respect integrity and make enough money already not to go as low as writing “fake” in-house reviews.

With that being said, let’s get to the meat and potatoes here shall we?

For months I had been discussing with Chris about how the whole natural testosterone optimization field was seriously lacking a specific training manual that would teach guys the optimal way to increase testosterone levels, while also maximizing the long-term hormonal training adaptations. Not only that but obviously you also want a training program that makes you strong and ripped.

You would think that something like this would of have existed before, but nope. For some odd reason nobody had really taken the time to figure out the research and come up with a program that would allow the trainee to maximize the hormonal response and slowly but steadily nudge the hormonal baseline higher and higher.

Well, now there is. The sole purpose of the THOR training program is to teach the reader how to – exactly – stimulate your body produce the highest possible amount of natural hormones via training…

…More specifically the program will be answering the following many many times asked questions;

  • What is neuromuscular training?
  • How to activate more androgen receptors?
  • Can resistance training increase baseline testosterone levels?
  • How to maximize the short-term testosterone peaks of each and every workout?
Training hard (especially upper body) is necessary to take full advantage of the body’s ability to increase receptor density at the muscle cells. Only by maximizing the androgen receptor density can you take advantage of the increased circulating levels of anabolic hormones you should have following the THOR training Program.Christopher Walker, in THOR

The Pros:
Foreword has been written by yours truly ; )
As with all of Chris’s work, the emphasis is on solid research instead of opinions
It’s not that you would just get a routine, the THOR workout routine has all the specifics of why to train this way clearly explained in the book
THOR program introduces some completely new ideas to testosterone specific training, such as; hypoxia and strategic fasting
The constant progress to heavier weights, along with good set/rep patterns and emphasis on proper rest, works well with natural lifters

The Cons:
The supplement section, although useful, is not necessary for most trainees
Newbie trainees might find themselves overly confused with an advanced program like this
Calculations like W (MVA * i) can be pretty difficult for some people (were for me too, after all I was a car mechanic before…)
It would help to have videos of the movements since some of them are not too well-known (I’ve heard that these are coming though)

Below are the insides of the THOR-program;

Thor workout contents

Q: How does the THOR compare to other similar programs?
A: To be fair, Chris’s first book, TestShock, which is a more detailed look at the nuts and bolts of testosterone optimization in general had its own training section. However the exercise part of TS was directed more towards bodyweight movements, rather than “classic” resistance training. The THOR program should be seen as the massively updated version of that previously introduced training philosophy. Looking around the natural T-optimization field, the THOR workout or TestShock would both be no-brainer purchases when compared to the vast amounts of “squats and deadlifts bruh” training guides.

Though if your goal is to solely focus on gaining muscle and size, then sure, many programs will work awesomely well if you’re dedicated enough to stick with them. Training manuals like the Mi40 from Ben Pakulski or [easyazon_link identifier=”1938895274″ locale=”US” tag=”anabmen-20″]Bigger Leaner Stronger from Mike Matthews[/easyazon_link] will guarantee good results. It’s not that hard to make a program yourself for free, I’ve always done that. But if you’re looking for that hormone boost, it’s admittedly pretty hard to figure the teachings of THOR out by yourself.

Q: Are there people that you don’t recommend the program for?
A: Yes, absolute beginners to weight-lifting should probably build a solid base strength and knowledge of how to perform the key movements with a basic full-body program first. Jumping head first into an advanced routine like this would likely make you confused and eventually bummer down your motivation because you would always feel like you don’t really know how to do anything properly.

Q: Are there any bonuses in the program?
A: What you pay for is what you get, so after the purchase you’ll have the full THOR program and access to all future updates.

Conclusion

Thor workout routine created by Christopher WalkerTHOR by Christopher Walker.

I was first thinking of giving THOR a 5-star rating. However, the lack of video material made me drop the rating to 4½-stars. If – and if I’m not completely wrong, there will – be instructional videos, the THOR program deserves a 5/5.

Does it work? This type of training does work, I could imagine no possible reason as to why this type of constant progress with proper movements would not result in rapid muscle growth and strength gains. Factor in the hormone optimization and you have what is possibly the best “overall” way to train for a natural lifter looking to maximize health, aesthetics, and strength at the same time.

Click Here to Read More about THOR

Ali Kuoppala

Ali Kuoppala is the founder of Anabolic Men. He has authored and co-authored multiple men's health books and focuses on uncovering the methods of optimizing hormonal health. To date, his articles on various websites have been read more than 15-million times. To read more about Ali, visit his Medium article.