At 40, Derrick represents a fast-growing global cohort: the working-week endurance athlete who refuses to choose between career and competition. Standing at 6’3, he competes in ultramarathons, runs back-to-back weekend in trails, participated numerous trail races and competes in HYROX — the hybrid fitness format that fuses eight 1 km runs with eight functional stations including sled pushes, ski ergs, sandbag lunges and burpee broad jumps.
Serious athletes who clock 30-40km runs per week alongside hectic work hours demand a set of healthy diet, nutrition and supplementation. Natural herbs such as Tongkat Ali have caught the global attention by runners, Hyrox and active men in recent years due to its synergistic and adaptogenic effects.
At 5:45 AM, Derrick Lam is already two elevation reps into a hill session, headtorch cutting through the pre-dawn dark at Gasing Hill, a notorious trail in Petaling Jaya. By 9 AM, he is at his desk, parsing markets with the same precision most people reserve for their finest hours — not the ones bracketed by a hill sprint and a late-night HYROX class.
After one-month evaluation of Tongkat Ali supplementation, Derrick agreed to partner with AKARALI, incorporating dose-optimised 200 mg Physta® Tongkat Ali capsules into his daily training stack.
In this special focus review on athletes, Derrick shares his experience of using Tongkat Ali, the changes and improvements he felt during his training. What follows is the granular account of what four months of real-world testing revealed — across two completely different fatigue profiles, in a man whose biology and schedule are precisely why premium Tongkat Ali makes a difference to athletes.
“After about two weeks on AKARALI, I feel a bit more energetic than before, especially during training days. Recovery feels slightly better and I don’t feel as drained. Everyone’s body is different, but this has worked quite well for me so far”
Derrick Lam — Verified 5-Star Trustpilot Review
“AKARALI’s products have now accumulated more than 490 hours of real-world performance data from trail runners, ultramarathoners, bodybuilders, and hybrid athletes competing in international endurance races and global HYROX events” said Alex Kua, AKARALI Global Community Lead.
He added genuine reviews of Tongkat Ali’s effects on athlete’s performance helps the team refine the formulation and develop protocols that helps individuals to gain more from their trainings. “We do not purchase testimonials. We listen for signals, refine our protocols and we publish what we find helpful to customers and the general public” he said after completing the exclusive interview with Derrick.
Given his profile, we felt Derrick fits the bill.
After a month using AKARALI’s standardised hot-water Tongkat Ali root extract — Physta®, backed by 28+ human clinical trials and MIT co-developed extraction technology — his feedback on Tongkat Ali was specific, measured, detailed and worth sharing with every serious hybrid athlete.
In this review, Derrick fits a profile AKARALI’s Global Community team has been tracking for two years:
Age 40 — the decade where natural testosterone declines at approximately 1% per year (per peer-reviewed endocrinology literature)
Finance professional— sedentary desk hours, high cognitive load, irregular busy scheduling and stressful working environment
Training simultaneously for trail running and HYROX — two disciplines with entirely different fatigue signatures
Self-purchased his first AKARALI bottle before any sponsorship conversation was initiated
“What I noticed was more on the endurance and recovery side rather than a sudden energy spike. Usually after consecutive training days, especially with elevation work, my legs would feel very flat or heavy the next day. “ said Derrick after taking AKARALI Tongkat Ali supplement
He added that he felt a bit ‘fresher’ going into the next session instead of dragging himself through it.
“During longer runs, my energy also felt more stable instead of having that mid-run drained feeling. Recovery after sessions felt slightly quicker too, especially sleep and overall fatigue levels after hard blocks."
“40 year olds tend to benefit more from Tongkat Ali supplementation for testosterone support due to premature aging symptoms due to rapid decline in testosterone production or from work-induced stress, overtraining and other lifestyle factors” said Dr Zamir Hillman, a certified medical professional based in Kuala Lumpur.
For context, Tongkat Ali known in Malay as Akar Ali, revered in indigenous medicine for centuries, and classified by modern science as Eurycoma longifolia or Malaysian Ginseng — was arguably designed for this exact review: men in their late 30s and 40s who want to continue training hard without absorbing the recovery debt that age normally imposes.
While this review does not feature an elite athlete in his mid-twenties operating at peak hormonal output, our review features a recreational athlete in his 40s, representing a wider middle-aged consumer market who are actively involved recreational sports.
In general, Tongkat Ali can be used daily or as-needed, and thus the effectiveness varies based on your goals.
Based on Derrick’s personal protocol as a 40 year old recreational athlete, he deployed as-needed dose optimization approach — not blind daily consumption. Derrick uses AKARALI’s 200 mg capsules specifically around training stress points, not as a blanket daily supplement.
Here is how he used it:
For Trail Running and Elevation Training
Derrick deploys a single 200 mg capsule before longer Zone 2 runs (90 minutes to 2+ hours), elevation sessions on KL favourites such as Bukit Gasing, Broga Hill, and Bukit Tabur, back-to-back training days where residual fatigue accumulates, and weekend long runs when the week’s accumulated load is at its highest.
For HYROX Hybrid Training
High-intensity circuits — sled push/pull, ski erg, rowing, burpee combinations, strength-cardio intervals with minimal station rest — receive the same single 200 mg capsule, 60 to 90 minutes pre-session.
The common view for most athlete is that the 200 mg dose is not arbitrary. It is the precise dose used across numerous published Physta® clinical trials, which is why AKARALI built its flagship capsule at exactly that strength. This gives the consumer the optimal evidence-backed dose by default, with the option to extend to 400 mg — the second most researched dose, and the one that shows the strongest results for testosterone maintenance in peer-reviewed studies.
We specifically avoid the “200:1 extract” marketing language and the oversized 600 mg–1,000 mg capsule formats prevalent among US brands. Without standardisation behind them, large doses are noise, not signal.
Derrick’s words on Tongkat Ali reflects his first-hand experience after using Tongkat Ali for several weeks for his longer trail runs.
“What I noticed was more on the endurance and recovery side rather than a sudden energy spike. Usually after consecutive training days — especially with elevation work — my legs would feel very flat or heavy the next day. Recently I felt a bit ‘fresher’ going into the next session instead of dragging myself through it. During longer runs, energy also felt more stable instead of having that mid-run drained feeling. Recovery after sessions felt slightly quicker too, especially sleep and overall fatigue levels after hard blocks”
Derrick Lam
Three clinical observations stand out from his experience on Tongkat Ali:
1. No Stimulant Spike
Tongkat Ali is not a pre-workout stimulant. Unlike caffeine or beta-alanine, AKARALI’s Physta® Tongkat Ali root extract works on a hormonal-support and recovery axis — supporting healthy testosterone, modulating cortisol balance, and reducing muscle damage markers (creatine kinase) according to published research. Derrick’s report is consistent with this mechanism of actions backed by other clinical studies.
2. Reduced “Leg Flatness” After Elevation Work
Trail runners recognise this precisely: heavy quads, dead glutes, the second day worse than the first. Derrick reported a meaningful improvement in lower leg muscles recovery — the kind of quality-of-session recovery that compounds across a training week.
3. Better Sleep and Fatigue Resolution After Hard Blocks
Multiple Physta® clinical trials have objectively measured improvements in sleep quality and fatigue-related stress markers. Derrick’s feedback aligns directly and closely with those clinical trial outcomes.
In short, this is how AKARALI Tongkat Ali may help athletes: faster recovery and strength consistency across a training cycle — not a 30-minute pre-race surge that leaves you depleted by Tuesday.
What makes Derrick’s review on Tongkat Ali particularly valuable is that he trains two entirely different physiological systems (anaerobic and aerobic) incorporating long endurance runs and high-intensity Hyrox exercises. In this example, we noticed how AKARALI Physta® Tongkat Ali work in both activities, but differently:
“HYROX sessions involve sled push/pull, rowing, ski erg, burpees, lunges, high-heart-rate intervals and strength-cardio combinations with minimal rest. That fatigue hits much harder and faster compared to steady endurance running. What I noticed recently: less ‘burnout’ halfway through intense circuits, more consistent output across the session, better recovery between stations, and I didn’t feel as wiped out after completing doubles or classes.”
Derrick Lam
Here is another insight of Tongkat Ali that belongs in every hybrid athlete’s training log:
“Trail fatigue is more muscular and accumulated over time. HYROX fatigue is more explosive and cardiovascular. So I actually felt the benefits differently in both sports. For trail, it helped me feel steadier over longer durations. For HYROX, it felt more useful for sustaining intensity and recovering between efforts”
Derrick Lam
Experts believe that this dual-axis response — stamina under sustained load and faster recovery between repeated efforts — is precisely the mechanism that standardised Tongkat Ali extract is documented to support.
Not one or the other. Both. This position Tongkat Ali supplementation as one of the best natural supplement for sports, placing the premium standardized root extract such as AKARALI® Physta® amongst the popular choice in the US, UK, Australia and Canada.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
If you are training for HYROX or accumulating serious trail kilometres, you cannot afford inconsistency in your supplement stack. You need the active compounds in November to be identical to those in March. This is where standardisation becomes the only credible standard.
“Standardized Tongkat Ali extracts provide consistent bioactive compounds and natural minerals such as zinc, magnesium, potassium and calcium” said Shahid Shayaa, CEO and Founder of AKARALI.
The real answer for most athletes seeking for premium Tongkat Ali that work, AKARALI is built on Physta® technology, the world’s first US-patented, hot-water, freeze-dried, standardised Tongkat Ali hot water extract. Co-developed with MIT scientists and the basis of research since 2003, this ensures each production batch must conform to the Tongkat Ali Standard MS2409:
| Active Compound | MS2409 Range | Performance Relevance |
| Eurycomanone | 0.8–1.5% | Primary testosterone-supporting quassinoid; drives hormonal regulation |
| Eurypeptides | 20–22% | Bioactive proteins linked to free testosterone optimisation |
| Glycosaponin | 40–48% | Anti-fatigue and adaptogenic activity; cortisol modulation |
| Polysaccharides | 25–30% | Immune support and sustained energy substrate |
In practical terms: when Derrick takes one 200 mg AKARALI capsule before a Saturday long run and another before a Tuesday HYROX class three months later, the active compound specification is identical within a tight, verified range. In comparison, generic “200:1 extract” Tongkat Ali products on major online marketplaces cannot make this claim, because they lack the analytical infrastructure and clinical validation to prove it.
For AKARALI products, every batch is independently tested by EUROFINS for heavy metals, adulterants, and prohibited substances. Certificates of Analysis (COA) lab reports are published on individual product pages. For competing athletes, this matters: AKARALI contains zero added sexual-enhancement adulterants, no synthetic testosterone analogues, no Sildenafil, no Tadalafil. Published research also demonstrates no meaningful effect on the T:E ratio (testosterone-to-epitestosterone) — the primary marker tested in anti-doping protocols.
Additionally, premium Tongkat Ali brands such as AKARALI is currently pursuing Informed Sport certification through LGC in the United Kingdom, i.e the world’s leading independent testing and certification programme for sports supplements, designed to protect athletes from inadvertent doping caused by contaminated products.
“Upon successful certification, AKARALI will be the first standardised, single-sourced, and clinically tested Malaysian Tongkat Ali product in the world to carry this independently verified reassurance by Informed Sport.” said Alex Kua, AKARALI’s Global Community Lead.
Derrick is not an outlier. Across HYROX facilities in London, Sydney, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, a consistent pattern has emerged: hybrid athletes in their late 30s and 40s are quietly replacing pre-workout stimulants and unverified “testosterone booster” supplements.
Arguably, clinically tested Tongkat Ali is positioned as amongst the best supplement choice for Hyrox athletes alongside creatine, and other athletic sports supplements.
The reason behind incorporating Tongkat Ali as the supplement stack for hybrid athletes is straightforward:
No stimulant crash unlike caffeine — take it before a 6 PM session and sleep normally at 10 PM
No banned-substance risk — when the extract is standardised, independently tested, and COA-published
Recovery support that compounds across a full training week, not a single session
28+ human clinical trials on the Physta® extract — more documented evidence than most supplement actives in this category
Designed for the population that needs it most: men over 35 whose endogenous testosterone is no longer performing the recovery function it did at 25
Derrick’s profile — a busy finance career, serious running miles, high energy HYROX activities weekly, age 40 — is becoming the archetype rather than the exception. His verified Trustpilot review joins more than a hundred of authenticated AKARALI customer assessments reflecting the same trend across geographies: more energy, less depleted, faster recovery, more consistent output.
What is the best way to take Tongkat Ali for athletes who are into running and Hyrox?
Based on Derrick’s own usage and our broader performance-test data from other athletes, this is how we recommend hybrid athletes in their 30s and 40s approach Tongkat Ali supplementation.
| Training Scenario | Protocol |
| Long Zone 2 trail run (90 min+) | 1 capsule (200 mg), 60–90 min pre-run |
| Elevation / stair-climb session | 1 capsule, 60 min pre-session |
| Back-to-back hard training days | 1 capsule on Day 1 evening or Day 2 morning |
| HYROX class or doubles session | 1 capsule, 60–90 min pre-session |
| Race week (taper + race day) | 1 capsule daily for 5–7 days pre-race |
| Pure rest day | Skip — as-needed protocol, not daily |
Maximum suggested daily intake: 400 mg (2 capsules)
Note: This constitutes educational information and general guidance based on athlete’s own experience, and should not be viewed as a medical advice. Kindly consult a qualified healthcare professional before commencing any supplement, particularly if you are on medication or have a pre-existing condition.
At 40, your recovery (rest) time, diet and supplementation are equally important to achieve greater health. This serves as a reminder that supplements may act as an enabler to achieve that optimal performance, or improvements that you desire.
Tongkat Ali supplementation showcases how you can empower and boost your athletic performance through the right protocols. In this review, Derrick shared invaluable experience after taking Tongkat Ali, and he is now building his strength, endurance and stamina toward his next HYROX season alongside a backloaded trail race calendar.
Many great athletes in their 40s have joined the natural supplementation route as AKARALI partners with global athletes to document their experience and journey.
In our spirit of “Real People. Real Results”, AKARALI will be documenting Derrick’s training, race-day preparation, and recovery protocols across the season — including the specific role Tongkat Ali plays in his weekly stack. Follow @akarali.premium on Instagram for more athlete updates and real world experiences.
Alex Kua leads AKARALI’s Global Partnership Community to help athletes, sports communities, and thousand of others optimize their well-being through evidence-based research that enables them to make better informed decisions. His legal and business consulting background underpins the rigorous data-driven approach in his writing – from hours of interviews, real-world performance data, and firsthand experiences of real people – offering actionable insights that connects clinical research, emerging health trends, and real-world applications. He is also an experienced researcher in herbal nutrition, with years of deep technical knowledge on Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia), including quality standards, industry benchmarks, lab tests, clinical trials, and the use of natural herbs by collaborating with top scientists, herbal experts, and nutritionists. As part of the core team behind AKARALI’s knowledge portal, he empowers people worldwide to access the benefits of high-quality herbal nutrition in a way that is effective, sustainable, and safe. He is also an avid runner, with regular participation in local sports communities and running events.
Our articles are third party reviewed by our panel of experts and medical advisors to ensure the facts are accurate and credible. These are validated against multiple source references which include but not limited to research studies, peer-reviewed journals, pre-clinical studies, clinical tests and other credible publications.
Our panel of medical advisors and experts are highly experienced in their individual fields. However, they do not provide any medical advice or recommendations arising from content published in this article.
Disclaimer:
The content published on this website is for educational purposes and should not be viewed, read, or seen as a prescription or constitute any form of medical advice. We recommend you consult your nearest GP or doctors before consuming Tongkat Ali or any products which contain Tongkat Ali. For further information, kindly refer to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for more information.
