Lee Si Young reveals extreme workout caused serious health crisis
Actress Lee Si Young opened up about a shocking health scare caused by her intense fitness regimen. The actress, known for her role in Sweet Home, said her extreme workout routine pushed her testosterone levels dangerously high, forcing her into a year-long hospital stay.
Lee shared the ordeal as a guest on Shin Dong Youp’s YouTube talk show, Zzanbro. The conversation started when co-star Kim Dasom mentioned "testosterone woman" and "estrogen man," describing bold women and soft men, respectively.
That’s when Lee dropped the bomb:
“My testostreone, it got too high…I had to go to the hospital for a year.”
— Lee Si Young
She explained that during filming Sweet Home, she bulked up with over 30kg of muscle and got her body fat down to 6%.
“I had more than 30kg of muscles for the first time…[Body fat] was around 6% then.”
— Lee Si Young
Despite the praised physique, extreme muscle gain stopped her menstrual cycle completely. As a former boxer, Lee was familiar with this from her light flyweight days, but this time it didn’t reverse after gaining weight.
Medical tests revealed her body couldn’t recognize itself as female due to the unusually high testosterone. Lee admitted the experience left her “a bit scared of losing that much.”
Lee Si Young currently stars as Kong Miri in the ENA drama Salon de Holmes, airing Mondays and Tuesdays at 10 pm KST.
