A growing body of research suggests that androgens may function to adaptively regulate energy allocation in men. This model holds that androgens direct energy towards systems associated with reproductive effort, and so should be upregulated in circumstances where such investment is fitness-enhancing. The present studies were designed to directly test this model, as well as identify the cognitive and physiological systems that might be subject to calibration via androgens. Genetic variance in men's sensitivity to androgens was associated with outcomes that depend on investment in reproductive effort, such as strength and status seeking. Transient increases in men's androgen levels also predicted changes in domains associated with reproductive effort, like risk-taking and future discounting. The magnitude of these increases was associated with the likely payoffs of reproductive effort in the circumstance that elicited them. Taken together, these results generally support the argument that androgens control energy allocation in fitness-enhancing ways.