I am in my early 50’s I ran a couple cycle’s when I was younger- nothing crazy some Test/Deca and some Anavar. I have been lifting naturally for 20+ years (minus the couple cycles). Here is my issue. I have that dreaded “middle age pudge” - Test levels are in normal to mid-high range but I can’t seem to lose the belly fat. Well let me qualify that - I know from past experience that I CAN lose the belly fat but it will require going down to about 1200 calories/day. At that level I will lose mass and I have been really consistent for most of my adult life to get what I have. I was thinking of a low dose VAR 10/20mg a day just for the purpose of sparing lean mass. The only kicker is that I am on statins cause well - I’m old, family history etc. I have looked at every possible interaction listing and cant find anything that says Oxandrolone and rosuvastatin have an interaction. I guess I would just feel better if I knew someone had taken Var while on statins.
It just takes longer. You are not immune to the laws of thermodynamics. Yeah, it’s easier at 18, your metabolism is higher, and your hormones are probably better.
Most people have more to lose than they want to admit to themselves. It might seem like 6 weeks to a 6 pack, but often it is 6 months.
I too unfortunately hold fat on my stomach area. My arms and legs have to be popping with veins to have abs, and not just the forearms and calfs, I have quad and hamstring veins, triceps and bicep veins, chest and lat veins, and barely have a 6 pack. It sucks, but if I want a six pack, I have to be closer to 10% BF where some people can do it at 15%+.
If you want to use AAS for being jacked, I’d suggest TRT. What are your TT and FT values? I don’t think you will get much of anything with Var at those doses when you consider you will also be suppressing your natural T levels.
Im on statins since i was 20 and have done grams of gear a week for more than a decade.
Problem is not statins but that anavar will shut down your test and at your age you probably wont recover.
So TRT is your best bet and then you can up the dose or add anavar.
Here are my last labs
Testosterone
ng/dL
593
Reference Range:
Adult Males
18 years 264 - 916
% Free Testost (Dialysis)
1.2%
Reference Range:
Adult Males: 1.5 - 3.2
Testosterone, Free
pg/mL
71
Comment: Reference Range:
Adult Males: 52 - 280
Testost % Bioavailable
%
31.7
Testosterone, Bioavailable
ng/dL
188
Comment: Reference Range:
Males (50 - 69y): 95 - 285
Resulting Agency LABCORP
At my age? - that was hurtful lol
Your FT isn’t great but not horrible. Clinics would Rx you if that is something you want to do.
I can’t say if it is right or wrong for you. I’d say it makes more sense than a cycle of Anavar though. It is a life long decision in most cases.
What are you doing to try to lose the stomach fat? Cardio? Steps walked? Gym routine? Diet?
He is just saying cycling is kinda dumb. Most take two steps forward and two back. People who do it right take two forward and one back. It’s tougher to do it right the older you are, because how long it takes to recover T levels is tougher and sometimes doesn’t happen completely. He is saying that TRT and always having the hormonal support is much more likely to get you results you are wanting.
Continuing to lift 5x/week. Cardio every day, eating clean no refined sugars or carbs-30-40% protein and 1200 calories /day.
Getting rid of the stomach fat is my primary goal. I am happy with my overall size. Its just from experience I know that I can lose the gut at 1200cal/day but I will also lose a considerable amount of mass, then if I increase my calories and workouts enough to gain the mass back the stomach comes with it.
Can you define your belly fat issue? What is your height and weight? Waist circumference at the naval? How much can you lift on some common big lifts (squat, bench, deads, OHP, chin ups…)?
A faceless picture says a lot. Maybe a quick 4-6 week cut with Var makes sense, maybe TRT makes more sense for your goals.
Your rate of losing and gaining sound too aggressive. If you lost slower, you’d lose less muscle (although it will look flat). That flat look goes away in a couple weeks in a slight surplus. If you gain slower, less goes to fat.
Yeah it says I never took the time to set up my avatar
- Its fixed. 5’9 208lbs. Bench 300lb - waist 36 inches.
Lose the fat first. Drop to 10% BF. Then build muscle on that with minimal fat. Most doable and effective approach from dietary standpoint and you rip the bandaid off mentally. You know you will get smaller first. Yes TRT+ (as it is called sometimes when you are using for cosmetic/mental illness reasons) will help with adding muscle in phase 2 with minimal fat if you eat/train right.
Phase 1 strip fat
Phase 2 add muscle while maintaining BF (slow process)
Multi year project or lifelong if you want it to be.
I don’t think a cycle of Var will get you where you want to be. Not trying to be a dick, just honest because I think that will help you the most.
You have some good things going. A 300 lb bench is good. You have muscle on your frame, which is good. You likely know how to train reasonably well since you have muscle and decent strength.
The bad news is that I just think you have more body fat than you think, that it isn’t just unfortunate body fat distribution that makes your stomach look softer / bigger than you’d like. Your chest and arms make me think you probably need to lose 30-40 lbs to have a good six pack.
I’ll use myself as a reference point. I am currently about 185-190 (depending on the day, but the avatar is representative of my current physique). I am 5’10". In recent history I have done a 405 lb bench and 600 lb deadlift. I have abs, but they aren’t great. a bit over 6 months ago (when I did the 405 lb bench) I was 215 lbs, and had blurry abs with top lighting. I’ve just had to lose a lot of weight to really have the stomach look good. I thought at 195, I’d be diced. I got there, and thought upper 180s would be diced. Now I think closer to 180 will be diced.
Keep in mind that Frank Zane won a Mr. Olympia at 190 lbs at 5’9". That should tell you that for almost everyone in our height range that 180-200 lbs diced (~8% BF) is huge, and tough to accomplish. I think understanding how hard actually being really lean is at a weight of 180-190 lbs helps with perception.
If thats your current weight and the avatar pic is current you probably have less muscle than you are perceiving. Any loss will quickly be regained after you lose the fat. @readalot nailed it. Lose fat first then regain muscle. If you want assistance the best bet would be TRT as other said. You don’t “need” TRT but optimizing your levels would help. Con is that you will be committing to it for life.
For additional “tough love” your waist is not 36”. You measure true waist just below the navel, 36” is your pant size. In my avatar my waist is 35” by example.
I think you nailed it, as well as @readalot. It’s a tough pill to swallow that one isn’t in as good of shape as they thought (I’ve had to swallow it a few times haha).
A good recommendation I think would be to try to increase your base caloric burn rate (unless it is already high, in which case you would need to decrease calories). Aiming for 10,000 steps a day is a good goal (but more than that, I think might be counter productive). Do this 7 days a week. Keep protein high.
I appreciate all the responses. Let me be clear though - at 52 I don’t’ expect nor necessarily want a 6 pack. I just wanna be more “V” shaped than “H” shaped.
Agreed with increasing metabolic rate. I really don’t think he needs to go down to 1200 calories at this point to lose weight. Play the long game and lose it slowly. You will preserve more muscle that way anyway. Also the weight didn’t happen overnight so give yourself a reasonable period to lose it… 6-12 months minimum.
Given your age and lipid issues please leave the oxandrolone alone. Not wise. VERY hard on triglyceride / hdl-c ratio and lipid particle counts.
Rule 1. Please dont use oxandrolone at 35%+ BF.
If dead set on AAS then use injectable non 17AA AAS or even better TRT/TRT+ depending on your risk tolerence.
Related. Think about how much better your insulin sensitivity will function once you shed the fat. Powerful graphic to put on your fridge.
That’s a good realistic goal. However advice stays similar. The best thing you can do for yourself is to start logging your food. It’s tedious and tiresome but most of the work leaning out is done in the kitchen and not the gym.
Once you figure out what you’re eating use a TDEE calculator to get a rough idea of your expenditure. Then try lowering calories from current to a weight loss spectrum. I put petite women on 1200 cal diets and they make progress. At your size I would guess somewhere around 1800 would be a good place to start losing weight. Keep carbs low moderate and protein high.
Awesome!
I go against the grain and see now issue with this for 6, maybe 8, weeks. You will see suppression eventually, so come off before that completely shuts down and run a PCT after for 3-4 weeks. If you’re going to do a deep calorie cut like that, I think it would be fine.