Hello everybody, first time poster, long time lurker on the forums. So, I’m a 36yo male, been lifting seriously for 15 years now. I did a couple of prohormone cycles in my early 20’s when I was a little dumber and didn’t do any research into them. Decent gains, no side effects thankfully. I’ve been doing BJJ for the past couple of years, but I’m finding it more and more difficult to get my lifting in alongside it while recovering properly. I was in the military for 12 years and my body is a little jacked up from various training/non training injuries. I eat clean, and thankfully I work a regular 9 to 5 now so I get a proper 8+ hours of sleep a night. I’ve been doing some research and I’m well aware that basically any performance enhancer will come with risks and some side effects. I plan on getting blood tests with an endocrinologist before attempting anything. I’m just wondering if any of you guys have taken anything specifically for recovery purposes, and what were the results? Any recommendations or insight, or advice on where to start would be greatly appreciated.
Good thing you are getting bloods.
First consider if TRT is needed.
Using anabolics for recovery?
You can squeeze out maybe 20 weeks and then what…
Be worse off for 4-5 weeks and then back to “normal”?
Unless you have a specific end goal I don’t think one should cycle for recovery only, unless you are competing etc etc
It would come down to diet, programming and supplementation imo
Edit; IF your blood results indicate primary hypogonadism or even secondary and your endo recommends TRT, you can definitely add anabolics for small periods while on TRT.
A cycle could be done smartly, but you would need a specific goal and probably specific drugs tailored for your sport.
This might be alittle off topic but I know one of my buddies had a shoulder tear and used HGH with some base testosterone to heal it super fast in comparison to the time the docs said he would be out, I believe he was back in gym 3 weeks after surgery.
Like Myoscholar said you will need to see if TRT is something you fit in the category for, Most men start experiencing T issues in there 30s so I can see this being viable.
Look into calorie intake on your diet also if your workload is to much you will find issues recovering properly. Like Myoscholar said if you supplement recovery with a steroid cycle then what will happen when you get off the drugs, thats why TRT is an option if your bloods indicate low free T
I would look into
Bloodwork
Diet
Supplementation
and Training possibly?
Yeah I actually forgot, he could look at peptides and MK677, that may actually be a good idea.
Yes peptides and research chemicals have ability to increase recovery with little sides. I just get alot of heat for recommending drugs usually. BUT YES mk677 or a GW?
QUOTE
[Thymosin Beta 4]
Thymosin Beta 4 promotes blood vessel, muscle cell, and skin cell regeneration and migration, resulting in more rapid and effective wound repair as well as faster recovery from injury. Thymosin beta is stimulated from the thymus gland.
[MGF]
Mechano Growth Factor (MGF) is a very potent inducer of muscle growth. It causes muscle cells in trauma to split, creating new muscle cells and resulting in muscle growth and repair. It is essential for recovery, repair, and growth of new cells.
[IGF-1]
IGF-1 is the next generation in performance enhancement for muscle building. It is the most important growth factor that our bodies produce, even more so than HGH.
[CJC-1295/Ipamorelin]
CJC-1295/Ipamorelin combination has a strong effect on the release of Growth Hormone and IGF-1 and reduces body fat by forcing your body to burn its fat stores as a source of energy. This combo is also known to increase cellular repair, regeneration, and collagen production.
Read alot of neat stuff about TB500 Thymosin Beta 4
BUT as I already said I would look into your diet and supplementation before buying and getting on any type of drug that could have long term side effects we do not know about currently. All research chemicals are RESEARCH so they have been tested mainly with animals (rats rabbits things of this nature) we see and have plenty of research regarding humans but I dont believe many people use these drugs for LONG TERM more or less 12-16 week max cycles. I dont have any solid info on someone supplementing with any of these peptides for a long time 24 weeks +
GW0742 and GW-501516 also show to increase recovery but people worry about cancer with GW 501516, GW0742 is supposedly safer.
Honestly i dont see anything in what you wrote that would make me think you need steroids. Just better programming and planning of your training.
You wrote nothing of your current strenght and didnt post any pictures, so probably those things dont matter to you enough and that is good.
I believe that someone needs steroids only if they have a medical reason OR they are very serious about their goals.
So just go see some anti-aging doctor or someone who can look into this in case you need TRT. I am almost sure that you dont, since you dont mention any problems that sound like you need TRT. What you need is a look into your weight training and also your BJJ frequency. If your training is not well planed and you are doing too much BJJ its not a real reason to inject drugs. How often do you actually deload? How often do you take time off from BJJ? If you dont plan deloads(including resting from BJJ completely) at least 1-2 weeks every 8-10 weeks then you cant complain about not recovering as you are making a conscious decision NOT to plan your training in a way that you can recover.
99% of people who come here asking for steroid advice need to learn about other things and do not need drugs.
This is what sounded like he wanted drug advice.