I’m 40 and been powerlifting for several years. I’ve never done gear and am considering doing a cycle. I know enough to not just take a bunch of different gear and see what happens. I’m looking to get through some plateaus. From what I’ve read just doing a cycle of test E might be all I need. Just not sure how many mg to take. I’ve had blood work done. My Test is a little low at 300. No high cholesterol. Rest of the blood work was in normal ranges according to Dr. Any advice will be appreciated. If you need more bloodwork info I’ll try to get it.
I guess iv never wanted to diet down that far for fear of losing my top end strength. But if it helps with side I’ll definitely consider dropping bf% first. Thanks for the advice.
That’s just something you need to weigh out the pros and cons.
You’re an experienced lifter so I understand you wanting to further your pursuits. Just be aware there are risks.
At 300 I’d be worried you won’t recover well post cycle
Like post PCT you’re lucky to get back to 300
Have you considered trt? What is shbg and Ft?
You might do fairly well initially on like 100mg test/wk from a doctor to start
If you got on TRT, cut down, lost some strength then ran a decent cycle (250-500mg/wk etc)
I can almost guarantee in the long term you come out stronger
Gear has crazy effects on strength… at least it did for me
When I was still lifting very intensively I got my deadlift from like 405 to 495 in maybe 2 months on a total of 300mg hormones per week
I seemed to respond quite well in terms of strength, in terms of how much muscle mass I gain my response is probably a bit below average but my genetics for gaining muscle are well below average (but still infinity percent above average for other people I’ve met with the same genetic condition I have)
This is where I’m at now (cut to single digit bf) and I’ve been here before. I hate the fact that I lost over 20% of my bench press strength but I know when I come back I’ll come back stronger and leaner than I was last time.
I’ll have to get my blood work emailed to me to see what my shbg and ft is. I’ve been suggested to get on TRT. May be I’ll go that rout first and see how it helps
That’s what I’m scared of the most is losing a lot of what I’ve gained over the years. But if I lost bf% on TRT then ran 250-500 cycle I could get it all back plus and not have to worry about sides from the cycle.
TRT is the obvious choice here, unless of course you are planning on having kids. I think you would realise gains just having a steady testosterone level of around 800-ish.
You would have to monitor oestrogen because of the 22% body fat, but any reputable clinic would help you manage that. That’s preferable to the side effects of any steroid. Other health benefits include libido, mental acuity, confidence. Your results may vary.
I’m also in my forties, similar body fat, similar lifts. I don’t compete.
If you go from 22% to 15% bf, you will lose a certain amount of muscle tissue. It’s very hard to cut without losing muscle, even with copious amounts of drugs involved. That’s something you have to come to terms with. The good news is you can reclaim the gains when you come out of your caloric deficit. That’s why I don’t like long, dragged out cuts - and I hate not being able to eat what I like - so I prefer short cuts with steep deficits (over 1000 kcals a day deficits). Most people will tell you this is not the proper way to diet, and I would tend to agree with them; except that that’s what works for me and the sooner I get back to eating normally, the sooner I can get back to training normally. You do you, however.