Thanks, brother! The new program definitely has a bunch of back work built in because I’m doing the chest/back focused system. I would guess the full-body routine would be a bit lacking, though.
I’m debating whether I should add some trap/neck work to better customize the program to my body. Lats have always been my best body part for some reason, which helps a lot for the V-taper (especially when lean) but also makes my back look uneven. That said, these Israetel workouts are long as hell, so I probably don’t have the bandwidth to add anything else. I’m not used to lifting for 90 minutes! Quite a change-up from my old programming.
Man, the new HOT protocol has been a huge improvement. I’m not sure if it’s the daily injections, the higher dose of T, or the addition of T3, but libido is way better. I’m at like an 8/10 now, about as good as it’s ever been.
Fired up to hear about your improvements as well, brother! 2X in one night is insane; I’m not at that level yet. The libido boost is all I ever wanted from TRT, too, so we should both be thrilled. Anything else is just gravy!
The self-confidence boost has also been tremendous. I wouldn’t say I feel godly like I have at certain times but I do feel a steadier sense of well-being and self-assuredness, much more like High-T Rudd. I can just tell people respect me and I feel like an ‘alpha,’ as corny as that sounds. There’s also a positive feedback loop with hearing my deeper voice, lol. I see videos of myself pre-TRT and think, “that guy sounds soft.”
Definitely share your bloods! Glad you’re doing that. And if you can, juxtapose those numbers with the pre-daily injection bloods for our reference. Interested to see what you learn.
Awesome! I wonder if it was a combo of dropping Danazol and increasing dose honestly. I just haven’t seen hardly any stories of people feeling good while taking it for whatever reason. I guess we’ll never know, it’s not worth switching back to find out.
I know a lot of people say injection frequency doesn’t make a huge difference if you’re talking about a change as small as going from EOD to ED, but it has made a big difference for me. Every time I’ve tried ED, I’ve felt way better. Probably matters more for some guys than others. Turns out we’re all different
Wow, so grateful for this forum – I had already forgotten about the Danazol. You could absolutely be right. That stuff just seemed to shut down my E and SHBG, both of which my body likes to keep high. The more and more I research, the more and more I’ve realized those are not things you want to contain. I know it’s different if you’re taking AAS, but if we’re talking natural levels or TRT doses, the more the merrier!
I don’t care for shrugs. They just hurt and I find it difficult to get a good pump. Definitely lateral raises. I like to try to do a couple of exercises for each head of the shoulder… for example:
Front delt
Plate raises
Alternating dumbbell raises
Medial delt
Barbell OHP
Arnold press
Lateral raises
Rear delt
Reverse incline flys
Rear cable pull
For traps I like weighted dips and low cable rows best
Thanks a lot, brother! I have no clue why my back has always responded much better to training than any other body part. Legs are like 10 times behind, lol.
Back is the only place I consistently feel a pump, too. I was a lifelong basketball player, so those movement patterns are ingrained in me, but I can’t think of much carryover to back training.
The gym I went to in New York, David Barton Gym was like a gym inside a dance club (DJ, strobes lights, low lit) so I was used to that (until it closed and I joined Equinox). I have bose noise canceling earbuds so the first couple weeks in planet fitness I didn’t realize when that strobe light came on they were blasting a horn at me for going above and beyond on shit. I got a couple high fives one day and asked what was up and they were like “it’s funny you don’t give a shit”. I was like “what?”. Eventually I realized the strobe light and horn is supposed to be a deterrent lol.
Genius business model though. Make just cheap enough that you don’t cancel it even though you don’t use it, just enough equipment to feel like a gym but not enough that you attract actual gym-goers and an alarm to make others feel better about half-assing it.
Wait, I’m not familiar with planet fitness… @dextermorgan, they make you stop lifting if you are pushing it? Are there rules on the equipment saying how much you can lift? Do they have gym refs watching people? What the hell…
It’s the gym employees who sound the alarm if you’re lifting like a bro – grunting, slamming weights, etc. It’s a place for people who hate the type of guys around here, lol.
@bcostigan41
The dumbells top out at 75 lbs and there is no bench or bar. They only have Smith machines and cable machines. They’ll ring the siren if you smith bench press 2 plates on each side or more or if you’re doing something like skull crushers. It’s a bodybuilder’s nightmare. The plus side is i’m usually one of the more jacked guys there so I feel good about myself lol.
