Delts and arms definitely have improved! The first thing I noticed though was the cuts between your abs seem to be deeper, making the upper abs much more noticeable.
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So I wasnāt able to read the whole thread but as far as low dose masteron on trt this is my take on it as I gave someone the other day in the pharma section. I donāt have much experience with trt docs as Iām self prescribed but I donāt believe they will hand out masteron.
You wonāt get very much added gains so to speak from 200/week directly from the mass. But there is many other benefits of masteron besides as a pre-contest steroid which when itās used for that itās usually ran 400+ generally in the 6-800+ range.
Benefits you will get from 200/week
It lowers shbg allowing for more free testosterone, it act as sort of an AI, it hardens your muscle, it can raise your libido, itās androgenic which will help in a calorie deficit or bulk by blocking fat storage.
Down sides it can cause anxiety, its a dht derivative if your prone to male pattern baldness masteron will speed that up, and for some people it can have negative effects on lipids, and acne from the androgens.
Add on: you should be able to lower shbg with an even lower dose like 75-100mg of masteron a week the above response was to someone asking specifically about 200/ week
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Thank you sir
Dude, thanks so much. Really appreciate that. I definitely did a lot of arm/shoulder volume because they recover the quickest. My new focus areas are going to be chest (which recovers quickly) and legs (which takes forever to recover). My legs are lagging way behind, and I recently learned the slight hole in the middle of my chest is likely Pectus Excavatum, which apparently can be largely remedied by focusing on inner-pec exercises like squeeze presses and posture-correcting movements.
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Iām not worried about mass, really ā would just be looking for the SHBG effects ā and baldness isnāt an issue, either. I have lots of hair and good genetics in that regard. The anxiety does worry me somewhat, though. Thanks for the insight, man! I donāt plan to implement it right now ā I like the system I have in place with everything coming from my doc, and Iām feeling good ā but I will definitely keep it in mind for down the road.
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Great job man! You have definitely gained some in the shoulder area and your vascularity is clearly more pronounced.
I was having issues with legs lagging too. I hate doing legs! Let me rephrase that, I love the feeling of hard work I get from doing legs, but I hate the fact that I have asthma and leg work is almost sure to tighten the airways every set if I go heavy enough to actually do some good.
All that aside, I started doing a leg exercise everyday with my regular routines to spread out them out through the whole week. Much easier on my asthma and I get plenty of leg work in every week now.
So pretty much pick a leg muscle and alternate it eod.
My routine is structured like this as an exampleā¦
Monday quads 3XFAIL (Squats)
Tuesday Hams 3XFAIL (Lying Leg Curls)
Wednesday Quads and Calves 3XFAIL each (Leg Press and Calf Press)
Thursday Hams 3XFAIL (Standing Leg Curls)
Friday Quads 3XFAIL (Leg Extensions)
Saturday Hams and Claves 3XFAIL (Lying Leg Curls and Standing Calf Raise)
So basically you get 9 sets on quads and hams, and 6 sets on calves every week. If you have really small calves you can throw them in everyday if you want. They recover quick.
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Thank you, brother! I appreciate the encouragement. Feels good to see progress; sometimes it feels like weāre just spinning our wheels and not really making changes, you know? Gotta appreciate the steps forward when you can see them! Great to have the support of this community as we all pursue gains.
Man, I am with you 100%. Love the feeling when Iām done with legsā¦but hate the cardio aspect. I can only imagine how difficult it would be with the added burden of asthma! Sounds brutal.
This makes too much sense and is similar to what Iāve been doing by splitting it up (albeit across 3 workouts rather than 6). I think in this sense, itās very helpful to have a tricked-out home gym like yours. I love machines and how they can target certain muscle groups! A leg curl/leg extension combo machine is next on my wish list. Is that what you have? Iāve been looking on Amazon.
My calves are actually a strong point (I think as a result of all the walking I do, as I donāt do any direct calf work). Itās really my quads/glutes/hams that need a lot of help. Iām feeling better with my 3X/week approach (as opposed to 1X/week of utter balls-to-the-wall madness), but still feel underrecovered in my lower body.
Iām wondering if Iām overdoing it by getting 10K steps every day, on top of leg training several times a week. You never hear bodybuilders talking about how many steps they got ā thereās probably a reason for that!
I want to keep walking because it promotes long-term health (from what I understand), but I wonder: could it be hindering my leg gains by keeping my lower body from ever actually recovering (and supercompensating)? Iām sore 7 days a week!
I do extensions, presses, calf presses, and standing leg curls on the Odyssey 5.
You can also do extensions and lying leg curls on any cheap Golds Gym Bench combo. You can find these new for around $100 or so.
This guy here is $145 on Walmartās web site. Iām not sure if the free standing rack can extend high enough to serve as a squat rack, but if it can then thatās another bonus!
I donāt think walking is holding you back (but I reserve the right to be wrong here lol). How many exercises and sets are you doing on each leg muscle per workout?
You should typically be doing no more than 60-120 total reps per week for each large muscle (pecs, quads, hams, back) and 30-60 total reps per week on each smaller muscle (triceps, biceps, calves, support muscle groups).
So if you do 3 sets of squats at 10+ reps per set, youāre looking at 30 reps for just that one exercise. If you do another quad exercise on a different day, like say extensions, for 3 sets of 10+ reps then thatās another 30 and youāre up to 60 reps for the week. You get the idea.
Try to structure it out through the week where you donāt exceed 120 total reps per week on quads or hams. I try to keep it between 90 and 120 (3 quad exercises and 3 hams for 3 sets per exercise). I keep reps between 10-15 per set so that puts me at the right range throughout the week.
Another aspect to this method is that when you realize (which Iām sure you already know) that you donāt grow muscle when you work out, you grow when you rest and AFTER a workout during recovery, and then you donāt overtrain that muscle so that it can recover properly in 48 hours, then by doing it this way (spreading it out through the week) you give your muscles many more opportunities to grow.
If you work each group one hard time a week, then you give it 52 opportunities a year to grow. If you work that same muscle less intensely (but just hard enough to incorporate and stimulate the type 2 muscle fibers) 3 times every week, then you just created 156 opportunities a year for growing the muscle. It just makes sense.
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I agree with bmbrady, I also donāt believe walking is holding you back. Large amount of running that would be a different animal. If anything I would think walking would help. Keeps the blood flowing, flushing the bad shit out and allowing you to recover better.
I to believe I need to improve my legs. That is what I get for skipping them all the time when I was younger. I absolutely hated legs, now I like them and have to make up for all the missed opportunity.
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I spent two days reading through this whole thread. Really amazing results. Thanks for sharing your story.
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Wow, that is dedication! Thanks a ton, man. Are you in a similar boat with your hormones (high SHBG, perhaps), or were you just generally curious?
Man, you are the real MVP for all the insights youāre sharing with me! That Odyssey 5 is a beast. I see that, for a used version, it runs about $1,500. Guessing youāve found it to be well worth the price, though?
God, I love home gyms. So convenient. I often take my laptop out to my garage while āon shiftā for work and just get in some extra volume. I did that yesterday with a bunch of inner chest and core/posture work. If I eventually get my space as tricked-out as yours, I might never leave! (Getting out of the gym is harder for me than getting into it, as I imagine may be the case for you, too.)
I didnāt know you could use the Goldās combo machines like that. I think I might grab one of those cheap ones ā looks like Walmart even has one for $70! Do you think buying something like this which uses plates instead of pins would come with restrictions, or do you think itās basically the same thing in terms of muscular development?
Also, considering I already have an adjustable squat rack and bench, do you see any reason (other than machine quality, presumably) that the $145 piece would be superior to the cheaper version? I always try to weigh cost with quality/usefulness when buying new gear. I donāt just want the cheapest stuff ā Lord knows that often falls apart ā but if itās all the same, Iāll always go for the lower-priced option! Easier for me to justify with wifey 
Interesting to hear your perspective, which I trust, on walking. Still scratching my head here. Hereās an example of all the lower-body volume Iād get in a sample week:
Front squat ā 3 sets 8-10 reps
Bulgarian split squat ā 3 sets 15-20 reps
Reverse lunge ā 3 sets 15-20 reps
Hex bar deadlift ā 3 sets 8-10 reps
Good mornings ā 3 sets 15-20 reps
Just seeing it written out, it really doesnāt look like very much at all. But my legs truly are sore 7 days a week! I never feel fully recovered going into a leg workout. That wasnāt the case until I started hitting 10K steps a day about a year ago.
So important to remember ā easy for me to overlook! Thanks, man. Iām still working on finding the right balance between frequency/intensity. I feel like itās really easy to lean on the frequency side and then leave too much in the tank, never really stimulating the muscles. I know this is an eternal debate, though ā probably knowledge Iāll be pursuing (and playing around with, in terms of splits/reps) for my entire training career!
I would think itād help, too! But I really never feel recovered. Itās always tough for me to bend over and pick something up or tie my shoes because Iām sore. Seems like thatās a sign that I might be overdoing it, even though the lower-body volume in my workouts is nothing crazy at all.
Weāre on a mission to improve our legs together, brother! Weāre both gonna get there
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Honestly not sure. I turned 48 this year and just feel like I hit the wall. I still lift 4 days a week in my garage gym along with a couple other days of some cardio but having trouble recovering and making progress.
My sleep is pretty erratic. I feel like I have several other symptoms that make me feel like I need to get checked.
I havenāt had any ED problems though.
I am scheduling an appointment to get some tests run. Weāll see what the numbers say.
Man, I highly encourage you to get it checked out! If you are in need of exogenous T (or another form of HOT), Iām confident going down this route will totally transform your life as it has mine. T is a life-saver! Keep me posted on your numbers when you get them, brother.
Will do. Thanks man.
Thanks for your kind words brother. I actually got the Odyssey 5 for $300. It was a very lucky find on Craigslist.
Your volume looks ok the way you have it listed. You may just be in a perpetual state of what I call āRecovery Purgatoryā. Thatās where you way overtrain one week and then you go back to a normal routine but never allow your body the time it needs to recover from that first brutal session, so it never really ācatches upā so to speak.
I know youāll hate to hear this, but take a week off from working out and only go walking for pleasure and be very light about it. Take a week to show your girl how special she is and pamper her / take her out to dinner, and curl up with her on the couch for a few evenings and binge watch tvā¦you know, the girly shit! Lol
The point is, your body is always trying to communicate with you, you just have to learn to listen to it. Your legs are telling you they need a break, so give them a break. I usually force myself to take a week off every 6-8 weeks. I hate doing it but my body thanks me every time.
Regarding the Walmart Bench, the only one I have experience with for those Golds Gym setups is the XR-20 (I think thatās the model). The bench thatās with the $149 combo. I know that you can get just that bench by itself without the rack setup and itās cheaper. Iāve done many a leg workout with just that bench and it has held up pretty good. Itās still in use today as this is my wifeās primary bench for everything.
The only reason I upgraded for my workouts was because when Iām doing strength routines (3-5 reps) my upper body weight + the bar and plates are more than the flat section of the bench is rated for. Didnāt want to hear a crash in the middle of a bench press with a bar loaded to 245lbs! That would suck!!
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I have a home gym as well. I wanted a machine that I could do leg extensions and leg curls, with a stack. I couldnāt find one that did both with a stack so I ended up buying a used commercial leg extension and curl machine that was plate loaded. Although it does both and saves me room by doing both in one package, Iād rather have a stack/cable machine.
The resistance gets lighter at the very top, think leg extensions and trying to hold peak contraction before lowering. With a stack the weight is fairly constant through the entire range of motion. Not sure if it makes a difference but it does drive me crazy.
Just food for thought!
Obligatory home gym picture
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