Damn! Dude is an absolute tank. You can see that intensity all over his physique. You also hear that from a ton of the pros: real food beats shakes/bars. But I do think there’s a place and time for them.
I usually eat one (either a shake or bar) per day, and I don’t feel bad about that at all. If you’re committed to your work/family/social obligations, sometimes you have to make slight sacrifices with your diet/meal timing/food quality – you can stay 99% committed, but there are always tradeoffs involved if you’re prioritizing the other aspects of your life.
Have you ever talked to your friend about anabolics or how long he’s been taking T? Obviously that’s not the source of his physique, but I wonder how much it’s helped. His vascularity is unreal.
Given his intensity, do you ever get the sense that he’s overly stressed and on the edge of breaking down? That’s the hurdle I (and most other guys here, probably) often run into – wanting to go balls to the wall all the time, not realizing we need time to recover and maintain our sanity.
I haven’t lived down there for almost 5 years, so I only keep up through text and stuff now, but I can honestly say that being “stressed out” is not something I would ever pin on him as a description. He always seems to genuinely enjoy himself. It’s like being that intense is where he’s in his element. I guess that’s one of the most obvious things that he and I have in common. I seem to be the best version of myself when I have a challenge in front of me. I’m not happy unless I’m pushing myself toward some self imposed goal. The only difference is what those goals are sometimes. I decided I was tired of being a fat slob, and I got busy getting healthy. He got tired of being fat, and set a goal of entering an amateur body building competition within a year…and he did it and freaking WON! Lol Then he decided he wanted to go pro within another specific time frame and here is today…
See what I mean?
And yes, at the pro level, anabolics ALWAYS come into play.
Also, recovery is part of the equation. Period. Being intense is not just about pushing hard…it also about knowing yourself, and learning to be so in tune with your body that you know exactly when to push and when to let it recover, and for how long. Intensity also encompasses being so immersed in what you are doing, and learning it so intimately that you know what to do, what to eat, when to do it and eat it, and when not to.
Kind of like this…
You see a street painter that has a real talent, and you look at his canvas and say, “wow! That’s freaking awesome dude!” Then go look at the Sistine Chapel…that’s intense! Lol
One more…go and lay down in a field on a clear night, and gaze up at the stars. It’s one of the most beautiful things you will ever see, and can be one of the most awe inspiring things ever…then go and do that same thing from the top a mountain. If you ever experience that, you’ll know what I’m trying to say. There’s awesome, then there is intense…and that doesn’t always have to invoke the “tense” part of the word. Sometimes the silence can be (and often is) just as intense as what is coming out of the loudspeaker.
I’ve been feeling down lately. Really lacking energy, not in a great mood, going through the motions while lifting, and no libido. It’s a bad time, fellas.
My provider thinks the issue is high estrogen, with my decreasing SHBG allowing for more E to float around in my system. I’m not due for bloods until February, but he suggested two potential routes to turn things around:
Hold Danazol and/or take a very low dose of Anastrozole (which I have on-hand)
Lower my T dose even further
When I felt my best, over the summer, I was taking 250 mg test per week and 25 mg Danazol EOD. We lowered my T dose due to super high levels (54 Free, 2889 Total). Currently, I am taking 180 T and 25 mg Danazol ED. When we upped the Danazol, my SHBG finally dropped down into normal range (46). When I started this journey, we figured high SHBG was the central issue.
So, where do I go from here? I was thinking of keeping my T dose the same (180), not introducing Anastrozole (I still don’t like AIs), and either cutting off entirely or reducing Danazol. Currently, I’m taking 25 mg ED; maybe I could switch it to EOD or 2-3x per week.
What do you think, guys? Would really appreciate your help. Just not feeling like myself and dying to get back to having some sex drive.
All good. The Danazol is in there to reduce my SHBG. When I started treatment, that level was 168. Through T and hCG, it got down to 114. After adding Danazol, it’s gotten down to 46.
I would personally drop that for 6 weeks and re-assess from there. It won’t permanently kill your fertility, and it’s contributing to keeping estrogen levels higher than they probably should be in ratio to your current T levels.
I appreciate the tag, but I’ve got nothing. I’ve been off TRT for almost twelve weeks. Libido sucks, I’ve lost fifteen pounds, skinny as fuck. Just trying to restart. I’m 56, restart is probably a no go, but just trying to deal with depression and anxiety.
I don’t have much either. No HCG is worth a shot. I just started back on it and feel like it’s more of a negative than positive on how I feel. But my balls aren’t so shrunken feeling so that’s kind of nice, especially since it’s getting colder haha.
My SHBG is 40 (39) and I feel great with high E2. I don’t think your SHBG is low enough for it to be a big deal. Dropping the hcg for a couple months seems like the most logical next step.
Have you done any blood tests for deficiencies in vitamins & minerals? If not and if it’s doable get a full iron panel with ferritin checked. After a while TRT can run a plow through your iron stores.
One thing that helped me with energy was sublingual B12. My b12 came back at 750 (250 - 1250) and started supplementing anyway and it has made a big difference. Only the sublingual methylcobalamin has helped. My doc said everyone should be taking B12.
I really feel for you, brother. That is an incredibly hard place to be in. Wishing you a speedy restart – and back to stronger than you’ve ever been before.
Interesting. I am definitely open to dropping it. I’m curious: what’s the difference in how you feel with/without HCG? I’ve been on it for almost 2 years now, so I don’t know a life with HOT but no HCG.
Man, you’re like a wizard with this health stuff! Next-level. I do take B-12, actually, 1000 mcg per day. But I haven’t had the full vitamin/mineral panel done, and that’s an intriguing thought, though I feel like toying around with the big rocks (HCG/TRT/Danazol) might be the best step at this point, with the panel a potential next step.
It may just be the adjustment period… I’ve been back on it maybe 2 weeks?
Basically everything that TRT fixed has gone backwards a little. Less energy, less sexual sensation, little bit lower libido. I was finally at sex 2x a day was totally doable and now I feel like every other day is the most I could handle. Maybe it’s unrelated and just a coincidence. It’s too early for me to truly know but the last 3x I’ve injected, 2 days later I feel like ass. Then I get back to feeling good and it’s time for another injection.
2X a day?! You were a machine, brother! Talk about goals. The best I’ve felt is max 5X per week.
I’ve heard other accounts like yours. I do believe HCG makes a huge impact on some people – maybe positive for some, negative for others. We’re all bio-individually unique, of course. Super interested to see what I’ll experience after dropping it. It seems our situations are somewhat similar, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw positive effects.
