I’m 100% resigned to the fact I’ll be on trt at 40. Just considering it sooner (to eke out some gains) and improve my ‘drive’ which is all over the shop constantly.
Just assume most people who care to train etc will notice the decline when they hit 40 and want to do something about it.
RE Risk Aversion…
I was at a dose of 182mg/wk Test C, which is considered high in TRT doses. True TRT can be accomplished from 70-120mg/wk for most, but if basing approach on symptoms, many prefer 150-200mg/wk (some as high as 250 alongside things like Var and Deca).
I lowered dose down to 140mg/wk and refused prescriptions for both Var and Deca, though they were both offered. 182 made me a little cray cray and 140mg/wk, if anything, boosted libido (not like it needed boosting). I’ll admit that I’m willing to take risks if the reward is worth it, but it also took me nearly 10 years of consideration and training before actually pinning my first AAS… so yeah, one can always be safer but I think I did okay.
Anyways, I think you’re on the right path; mine is a bit subjective, but I don’t regret it and have been doing so with relative safety.
This is an interesting comment and worthy of fleshing out a bit more. I am not sure this comment is true for everybody, I think there are lots of people performing well in their 40’s or 50’s and some (depending on their baseline) who are still improving.
I know for me (48 now) the last 6 years have seen continuous improvement in the gym in terms of strength and endurance and I have no plans to stop or slow down now. Could I perform better? Sure but I could have used that as an excuse in my 20’s or 30’s and gone on gear if I wanted.
I think it is widely accepted that we won’t be as good in our 40’s as we were in our 20’s. But we also with age become more able to be consistent and get other factors right like diet, recovery and things that minimise stress. I trained hard in my 20’s but I partied way harder and that deff effected my performance in the gym.
If you get your house in order you may find you can improve rather than decline in your 40’s. You just won’t look like an IG model.
@simo74 do you think some of that is built on baseline vs expectations? There is absolutely no way I could be a better athlete than in my 20s, because I was a pure stud in every way (not to mention humble). I also don’t expect to, though, so I’m not chasing it.
Today ended up being leg day. There is no cardio after leg day, just keepsing it realz.
The opener was 4 rounds:
5 box jumps
6 25# goblet squats
200m run
I would have done more, but my stomach was crazy upset for this whole session; my next sprint was to the bathroom.
Seated Leg Curls
Couple warmups
2 sets of 8 with slow eccentric
Last set was 8 reps with the slow eccentric, another 4 or 5 regular, 10 partials, then an isohold
Squats
Super heavy chains for this one. I discovered all the chains aren’t the same weight by loading the sides of the bar unevenly. Once I got it right, I’m pretty sure I had ~160 total pounds of chains deloading at the bottom.
Chains not listed
45/8
135/8
185/8
225/8
245/8
That last set was heavy. I had to really focus on staying tight with the chains. It was hard to not get distracted by the sound of panties dropping worldwide (and the fear of soiling my own). My wife came in and took a picture. I promise this wasn’t at the complete bottom, haters.
Maybe, it also depends on how hard you went in your 20’s and how consistent you were. I was a terrible runner in school and hated it, but in my late 30’s I got serious about running and ended up far outreaching my own expectations. I genuinely don’t think I could have done that in my 20’s because there was no way I would have for up at 4:30 every morning to go run for an hour.
I trained very hard in the gym in my 20’s and 48 year old me could definitely not do the same volume and workouts now. But I was also inconsistent and took lay offs and didn’t have any idea about good programs or proper progression. Now I am older and wiser and able to be extremely disciplined, my mental game is way better and the results are clear.
@youknowwhoyouare I know you don’t talk about it, but I’m calling you out. Anonymously because not trying to out you. But we are virtually shitting on the Chair Force, and I wanted you to know lol