So for the past couple years I’ve been running 5th set by Swede Burns I love the program. Long story short I really wasn’t getting any stronger I was lifting 4 days a week running 3 miles the remaining 3. Many have told me running and strength training don’t mix and I am kinda spinning my wheels. Well I ended up getting blood work done because I had been considering using some test and just wanted to see where my natural levels were. I suspected they were low and they were. total T was 300 out of a 280-1100 range.
Long story short I’ve been on 200mg a week of test and feel fucking incredible. I’ve been on for 2 months and have already notice body composition changes. I wanna maximize my strength and fully take advantage.
My 5th set program has some strongman events to finish leg days like after a squat day I do yoke runs and after deadlift days I either do sandbag runs or farmers walks. On my cardio days though I am considering switching to interval running instead of steady state as I have been told I would see much better results in the gym. My question is how long should the intervals be?
For those of you that do interval training what does it look like? Or do you guys think I should just continue with the steady state and it won’t really make a difference?
I am 6’4 was 225 before test now hovering around 230-32 am very lean visible 8 pack I want to maintain lean body weight as I have dirty bulked in the past and was very unhappy with how I looked and have yoyo’d up and down many times and don’t want to do that again. I am looking for an aesthetic physique.
I eat about 5k calories a day follow the vertical diet by Stan Efferding.
If these statements are both accurate then I hate you…or maybe I hate myself. (6’4"+ and 210 with fading abs)
But to address your questions, what is your #1 goal right now? Identify your priority and you’ll probably find your answer.
If you’re doing cardio/conditioning for general health and burning calories then just do the easy steady state stuff. That won’t take away from the lifting.
Yes I am doing it to maintain cardiovascular health. My goal is to bring up my lifts considerably but I don’t wanna get really fat in the process. I have done that before and just ended up hating how I looked and losing all the weight along with most of the muscle so in the end it was just a waste of time.
Be conservative with your eating. Gain slowly and do enough conditioning for health. I like high intensity stuff but I think it could take away from your lifting. Everything has a cost - the energy it takes to do it plus the time and energy it takes to recover.
You could probably work your way into doing hard conditioning along with your lifting but it would take time to get there.
I don’t think there is a clear cut approach to balancing your goals. It takes some trial and error.
Keep doing what you’ve been doing and slowly increase your effort on conditioning days if you want.
Being that this is a written form of communication, I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or serious.
But, if you’re serious then you’re mistaken. People on PEDs get into supramaximal test territory, whereas TRT users use the drug (testosterone) to raise their levels to normal ranges.
I think one of the ranges of normal test is 300-1200. If a guy (like the OP) uses 200mg of test a week to go from 300 to 1100 then I don’t consider that to be enhanced. That’s on the high end of normal and more like a teenager’s hormone profile, but it’s still nothing like doing a cycle for rapid growth. I think most people start at 500mg/week when using to get to supramax test levels.
Absolutely correct on all of this. a TRT patient is MUCH more comparable to a natural lifter than he is to someone who actually runs steroid cycles. TRT isn’t a miracle protocol. The only people who see significant benefits from TRT over their natural condition are those who had very, very low T to begin with. If someone’s natural T level is 500+, running TRT will yield minimal benefit.
I agree I have talked to people with normal test that run a 500mg/week cycle and like a month in and they see no difference. I shit you not the day after I first pinned I felt like a million fucking dollars. My energy was through the fucking roof, libido was like I was 18 again and within 2 months I am seeing positive body comp changes.
I told my friend how fast I was feeling results and they all said its placebo! I know it isn’t honestly I havent been in a bad mood since I started and before this I would have terrible mood swings to the point where I really wouldn’t even enjoy when I was happy because I knew the swing was coming.
Part of the confusion you see is that we have guys claiming TRT. Who are taking over double of clinical test protocols. On top of throwing extra stuff into the mix and still saying it’s TRT.
Well I’m not doing that. 200mg test cyp and that’s it. Though of course I am definitely looking forward to seeing what kind of strength gains and body recomp I can get out of it. I would be lying if I said that wasn’t a huge motivator for me to get on TRT.
To me ‘‘Natural’’ = you don’t take drugs to enhance your performance.
If you’re in the very low ranges, that means you have a terrible lifestyle or you’ve cycled before or you have seriously shitty genetics. In any case, injecting drugs doesn’t make you even with the other naturals.
What if I’m at 800 and use ‘‘TRT’’ to get up to 1300 vs someone who’s at 400 and doesn’t take anything. Is that really an even field?
We all have our innate limitations, a 6’4 guy vs a 5’3 guy don’t have the same bar travel distance on a bench press. If the taller guy started doing half reps because it’s ‘‘fairer’’ people would call him retarded.
I have nothing against people on drugs, if you wanna take them, go ahead. Just don’t claim to be ‘‘natural’’ when you are injecting testosterone, whether it’s to compete in pro BBing or to get back to ‘‘normal ranges’’.
My question was more rhetorical in nature… and yes it does. There are plenty of older guys in their 40s on up, that who have never run gear who train and who have half way decent life styles. Who see a drop in their T level. On a side note… you never see much in the way of anyone screaming about estrogen treatment for women.