Hey, new member here. I would’ve posted on TRT but I’m not able to do so. Anyways, I’m turning 30 this year, and I’ve done my fare share of natural lifting during my twenties. I’ve been focusing more on strength/powerlifting, though i wasn’t consistent all through my twenties, had some years off as well. Since end of 2021 I’ve been back training again. I was thinking to hop on something in the next 5 years or so (maybe next year already). Why? I want to maintain/gain strength and do this sport for myself on a higher level, while getting older. I’d also like to lose some bodyfat, but I don’t know if this should be done before or during starting this new journey.
Cycle I was thinking about (probably without coming off for ever):
150-200mg test e (I’d like to pin test only once a week)
1IU genotropin or something similar
BPC-157
(Maybe something slightly more androgenic in low dosages as well? Dunno though.)
Current strength:
Squat: 290kg
Bench: 185kg
Deadlift: 290kg
Weight: 120kg/265lbs
BF: ~30-35%
I’d really like your opinions, suggestions and so on. Maybe it’s a completely stupid idea, and someone needs to tell me that. So please feel free to give me more insights and advice. Thank you very much.
I would, absolutely, 100% address this before even considering any manner of endocrine system manipulation.
Being that level of bodyfat and on gear makes sense if you’re a professional strongman and you make your living being that big. But even THOSE guys either slim down or get out of the game when they’re your age…or they die. As a hobbyist, there is no reason to walk around at that bodyfat percentage while running gear.
Pretty much got all that besides bf. I sleep 8+ hrs every night, I eat alot but it is not pure dirt. I’d say 3/4 healthy and 1/4 bs like sweets or cookies or something like that. Rest of my diet consists of lentils, tuna, the occasional chicken breast, spinach, coconut oil and so on. I eat lentils and tuna/chicken every single day. I’m not a big rice or bread guy. exercise is on point as well. I work out about 6-8 hrs a week. I don’t miss a day, if i’m not sick or anything unexpected happens out of the blue.
That is a MASSIVE amount of a diet to be dedicated to junk. Think of this in actual numbers. If you eat 3 meals a day, that’s 21 meals in a week. That’s 5.25 “cheat meals” a week. I’d get that reigned in. Again: if you’re trying to make SHW from 308, this approach makes sense. If the goal is to be a good strength athlete: these factors need to get dialed in.
Yeah, fix the diet and add in some training such as KB swings or something dynamic like that to raise your heart rate and increase NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis)
You know, I tried the gel at about 50. Even without weights my waist started to trim, my shoulders got a bit wide. But at the same time, I felt depressed, tired quite a bit, and it wasn’t all that and a bag of chips. Five years ago (at 55) I had bladder and prostate surgery. I have what appears to be a naturally high PSA, but (not to jinx myself) none of the 100 genetic markers which would indicate prostate cancer is imbedded in my DNA. Can I still get it? Sure. Now at 60 I have been strength training, again. (Particularly after a month long COVID in the Fall of 2020.) More of a HIT approach works for me and I am seeing a shift to more tonus in my body. Plus strength. I wish I could tell you it is easy, it isn’t. The point being, you can do what wish. But get medical help from a physician who is not a GP. How low should your bodyfat be? I do not know. Listen to the fellows above. At 30 I think you have plenty of time to keep building strength and muscle. Look at what Cycloengineer posted for you: diet, exercise, recovery.
Yes, I know that. I’m dedicated to change that. That’s why I was asking how I should approach it. Lose it before or while on gear. Now what about the plans I have if I dial in my bf? Is it too much or should I switch something up?
And I was providing you an answer to that: I would not attempt to manipulate my endocrine system while carrying a large surplus of bodyfat and eating in a manner that was not supporting the goals of being a healthy strength athlete. Was I unclear in presenting that? If so, I apologize.
Were I in this situation, before manipulating my endocrine system, I would drop bodyfat, and I’d do that by getting my diet dialed in. After that, I’d assess just how much potential I have to see if gear was really something I needed to employ.
No, absolutely not. I understood that after your first reply. Sorry if it came out wrong. I was just asking about the cycle. If it would make sense at all. Just looking at the cycle by itself.
Fix this first.
Using gear at this high of bodyfat is not gonna be good.
Have you had any bloodwork done? I don’t see you mention one symptom here or one way you will remedy your BF issue. Taking steroids is about 5% of the total equation here. Deiet and training are the other 95%.
Start by getting your diet in check and get some baseline bloods from the endo.
Post your diet. Let’s see what’s going wrong.
Sounds reasonable. I’d do a blood test every 4 weeks in this phase, right? Should I incorporate some more androgenic compounds in low dosages as well?
I did a blood test like 2 years ago, without hormones though. Sadly, no IGF-1 or free testosterone. Blood glucose was slightly higher than average, and my doc did a separate glucose blood test with some disgusting sugary drink. It came back negative for prediabetes/diabetes. It was in the average norm.
Would you recommend adjusting the HGH dose according to my own levels, or am I wrong?
I will do another blood test in a couple of months, including hormones etc. When I turn 30, my insurance will pay for those first tests.
I don’t have a “fixed” diet. I have base foods/meals, and everything else I add to it is convenience or because I feel like it. FYI, I don’t feel sluggish, immobile, tired, fatigued, or anything with this amount of body fat. As I said before, it doesn’t matter to me leaving junk out of my diet; that is completely fine with me. I understand that you guys have the perspective of “get the diet going first to see if you are dedicated enough.” If I tell you I’m dedicated enough to change it, I will. I’m just at the info gathering point on how to approach this journey.
By the way, I could care less about being single-digit body fat or anything below 14-16%. What I’m saying is that if I’m taking steroids, and my hormone levels will be high no matter what kind of diet I run, I’d like to eat healthier, lose body fat, and gain strength while doing so. That is my whole point.
I understand that I will aromatize more estrogen than usual because of my body fat, but I will take aromatase inhibitors anyway, even if I were at 10% body fat, to keep estrogen levels in a normal range.
Diet:
Daily base:
Red lentils - 250-350g(raw weight)
Tuna/Chicken - 150g tuna/300g chicken
Spinach - 100g(raw weight)
Coconut oil - eyeball
Cold pressed rapeseed oil - eyeball
Whey Protein - 50-100g
Quark/Skyr - 200g
Eggs - 1-8
Bananas - 1-2
Apples - 1-2
Protein puddings/drinks (not daily but frequently)
Occasionally:
Rice - eyeball
Beef - eyeball
Pizza(junk)
Pastries savory/sweet
Nuts
Berries
Fries
Sweet potatoes
Almost daily junk:
cookies
milk/dark chocolate
ice cream
cake/cupcake
Some other junk probably as well, but I can’t think of anything further. And of course, I don’t eat all the listed junk at once in a day, lol. I eat around 200-250g of protein daily. Fats and carbs are variable. I only drink water, no sodas or anything like that.
