Saw your post 7 days old with only one reply, thought I’d share my experiences.
I’ve been lifting hard for 22 years, have tried almost style of training and programming out there. I’ve been small/big, weak/strong, lean/fat, natural/not.
Currently 6 months into TRT, trying to rebuild a decent body after suffering low T and getting weaker and fatter FOR A DECADE, due to a pituitary tumor in my brain.
While I have not tried all the different programs on TRT that I did when I was natural, here are the key differences that I have noticed thus far. Maybe other dudes will chime and and share what they’ve noticed. You can then make your own adjustments based on your knowledge about yourself and things that others seem to agree on.
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I’ve noticed a MUCH better pump during TRT. When natural, no matter how much pump work I added in after my heavy set, I rarely got a good intra-workout pump, or looked fuller between workouts. On TRT, I’ve noticed one single back off set gives me a huge pump, and I look fuller for two days afterward. Is the pump worth chasing? That’s debatable, but…if hypertrophy is one of your goals, LOTS of folks swear that chasing the pump, AFTER your heavy work, helps. On TRT, I find the pump to be greatly enhanced. Seems like something to exploit, IMHO.
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I have found it is easier to fry my CNS on TRT. I have to be careful not to push so hard that I can’t lift for 3 days. Christian Thibadeau has stated that, as far as we know, TRT does not improve our CNS’s ability to recover. Maybe that’s true, maybe it’s not. I have found it is WAY EASIER for me to fry my CNS on TRT. Just yesterday, I threw an extra 35lbs on my RDL, just to see what 385 felt like in my hands since I hadn’t grabbed it in years. Would have been happy if I only got a handful of reps with it. It IGNITED my CNS and I got it for 15 reps! Needless to say, I was complete toast all day yesterday and so far today, though I do not feel it in my posterior chain, at all. which brings me to my next point…
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My muscles and joints definitely recover MUCH faster on TRT. I’ve been able to add at least 5 pounds each week to my squat every week for that last 6 months since starting TRT. Even back in my 20s when I ate, slept, and breathed powerlifting, I was never able to sustain that rate of progress, for that long. My form would have broken down, I would have torn or popped something. Granted, I am still regaining old strength that was once there, but still, man.
So, those are the KEY differences I’ve noticed. Better pump, easier to fry CNS, and quicker muscle and joint recovery.
What do you do with that?
Look at what has worked for you in the past, see if you notice the differences above to be true for you, and think critically about how to apply them to your own training and your goals.
is there a training program for TRT? Sure. Lots of them. But I assume you’re looking for one that will work well FOR YOU. The best we can do is get ideas from others, and learn to write our own programs, IMHO.
Any program someone throws up on here is going to be A) something that was written for the masses B) a plan they’ve altered to suit them or created for themselves. Neither is likely to be best FOR YOU. I’ve prospered on programs that most would shun. I’ve gotten nothing from programs that people swear are the best out there.
Wishing you the best of luck. Hoping some other guys chime in here. Always willing to answer questions.