Thought i’d chime in here. I am in a very similar situation as you. Lifting seriously since 14 and now am 43. I have a fantastic build, even prior to TRT, which started about 3 years back.
About a year ago, i decided to try a blast, basically to see if i could respond with an increase in libido, which i didn’t feel. Anyway, i believe i was up in the 300-400mg test a week area and basically didn’t feel much from it.
At 43, my knees hurt and i too have disc issues (F box squats. Devil). SO, i just do hammer strength squats and extensions. Keeps my legs fine.
Where am i going with this? Looking at your numbers, I would just up your TRT dose a bit. 75mg/ E3D (or 150mg split 3 times a week)? I think you’ll get the same (well, almost) results if you just up your TRT dose as you would doing a blast in the 400 range. Then again, you’ve been at this forever, and i know about wanting to try it.
Seen some cautious, conservative, nay sayers on here.
My career has afforded me the opportunity to travel and live all over the world over the last 20 years, and to train in many gyms in countries where steroids either aren’t illegal or the corrupt police just don’t give AF. I’ve watched several guys at gyms all over the world make big gains later in life. Some of the most yoked dudes I’ve ever seen were 40+.
With lots of heavy volume with a barbell, lots and lots of quality food, tons of rest, 25-30 pounds is totally doable in 12 weeks.
Like I originally said, you can expect to keep about half that when all is said and done. When you drop back to TRT, you’ll lose 7-10 lbs water/glycogen over the course of a couple weeks and then you’ll probably have 7-10 pounds of fat to strip off over a couple months, leaving you around a very solid 200ish, 13 pounds heavier than you are now (about +1 inch on your arms, +2 inches chest, and 1.5-2 inches on each thigh.)
You’ll have to train your ass off, eat like a hyena, and be willing to look like shit for a short while in order to do it, but it’s totally doable.
Contrary to popular belief, posession is depenalised/legal in many, many countries.
Even in the US prior to 1991. At the time the FDA, various health circles, doctors associations etc actually opposed the ban on steroids.
The decision was political. Cultures with legal AAS don’t have skyrocketing rates of use either… The vast majority of people don’t want to take steroids, it’s not as common or sought after relative to party drugs, alcohol and other vices.
Maybe 2.5-5% of men have tried steroids at some point… that’s not a world shattering epidemic given the nature by which AAS causes issues decades down the line as opposed to almost instantaneously as one might see with methamphetamine or crack.
If the number rose to 20% for AAS use I’d be very concerned.
The coach I used gained 20 pounds of stage weight in one long cycle (documented it all online) and he was already an extremely decorated competitor. Not exactly apples to apples here but it can be done.
Again, thank you all for the ongoing discussion, and looking at both sides of the equation.
I’m still not resolved, but let’s add this modification to the initial question: If I upped the dosage from ~300mg/Week to 500 mg/Week…does that change the game? Or, again, if it DOES, it only changes things marginally?
Also, not sure if this next pic helps, but it is me at around 192-194…NOT actually depleted/dry (both photo sets above were after a week of psmf’ing.)
Yeah man. No need to take my word for it. Take a look at the mass-focused programs written by the greatest coaches out there. By “tons of heavy volume with a barbell” I mean things like:
20-rep trap bar deadlifts
20-rep squats
Star complexes
Mechanical drop sets
Jim Wendler’s BBB template
Jim Wendler’s Building the monolith
Like I said, it will not be easy for OP. It’s never easy for any advanced trainee to put on muscle. But with OP’s genetics, training like above, 4,000+ calories, a day, and a few hundred mgs of Test, he could blow up.
In my experience, most (like 99%) of people simply do not train hard enough or eat enough.
How many times over the years have you seen someone come to the gym and consistently do 20 rep breathing squats for weeks, months on end? In all my travels, I can count them on one hand. Yet, it is the single most effective exercise for leg mass.
This is actually the template I follow + combat sports and a manually intensive work day. It’s exhausting, I probably eat around 4000 calories per day to maintain weight…
Marginally. In my experience, and that of many others, the difference between 3-400 and 500, is barely noticeable. 300-400 seems to be the sweet spot for gains vs. sides.
You could……start out out 350 run it till gains dry up, add calories, run that till gains dry up, go to 500, run that till gains dry up, and on and on until you decide to end the cycle.
Derek from more plates more dates has a great video describing this technique as a way to deal with “when gains stall on a cycle”.
Yup, I feel your pain. I lived that for many years. For me it was extreme sports and manual labor job. That lifestyle will severely limit gains, unless you are juiced to the gills.
I am not… But I do okay. I’m very strong for my size (for someone who isn’t juiced to the gills as you’ve put it), and this isn’t permenant as I am due to leave the country quite soon. After which I can focus on more gainz.
Chronic pain is an awful thing to deal with though, my lifestyle amplifies the discomfort I am in literally 24/7.
From 300 to 500, no it won’t make much difference. From 105 to 500, that will be more noticeable. I would anticipate your TT well into the supra range.
I did my first cycle in my 40’s. No ill effects in my bloodwork to date. If it’s something you want to try I say go for it as long as your bloodwork supports it.
Edit to say your physic looks great now. It would be next level with 8-10 lbs of new tissue!!!
