I am looking for recommendations to augment my TRT protocol for a cycle. I am on Xyosted 100mg (enanthate) weekly, it’s cheap for me as I’ve got great insurance. Are there any considerations regarding which to increase with, meaning more enanthate, or add a different type, cypionate, or propionate?
I’m an aged but experienced lifter. My wife is a competitive Bikini competitor, so I live the lifestyle. I’m 50 years old, 196 lbs, 6’, 13% BF. My cycle will support a specialization phase with a focus on delts and upper back, and everything else will be maintenance.
Have you cycled AAS before?
No reason to switch esters. Just increase what you are already taking.
You could add an oral in once your lifts drop off a little or you need a boost.
Assuming bloodwork looks good?
Post a current pic so we can see where you are at. 13%BF typically means your are really 20% but if your wife is a competitor you may be more honest than most. If these stats are true I would imagine your goal is to gain size without getting fat? At 6’ tall I would like to see more like 220lbs at that same BF to look like a true bodybuilder.
I’ve found that high volume and frequency work best for me. I lift 6x per week. For shoulders, I do 4x per week, with a slight variation of rep ranges: early in the week, a bit heavier (8-12), mid-range mid-week (12-18), and higher reps late in the week (18-28). I split my legs over the 6 days, with no dedicated leg day to keep overall fatigue low. I’ll incorporate some drop-sets, match-sets, and other techniques based on the rep range and exercise performed. In my current mesocycle, I’m doing about 28 sets of shoulders per week and lots of cable exercises:
DB Standing Overhead press - lower rep range
Cable Side Shrug
DB Lat Raise - lower rep range
Cable Front Raise
Pulldown Widegrip
Cable Y-Raises - supported
Cable Single Arm Facepull
Cable Cross Body Lat Raise
Cable Cross Body Bentover Raise
Neck curls
Not really. Don’t laugh but I had some extra 75mg Xyosted from a dose change, and I “cycled” for about 8 weeks and the way I timed the dosing it was about 215 mg total per week. And it worked!
Blood work is good. My wife’s coach has her cycle Anavar about 2x per year, once in off season, then in prep. So I’ve thought about adding that as well after a few weeks into my cycle.
I would like to see 220lbs at 13%BF too, lol. I’d look impressive, especially at 50 yo. But I’m not a competitive bodybuilder. I consider myself very advanced with programming, nutrition, and most importantly knowing exactly what works for me. I’ve tracked everything I’ve eaten for over 2 year now and it all goes into spreadsheets for tracking. But I’m fairly uniformed about running test cycles, hence my post. BTW I’ll be at the NY Pro this evening for the finals, my wife is there now as a volunteer for her team.
But you asked about goals, and so my goal is to get as close to possible to the Golden Ratio. It’s a fun goal to chase. There are several “golden ratios” out there to consider. There’s Reeves Ratio, Roman’s Ratio, Casey Butt has one, then the true Golden Ratio. Some ratio’s have your neck, arms, and calves all the same. For me that would be a target of 17.5", but I don’t want a 17.5" neck, nor do I think I’ll ever get my calves all the way there, but my arms are super close at 17.375. So I’ve customize my targets a bit. I’ve hit my target for chest, forearms, neck, and almost there for arms. I need to work on shoulders, calves, and thighs. Right now focus is on shoulders.
So is the consensuses just more enanthate? My short 8 week cycle at 215 mg did seem to be effective, so is the 300mg a good target? And with enanthate, what is a proper cycle length?
Yes more of the same. I don’t think you’ll notice much more going from 215 to 300. Personally I would go 400-500mg/wk.
I would run it 12-14 weeks but you need to figure out what it’s gonna take to reach your goals. Could take three years and multiple cycles. Nobody can tell you that.
It would be helpful to see a pic though.
Why don’t you speak with your wife’s coach a bit?
It’s hard to say how much weight I need to gain to hit my goals. 5-8lbs of upper body weight would likely be enough as I’ll target the growth areas. I have no idea what a weight equivalent to adding over an inch to my thighs would be. But over the next 1.5 years, I’d be very satisfied if I gained an additional 10-12lbs.
While my wife’s coach is amazing, she placed 4th at Masters Olympia last year, but she focuses exclusively on Bikini competitors. Not sure she’s the one to help me with a test cycle.
You say you’re looking to build the shoulders a bit more. Well, from my experience with many people using gear, some were clients, most were just friends, shoulders will respond very well to even a small change in your chemistry. I know for many people shoulders are difficult to build in size, but they are very receptive to increased testosterone. So, I think even a small dose increase will gain you a noticeable change, though it may take a few months compared to higher dose bringing the gains more quickly. Personally, I’ve always prescribed to the start low and increase as needed to continue seeing gain’s philosophy.