Matthewg66's picture
Matthewg66
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How long does it take for test to lower tendon strength

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Hey guys im 27 years old about to start my 2nd test e cycle.. ive been doing allot of research of testosterone and the decrease of collagen synthesis.. my question is one cycle of test really enough to damage your tendons and ligaments that much? I play rugby league and am worried about doing serious injuries like an ACL or somthing any input would be much appreciated cheers

giardap's picture

Apparently there is some new research that shows test can cause some sort of weakening or damage to tendons. I havent read it yet, so dont quote me, but I am pretty sure there is something new on it.

3 enemies in this game:
Water retention
Strength gains from orals
Ego

Water retention causes strength increases. The likes of orals send it to the stratosphere and then your ego kicks intelligence to the curb and you start doing dimbo 1RM's every week and sacrifice form and periodisation.

My advice is always to never let the ego bring you into the danger zone. Ditch the orals until your body truly has a base, and manage water and estro etc.

shawn0712's picture

Maybe it’s just aging and a physically abusive career, but I’ve gone from being invincible to being careful in the last 5 years.
Personally, I feel a direct correlation. I tore my shoulder a couple years ago benching 315. I was repping 405 x5 at the time. I’ve battled tennis elbow off and on the last couple years, I’m more aware of my ankles than Ive ever been in my life. Maybe it’s the weight gain. I’m sure much of it is the fact that my line of work is physically demanding, but it’s much easier to get a cartilage tear than it ever was before. I don’t run extreme doses at all. These days, I’m getting stronger at trt or just above levels. I train and eat with extreme discipline, but I’m a slouch when it comes to the pin.
Myself, I do believe it weakens tendons and cartilage after a good amount of time. There are lawyers lined up trying to attack the doctors prescribing it. Not that lawyers trying to sue for anything correlates to fact, but I’m seeing commercials lately.
It’s something a new user should at least consider. My tendon issues are based on maintenance. I’ll also acknowledge I consume way too much coffee, and staying hydrated has been impossible lately. I can’t say that one thing is the problem, but I do feel it plays it’s part.

Matthewg66's picture

Im just worried ill be running and my acl will snap or somthing lol idk if i changes things that much but im worried it could

Matthewg66's picture

Im just worried ill be running and my acl will snap or somthing lol idk if i changes things that much but im worried it could

johnmarshall12's picture

Don't worry about Test too much; It's Winny that will mess up tendons and joints!

wanted's picture

X2 with winny. Learned the hard way

Matthewg66's picture

Thanks for sharing your knowledge guys much appreciated... so if i were to run eq or deca it would counteract the test?

Makwa's picture

You are just as likely to get injured using EQ or Deca. What you need to be worried about is your muscular capacity far surpassing the load the tendons handle because you get to strong to quick. Don't get hung up on compounds helping or hurting your tendons. That is a moot point.

Gymjunkie01's picture

It doesn’t weaken your tendons.. what happens is in most cases guys start to get a lot stronger pretty fast and there tendons can’t take the extra load that quick, when I’m prepping for a strongman event and I’m ruining halo I know in my head I can lift a good 15-20% more but I don’t because I have tore a tendon before listing to my body instead of using my head

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kodiakGRRL's picture

I'm having the same problems.... sometimes it pays to be conservative

IrishMack's picture

Fuck yeah, My 1st halo run I came close to tearing my chest. No warm up and straight to press, pulled 400 then pulled my chest muscle. Fair to say I learned a valuable lesson, just because you can....does not mean you should.

junkyarddesiel's picture

Id blame the no warm up before the halo. Not sure why sumone wouldn't warm up.

IrishMack's picture

I never warm up, you get more injuries that way. Powerlifting and bodybuilding, completely different.
At meets you warm up by starting the competition. In other words you go up to the bar and depending on your stats you start with 275 and then up from there.

junkyarddesiel's picture

So you get more injuries by warming up joints, tendons and stretching muscles that are about to be used?
Your first attempt at a meet is just that your first attempt of 3. These guys are not walking in and squating 700 on cold knees and quads on there first attempt.

IrishMack's picture

Yes, yes they are. Go behind the scenes in the staging area, not a single one is warming up and the ones that do dont make it to pull 3. Ever been to a strong man event? Once again not a single one is stretching and if you see one doing it, it's because he hurt something. I didn't lift for 4 days before a meet so I could be fresh and not recovering.

kodiakGRRL's picture

ok.. you've got me tilting my head at this one Irish. unless of course you are talking about stretching as being the same as warming up ... no there is no stretching in the staging area but there is plenty of lifting going on

IrishMack's picture

Yes lifting. I guess it's almost apples and oranges

Makwa's picture

It is pretty well documented that static stretching lowers strength and impedes performance with explosive movements like lifting weights and can actually increase the risk for injury.

junkyarddesiel's picture

So its less dangerous to lay under 405 cold then hitting one plate,2plates, and 3plates first? This is what you guys are implying?

Johnny Bravo's picture

That’s ramping up which is in my opinion a good way to start as long as ur not fatiguing urself. It’s good for explosiveness.
I heard short duration static stretching decreases force production like Makwa stated but I also heard it decreases chance of injury by 1%. Not with it. I know long duration static stretching increases chance of injury because it temporarily increases muscle length so when u lift weights ur using a ROM ur not adapted to.

Makwa's picture

You are confusing dynamic stretching with static stretching. People often confuse warming up with stretching. They are two different things.

Gymjunkie01's picture

I’m with you . I do t think I ever warm up.. I go grab the bar and push

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Gymjunkie01's picture

I wish knew back then what I know now, it would had saved me lots of injuries lol

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IrishMack's picture

Right on, I still ego lift sometimes. I pay for it the next day and sometimes an hour later. You and me both. The injuries far outweigh the gains sometimes.

Gymjunkie01's picture

I mean don’t get me wrong lol when some young guys at the gym are curling or benching I still throw up some serious weight to show them this old man in my 40,s can lift 3x as much lol.

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IrishMack's picture

Lol I am guilty as well, it's even more fun because I'm a midget. It gives me a hard on when I hear them say "How the fuck can he lift that?" No homo.

IrishMack's picture

.

XmadXscientist's picture

Testosterone reducing tendon synthesis is a fallacy that has recently been debunked.

The problem as a few have already mentioned, is that your muscles and strength increase at a rate that your tendons can never hope to catch up. When your at a pretty high level from a physical abilities standpoint and you start using AAS, then add 100 pounds to your deadlift in 6-8 weeks what do you think is going to happen?

The key is self discipline and not allowing the urge to indulge in the rapid strength increases too much. Force yourself to take an approach of slow and steady when increasing weight and you will have a higher likelihood of staying healthy. You don’t need to lift the heaviest weight possible to get bigger muscles.

Gymjunkie01's picture

Exactly +2

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press1's picture

I came across this a while ago also when looking for tendon healing supplements. Its 6 and 2 three's - do test and temporerally make them slightly more brittle, but in doing so increase muscle strength to way beyond what you would have been able to do normally by staying natural! Thats why people compensate for this by running deca or E.Q alongside test which can triple collagen production in the tendons after several weeks of use. Growth Hormone also massively increases collagen and tendon healing. Slowing rep speed by counting three/five seconds on the descent increases blood flow more in the joints also, it encourages more healing and synthesis as blood flow in tendons is much poorer as opposed to in the muscle itself. Cissus & fish oils help too...

Bearded_muscle's picture

If you’re cycling properly and taking time off I wouldn’t sweat it. One thing I do to prevent injury is that on cycle and off I generally lift close to the same poundages, I just take it from ten reps off cycle to 20-25 rep sets on cycle. Still doing more work and more muscle damage but without overloading my ligaments and tendons with weights I’d never be able to lift otherwise.

Bill G's picture

Haven't read nearly as much as you on this topic. Seems what we have problems with time and time again is getting too strong to fast. It takes longer for the tendons to strenghen than the muscle pulling it. So i always here the reference to i went from 425 before cycle and 6 weeks later im at 550. But i tore my peck. It all seems to be related to getting too strong too fast. This is a marathon not a sprint. Take your time and do it right and you shouldnt have any regrets.

Bill G's picture

Some of those censoredlab.com gains bro...

heavymetalmonsterD's picture

Lmao... when the gear was on point right brother Lol

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Matthewg66's picture

Also i really appreciate you guys taking the time out to respond cheers Smile

Matthewg66's picture

Hes a little bit i found on the net not sure of its credibility..
While injecting test increases protein synthesis by roughly 50 times, depending on dose and time, most bodybuilders forget that it will reduce collagen synthesis by more than 50% -- more like 80%, giving you the collagen synthesis rate of a senior citizen. Since collagen makes up tendons, bros are very prone to injury if they continue to lift very heavy, unless they cycle off T and let their collagen synthesis get back to normal. It's like having the skeletal muscle of a gorilla with thetendons of a very old man

Makwa's picture

I think the issue is that the muscles become to strong to quick and the tendons lag behind which increases the chance for injury when lifting or doing explosive movements. Your muscles can handle the extra weight but the tendons can't. I haven't heard of it decreasing synthesis but would be interested to know if that is true.

Gymjunkie01's picture

+2

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Matthewg66's picture

Ok mate thanks for that.. i might wait 6 more weeks till the season is over to lower my risk of injury:)

Matthewg66's picture

Cheers for the response mate.. ok cool im more or less worried about playing high impact sport with largely decreased strength of ligaments and tendons thats all.. i was reading a study saying test e can decrease collagen synthesis by 50 to 80%

Sam I Am's picture

I've been using off and on since 1980 if not 79. My tendons are fine..

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