Rational training level & diet increase for 40+ on bulk blast
Looking for general input from the grizzled dinosaurs on here.
Yes, we know the 20-somethings recommend eating 1000+ calories over your daily expenditure and working out 5-6 times a week on cycle, but what's a sensible approach for those of us in our 40s and older?
So, since getting older, how have you adjusted your training schedule to take your weaker joints and recovery time into account while on cycle.
Theoretical Blast:
600mg/Test-Cyp week
300mg/Deca week
My stats if interested:
Age: 40, Height: 6'2"
TRT, yes: 150 mg/week, arimidex .25 mg eod approx
Bodyfat: Approx 15%
Weight: 220
Height: 6'2"
Blood on TRT: Usually falls in the 800-900 range after a twice weekly shot. Lab range 348-1197
Blasts: Three so far which consisted of upping Test to 500-600mg/week. Added Deca in at 300mg/week on third cycle and DBol in for 4 weeks at 50mg/day.
Workout experience: 3-5 times a week for about 12 years now.
Goal: Gain muscle without overdoing it on the fat gain.
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Biologic1Lots of good advice so far. In regards to upping volume while on cycle, yes, but only about 15% IMO.
Maximizing intensity and getting more reps w/ the same weight is an excellent idea.
When on, I do quite a few drop sets, making things as brutal as possible. When natural, I may go clos to failure, but no forced reps or drop sets.
Also, hitting a bpart every 7 days off cycle is necessary for adequate recovery. On cycle I go every 6 days, and occasionally e5d.
Off cycle, I do cardio 2-3 times a week. On, 5-6 days a week, and lots of HIT.
Finally, GH is a miracle drug for us older guys. I have a decade on you, and have gotten excellent results. My IGF-1 levels were very low, and maybe that is why I have h such good results. I do 1.5 IU's a day and after 6 months am leaner (eating a lot of food) and look 5 years younger, especially my skin.
I have been on TRT for about three months. 60MG Cyp 2x's a week and 500 HCG 2 x's a week, and .5 Adex 2 x's a week. I am 44 years old. I have read that GH does not help much unless it is used at higher doses like 4 to 5 IU's a day?
Is 1.5 IU's a RX that my Dr. would prescribe as he has done so with others for GH?
What is the cost of this monthly at that dose?
Thanks :-)
Biologic1@Renew: Probably about $800. If you go with generics the cost will be much, much less. Keep in mind there is a lot of fake GH out there. There are good generics, just do your homework.
If you are a younger competitive bodybuilder, or only concerned about building muscle, then yes, higher doses are needed. 1 iu is replacement, and younger guys make that naturally. However, for us older guys, restoring our levels to what we made when we were young has excellent benefits.
Get some lab work to measure your natural production. Don't directly measure GH. GH is produced by the pituitary in bursts, and hence there is spiking and dipping. Instead, have your IGF-1 levels measured. IGF-1 will elevate in response to GH production, and the elevation is consistent. It does not spike and dip. My IGF-1 levels were low, lower than normal for even a 50 year old man. 1.5 ius of Gh and moderately dosed cycles give me dramatic results. I burn way, way more fat than I would from steroids alone.
I look 5 years younger, especially my skin. The spider veins on my face are gone. My hair has much less grey.
Thanks for the info Biologic1
My doctor runs a Naturopathic Medical practice that utilizes both traditional medicine as well as naturopathic too. He told me he has prescribed some patients HGH in the past, however they really did not see results. He told me he could measure my IGF-1 levels. My guess is he is not prescribing a large enough dose.
Will most Dr's just do 1 iu or less, as that is replacement? My guess is I would want 2-3 iu's to go along with my trt.
I love the idea of it helping burn fat, but would also like to have "some" muscle benefits to it as well.
If you had to guess, what dosage dose a guy like Sly Stallone use? I know this is just a very tough guess :-)
Thanks for the help!!!
Biologic1It is best to get baseline IGF-1 levels. However, every person over 35 benefits from HGH, at least in my experience.
At replacement levels, you will not see large gains in muscle mass. I guesstimate that in 6 months @ 1.5 IU's I have added 2-4 lbs of muscle. However, fat burning is dramatic, as is the effect on my skin and hair. Spider veins in my face have improved dramatically, way, way more than with the Metrogel that my doc prescribes.
If size is your goal, run the Gh @ moderate levels, and bump test up to 400 mgs.
If you are financially well off (can swing $7-800 a month) go with your docs prescription and pharm sourced GH.
There is a lot of fake GH out there. However, there is also a lot of legit generic gh out there. If you do your homework, you can find good gh here on eroids, and it will be much cheaper.
How old are you exactly?
Are you on TRT? ( I am assuming yes because you mention blast, but it is always better to ask then assume)
if you are on TRT what is your protocol?
Can you post your most recent blood work including the ranges?
what's your body fat?
What is your level of workout experience?
What is your AAS experience?
Do you have any experience with 19-nor compounds?
And what is your current goal for this particular upcoming cycle?
Thanks, I guess I wasn't looking for specific to me cycle advice (but I'll happily take it), I was more interested in how older guys adjust their on-cycle training/diet due to their age, joints, and recovery factors.
My general concern is that I think I personally have been overtraining on cycle. My last cycle I attempted to do a PHAT style routine, and I got burned out on it with sore muscles and joints impacting my lifts. My recovery time isn't great as I get older, so I was wondering what sort of training schedule works for other older guys on cycle.
So, stats:
Age: 40, Height: 6'2"
TRT, yes: 150 mg/week, arimidex .25 mg eod approx
Bodyfat: Approx 15%
Weight: 220
Height: 6'2"
Blood on TRT: Usually falls in the 800-900 range after a twice weekly shot. Lab range 348-1197
Blasts: Three so far which consisted of upping Test to 500-600mg/week. Added Deca in at 300mg/week on third cycle and DBol in for 4 weeks at 50mg/day.
Workout experience: 3-5 times a week for about 12 years now.
Goal: Gain muscle without overdoing it on the fat gain.
40 is fairly young.... So if you have that frame of mind it will help you tremendously.
Since you are on TRT (and your protocol seems pretty good to me) a lot of what you would like to achieve can easily be done via diet with 1 to 2 12 week cycles a year.
First thing I would recommend you do is figure out your TDEE. At that point I would adjust your caloric intake from anywhere from 300 cal to 600 cal based on whether you want to lose or gain.
Should be consuming about 270 g of protein off cycle and close to 350 g protein on cycle. Carbs and fats should be adjusted based on how well your body functions with each particular macro. If your body can handle carbs go for it, if not keep it primarily down to about 200 g and the rest high quality fats.
While you are on your TRT protocol I recommend high-intensity low-volume training. I would stick to 8 to 12 reps.
When you are on cycle I would recommend high-intensity high-volume training. With a rep range of 12 and above, sometimes going up to 20.
This way when you are on cycle you will primarily be working out with the same weight your body is accustomed to while keeping up the intensity. This will give you sufficient muscle stimulation while decreasing the risk of injury.
As far as what you should do for your particular cycle. I say keep it simple. Basic testosterone. It will be easier for you to manage going back and forth between TRT. I recently wrote a post which I think you will find beneficial for what you are looking to achieve with your goals. Just skip the PCT section.
The post can be found here. I think this will more than suit your goals.
http://www.eroids.com/forum/general/general-talk/beginner%E2%80%99s-guid...
Thanks, this is helpful. I like the idea of upping volume on cycle rather than really pushing to increase weight. Gonna go check out your link.
Muscles really don't know weight they understand intensity. Upping the weight is one way of increasing intensity but by far not the most practical nor efficient and definitely not the safest.
I would try to push the weights up slowly during your off cycles.......... when on cycle I would use the same weights but would use techniques to increase intensity........ short rests........running the rack....... higher rep ranges........ more time under contraction.......... etc.
Well as far as diet advice, I am 43 yrs old and this is working out great for me.
https://www.eroids.com/forum/general/general-talk/i-know-my-bmr%E2%80%A6...
Thanks, looks interesting.
RustyhookerStats and goals?
Replied above, thanks for any input.