Question for other long term users over 50 years of age.

[Reload]

56 here. 10mg test per day puts/keeps me at 750-800 total. Been off test, caffeine and alcohol for close to 3 months now in anticipation of a catheter ablation. On & off (mostly on) since I was 16 y/o. No more than 750mg test/week EVER. Of course this was in combo with other "stuff". Needed invetro with ICSI to get the wife pregnant, azoospermia. 2 beautiful/smart daughters thanks to medical science. What's strange is my testicles have made a glorious comeback in size over these past 3 months and I'm horny as fuck 24/7. No problems getting hard but ejaculate volume has decreased over the years. Someone PLEASE explain this! I NEED to see where my current free and total are. Recently diagnosed with mod/severe sleep apnea. Listen to your wife/girlfriend and get tested guys! Less than one week of CPAP use and I'm a true believer. Thanks for the motivation DanielTX! So looking forward to getting this surgery out of the way so I can get back in the gym. Fingers crossed this Afib/RVR and all these god damn meds go away for good!

 

[hawkmoon]

Funny how @hawkmoon has to say “I personally don’t believe” when we’ve literally seen this been proven now. But it’s still a topic of debate somehow.

Forgive me if I have missed it, but where has that been conclusively proven?

I hear endless theories but there is no scientific literature to back it up, meaning it's only speculation.

If anything science tells up that receptors upregulate in the presence of excess androgens, particularly in skeletal muscle.

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/89/10/5245/2844716?redirectedFrom=fulltext

I think (only my opinion of course) that people confuse the normalization of higher doses and higher amounts of muscle over time with lessened response. The bigger you get the more you need, perhaps making it seem to proportionally lose effectiveness.

I'm happy to be proven wrong.

 

[hawkmoon]

In my 30's and early 40's I always said when I hit 50 I would drop to 200 for longevity purposes. As I approached 50, my BP, bloodwork, scans, etc all still looked good so I figured I'd keep going.

I do know that "big and old" isn't a thing regardless if it's muscle or fat. You just don't see 250lb 80 year olds very often. If you do, they are moving slow.

As far as gear, I do keep my "cruise/bridge" dosages higher than when I was younger. GH also really doesn't drop below 5iu. Training has changed and my 150 Ivanko DB's just collect dust. At 51, just trying to be as gentle on the joints as possible while still making progress. Lots of volume, short rest periods, drop sets, giant sets, super sets, pre exhaust, etc.

I'm 55 in a few days and I think it's critical to listen to our bodies objectively, which can be very hard. It will let us know if we pay attention. I do try to listen more carefully these days

 

[headtrainer]

Just wanted to hear the thoughts of other guys here who have been using gear for over 20 years and are over 50. I’m about to turn 54 and have been using gear for 35 years. I went pretty hard in my 30s and even my 40s but just before I hit 50- it really caught up with me. The problem is that my body could no longer handle the amount of drugs I needed to maintain my size. So let’s say I’m runnning even 500mgs of test a week- I just don’t feel it. Currently I’m running about 400mg test and 400mg primo and even though I don’t feel much, it’s enough to keep me happy. I was thinking about trying something different like deca but wanted to know what other guys my age in a similar position are doing? Btw- I also run GH when I have the money.

Use the least amount of hormones that keep you happy. Also use the hormones that don’t cause significant side effects. It not worth suffering through side effects at your age just to have a little more muscle.

 

[aHarness]

Forgive me if I have missed it, but where has that been conclusively proven?

I hear endless theories but there is no scientific literature to back it up, meaning it's only speculation.

If anything science tells up that receptors upregulate in the presence of excess androgens, particularly in skeletal muscle.

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/89/10/5245/2844716?redirectedFrom=fulltext

I think (only my opinion of course) that people confuse the normalization of higher doses and higher amounts of muscle over time with lessened response. The bigger you get the more you need, perhaps making it seem to proportionally lose effectiveness.

I'm happy to be proven wrong.

I’m saying I agree with you. Because of the literature you’ve shared. I was siding with you, just saying it’s funny how people still refute it.

 

[hawkmoon]

I’m saying I agree with you. Because of the literature you’ve shared. I was siding with you, just saying it’s funny how people still refute it.

Ok got it - apologize for the misunderstanding. I should not read posts from my phone - especially at night

 

[shaneNJ]

I'm 55 in a few days and I think it's critical to listen to our bodies objectively, which can be very hard. It will let us know if we pay attention. I do try to listen more carefully these days

What were the highest dosages you ran in your life? What age? I would say in my 30s I would run something like 1g test, 75mg tren per day, 800mg primo. 6iu gh and then on top of that 100mg test suspension pre workout.

 

[hawkmoon]

What were the highest dosages you ran in your life? What age? I would say in my 30s I would run something like 1g test, 75mg tren per day, 800mg primo. 6iu gh and then on top of that 100mg test suspension pre workout.

This is my highest ever off-season at 1.2G consistently.

When I did the Japan Pro qualifier in 2018 and Olympia Amateur in 2019 I was highest in pre contest, probably close to 2G including orals. I did less in the 19 prep as I felt I over did it the previous year.

 

[akajavman]

Just micro dose keep up the protein etc, but you also have to keep in mind if genetics aren't there then you aren't going to bigger as you get older! At 62 I keep my levels right at 900 and feel good.

 

[Dawgpound_Hank]

I'm 61 and for the past several years I just run a small cycle in the summer of usually 500mg test ew, and if I can find some solid var I'll throw that in around 40mg ed. The rest of the year, like now, I run a trt dose of test c/e 150-175mg ew. Occasionally I'll throw in some deca here and there around 100mg ew to help if joints are bothering me. Of course anytime I can find some good GH I'll throw it in there any time of the year at 2-3iu on training days. However I haven't had any GH in a good while now - only when my dude has available. Using this regimen keeps me around 260-265 pretty solid. I still train as heavy as possible & always the hardest worker in the room, however I know reality says I'm not gonna be making ginormous gains at my age without pushing the drugs, and that's not gonna happen being I have 2 children to raise.

 

[alfresco]

I'm 55 in a few days and I think it's critical to listen to our bodies objectively, which can be very hard. It will let us know if we pay attention. I do try to listen more carefully these days

I made my best gains at 55. Felt like crap but was my biggest, very lean too. Didn’t track a thing, didn’t change a thing except dosages, just trained and grew. Surprised even myself.

Matt. With your knowledge, experience, discipline and attention to detail I think you are going to do very very well.

 

[hawkmoon]

I made my best gains at 55. Felt like crap but was my biggest, very lean too. Didn’t track a thing, didn’t change a thing except dosages, just trained and grew. Surprised even myself.

Matt. With your knowledge, experience, discipline and attention to detail I think you are going to do very very well.

I think it's harder when we are older, but I hope we are wiser by then as well.
There are benefits to greater wisdom when working on our physiques, just like any other endeavour.

 

[bigzzz]

In my 30's and early 40's I always said when I hit 50 I would drop to 200 for longevity purposes. As I approached 50, my BP, bloodwork, scans, etc all still looked good so I figured I'd keep going.

I do know that "big and old" isn't a thing regardless if it's muscle or fat. You just don't see 250lb 80 year olds very often. If you do, they are moving slow.

As far as gear, I do keep my "cruise/bridge" dosages higher than when I was younger. GH also really doesn't drop below 5iu. Training has changed and my 150 Ivanko DB's just collect dust. At 51, just trying to be as gentle on the joints as possible while still making progress. Lots of volume, short rest periods, drop sets, giant sets, super sets, pre exhaust, etc.

Wouldn't less volume be better for you with age? Get the most out of the least?

 

[luki7788]

Wouldn't less volume be better for you with age? Get the most out of the least?

definitely not - less volume must mean much greater intensity which at that age is not only dangerous but often impossible to do due to wear and tear of the body and smallest or biger injuries

 

[bigzzz]

definitely not - less volume must mean much greater intensity which at that age is not only dangerous but often impossible to do due to wear and tear of the body and smallest or biger injuries

I see. My thought process was look at @b-boy for example. His intensity is still high, and volume relatively low(6-12 sets per muscle per week). But he has changed his pace of the excercises a lot. So very slow negative fase etc to save his joints.

 

[b-boy]

I see. My thought process was look at @b-boy for example. His intensity is still high, and volume relatively low(6-12 sets per muscle per week). But he has changed his pace of the excercises a lot. So very slow negative fase etc to save his joints.

What has changed the most for me is rep range, I do much higher reps/ lighter weights due to very bad shoulders now, I can barely even train somedays but I grit through it, leg day is the only day I can really push things in the gym. It's just about MAINTAINING as much muscle as possible for me not growing.

 

[buck]

Wouldn't less volume be better for you with age? Get the most out of the least?

From all the studies i have seen as one gets older, and i don't mean 40's as that ain't old, training a muscle more often seems to produce better results. So less volume may be done per workout so recovery can happen which is the limiting factor with age. But over time the volume would likley be the same over a given time frame.

 

[romo]

What has changed the most for me is rep range, I do much higher reps/ lighter weights due to very bad shoulders now, I can barely even train somedays but I grit through it, leg day is the only day I can really push things in the gym. It's just about MAINTAINING as much muscle as possible for me not growing.

Same here. Legs have become my favorite now, good knees and pretty good lower back so no problem. But upper body not as much fun anymore, 2 bad shoulders also, especially my left one.

 

[Reno911]

I see. My thought process was look at @b-boy for example. His intensity is still high, and volume relatively low(6-12 sets per muscle per week). But he has changed his pace of the excercises a lot. So very slow negative fase etc to save his joints.

You also need to consider the genetics of the person. I am 6-1 and naturally ectomorphic with longer limbs. More of a "torso" build with wide clavicles vs. a "limb" build with thicker joints.

I have friends in their 50's that still walk in and lay down on the bench and do 135 for 5, 225 for 5, 315 for 5, 365 for 5. I hurt just thinking about that. Shit it takes me 20 minutes to get warmed up and 4-5 feeder sets to get to the first set I count as a work set.

As you age, your joints aren't as forgiving and you need to find what work for you to keep the joints intact.

 

[luki7788]

You also need to consider the genetics of the person. I am 6-1 and naturally ectomorphic with longer limbs. More of a "torso" build with wide clavicles vs. a "limb" build with thicker joints.

I have friends in their 50's that still walk in and lay down on the bench and do 135 for 5, 225 for 5, 315 for 5, 365 for 5. I hurt just thinking about that. Shit it takes me 20 minutes to get warmed up and 4-5 feeder sets to get to the first set I count as a work set.

As you age, your joints aren't as forgiving and you need to find what work for you to keep the joints intact.

I am 36 years old but when I read this post I realize that my body is probably 50+