From TRT to Anabolic Testosterone Cycle

[beastmode45]

Hi All.

It's been a while since I posted. Had to deal with alot of tragedy in my life over the last 3.5 years. However, I'm finally back to training consistently again. Here are my questions:

My stats: 50 year old male, 190lbs @ 15% BF. Healthy and no issues (other than a little tendonitis in a wrist joint). Bloodwork is great.

My testosterone levels pre-TRT were ~500's, but I felt like shit. So I decided to try TRT. I started TRT (135mg per week, 1x/week on Sundays) via IM (rear buttock/glute) on January 1, 2023 (3 mo ago). It has been life changing. Finally feeling great, more energy, focused, sex drive and erections are awesome (like I'm 25 again), and lifting consistently 4-5x/week. Definitely seeing solid gains, but nothing crazy as I wanted to go slow with the weights to ease back into things. I was off/on last year, but worked out decently but no gains...so I'm NOT a newbie, but given that I had alot of off/on last year, I didn't want to just jump in and get hurt or anything. Testosterone levels are in the 1000-1400 ranges (but due for bloodwork in 2 weeks).

With that said, I'm considering 2 options for my first real anabolic cycle with testosterone (already have all my gear), and would love your opinion:

Option 1:

Go straight into a cycle (from my TRT regimen) using testosterone cypionate (250mg/mL from Dragon Pharma via Napsgear) for 12 weeks in pyramid fashion (135mg/250mg/250mg/250mg/375mg/375mg/375mg/375mg/250mg/250mg/250mg/135mg). Bloods every 4 weeks.

Then do a PCT 2 weeks after last injection as follows:

• Start 2 weeks after your last injection
• Week 1-2: Nolvadex 40mg per day (2 pills)
• Week 3-4: Nolvadex 20 mg per day (1 pill)
• Check bloodwork to determine if I'm naturally producing again or not.

Option 2:

Do a PCT now (same as above), get myself producing naturally again, then go into the cycle above for 12 weeks + additional 4 week PCT at the end of the cycle.

Questions:
1. Which option is better from your experience given my goals to gain more size and lean up a bit more while not being overly aggressive. I want the best and safest gains given this is my first cycle.
2. Is the cycle I'm considering for my very first cycle a good one? Or are there any suggested modifications?
3. Is the PCT good or any mods?
4. I'm considering switching to SubQ injections instead of IM given lots of recent studies about the effectiveness and ease of pinning. Thoughts?
4. Any other feedback or questions?

Thanks
Beastmode45

 

[DylanGemelli]

you are not going to just recover now after being on trt, especially at your age... its not trt being on a few months which you have if you want to cycle off now.. none of this really makes sense based on your terminology.. its trt if you stay on... you dont "try" trt so to speak.. you do it or you dont.. right now, at this point, its NOT trt unless you stay on.. understand that at 50 years old, already having lower test levels, your chances of recovery are very low and you are likely to end up feeling worse off than when you started... so i think before anything else you need a far better understanding of the situation right now..

as far as the pct itself, im not being condescending, but its a flat out joke.. its not even remotely close to a full pct and certainly would be laughable at your age... however i dont know if thats even the route you want to take but there is a clear misinterpretation of how any of this works on your end...

 

[beastmode45]

Hi Dylan. Great to see you still so active on this thread.

The PCT I listed was almost the same as your 40/20/20/20 protocol, other than week 2 being at 40 instead of 20. What am I missing?

As for my cycle, I didn't say I wanted to get off of my maintenance TRT (135mg/week)...I'm looking to do a cycle in the middle of it. Are you just stating that I don't need to do the PCT and I should just return to my TRT dose after my 12 week cycle?

As for the 12-week cycle, do you have another suggestion? I've seen so many variations from 250-500mg/week split into 2 pins/week...some say do same amount for each of the 12 weeks (i.e. 250mg/week for 12 weeks, or 500mg/week for 12 weeks, etc) or the pyramid cycle I mentioned above. Thoughts?

 

[DylanGemelli]

hey bro, running novladex on its own is a joke of a pct and never once have i ever recommended that small of a pct for steroid use... only with sarms so im beyond clueless where you arer getting that from man... certainly not from...

clearly huge confusion on your end.. if you are on trt and want to blast, thats fine but you dont do pct after, you return to trt..

that pyramid plan you have is nonsensical and i would never recommend that kind of dosing pattern.. weve covered that many times over the years...

how much you run is thoroughly up to you.. here you go...

 

[beastmode45]

Hey D. Just realized I typo'd. I meant CLOMID for my PCT not Nolva. But to your point, if I decide to stay on TRT, then I would skip PCT regardless.

As for the cycle, I will review your videos and let you know of further questions.

Thx!!

 

[Fella Finn]

Whether it is clomid or nolvadex, it still is very incomplete on the PCT portion however that is more for learning purposes considering you would not need it with TRT. I tend to keep my testosterone doses at 300 mg per week, which is where I have found my best results with very minimal side effects.

 

[beastmode45]

Perfect! Thanks for the response!

 

[stevesmi]

i always recommend a strong test booster at minimum with serm therapy

 

[JasonPriest]

domestic supply has proper ancillaries for pct

 

[RickRock]

At your age trt option is more likely. Recovery will be difficult

 

[Mobsterthemod]

Not to sound unkind but it's about how you handled the tragedy or its effect on you. We had my brothers Cremation service 2 days ago. I trained legs the day before

 

[25homes]

if your on TRT just go into cycle. I wouldnt pyramid myself and I would just run 300-350mg weekly for 12 weeks and then right back to TRT run aromasin and N2Guard.

 

[ballin2504]

if your on TRT just go into cycle. I wouldnt pyramid myself and I would just run 300-350mg weekly for 12 weeks and then right back to TRT run aromasin and N2Guard.

This is what I would go with also

 

[MasonicBodybuilder]

You don't ever need to pyramid up and down like that man. Esters do that naturally on their own. All you will do is send your hormones on a roller coaster and lead to more side effects. Pick a dose and stick with it throughout the blast/cycle.

 

[Tazz]

Dylan’s videos should help a ton here