The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

behind the mask..

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on that.

The research I’m reading is indicating the same thing. Unless you are at a massive deficit and malnurished or losing 100lbs over the course of a year losing LBM, really isn’t something to be worried about.

Everyone acts like when you cut you upset the gods and they zap away muscle mass as punishment.

 

i get johnny tran A LOT.

 

Lookin' buff tho!!

 

Ya, that's not the way it works. Now you could do stupid shit like eat in a large deficit, no strength training and loads of cardio and you would likely lose some LBM if you were coming from a "trained" state. The main reason people think they lose muscle is because their fatceps shrink and they thought there was no fat on them. We have intramuscular fat too (just like a well marbled steak) so when you get lean your muscle size does decrease to some extent because that fat shrinks too, but it is not a loss of LBM by definition. Basically the fatter you are the more aggressive you can be with deficit, but if you use 1% BW loss rate that seems to kind of work itself out to an extent. For me personally, once I'm pretty lean I can't run a steep deficit because my small 400-500 cal deficit has me ready to choke people due to hunger. I also notice some metabolic slowdown when lean, my heart rate drops to like 50bpm, and subconsciously I move less (less Non-Exercise Associated Thermogenesis (NEAT) and I've noticed that from less steps on fitbit, I just tend to not move around as much even though my training is the same.

 

Ignoring the dumb ones and reading the real convos and learning.

 

Who all has had their test levels measured? Since we got on natty or not lol. I had mine tested 4 years ago and it was 192. The doctor immediately prescribed me test cyp.

Don’t get caught up in the natty, not natty head game because it’s about male health not drug abuse. Of course you see all the big named pros all jacked up but you don’t see your dentist or baker or mechanic. Low testosterone will really screw with your manhood and cause havoc in everyday life. Just tossing it out there because the stigma is real.

 

Love the fatceps reference lol


Its funny you talk about your fitbit steps and subconscious activity. I was just listening to an Alex Viada interview where he discusses tendencies like that in people he trains. He emphasizes not overtraining and recovery and how after hard training typically your activity decreases to compensate.

Mine are tested but only because its bundled in the lab tests my doc orders. I don’t pay attention to the number.

 

It doesn't come into play usually until you are older and your doctor is probably monitoring it. It's bundled because it's important and hopefully you have a solid primary care physician.

 

I get all bloodwork done every 6 months. Mine was close to that 4 years ago (AT AGE FUCKIN 24) and has gone up very very slightly over 4 years of heavy lifting. I plan to do a cycle of test starting next month, I am sick of feeling slow and tired and like I am not getting out what I put in anymore.

Don't get me wrong, my lifts have increased over that 4 years, but now its like I am working against myself since my test is low. I'm excited to see how I react to a cycle.

 

I do. Its bundled because I pay cash for my labs (cheaper than insurance believe it or not). I prefer not to have it tested.


I do not get behind the TRT crowd. I was wrongly prescribed shit in the past and I’m not going there again.

 

Yea man it's sad but we slowly become women over time. Lose our energy, feeling of wellness and lots of other things over time. Are you going to use a doctor or self prescribe? Doctor will get you a shot every 10 days usually self administered and keep you around 800. If you self being your first run just go with 200-250mg long ester test Monday and Thursday for 12 weeks. You will grow like a weed and feel great just don't let it go to your head and injure yourself, lol.

 

To each their own it's great to stay away from it until you need it for sure. I hate seeing these kids in the gym that have no business doing it destroying their central nervous systems. So you don't get behind the TRT crowd? Does that mean you frown upon them or judge them to be less than you?

 

My endo wont give me test. He is an older/old-school guy and says my test seems ok for my body... I think he just doesn't have a lot of experience with it.

I am doing it myself. I've done other stuff in the past but this is the first injectable cycle. Just like you said, it'll be 400mg per week, 200mg on Sun/Wed, paired with HCG. I want to see how I react before I go to a men's clinic and get it prescribed. I am already pretty large and strong so I'm hoping I get some nice gains.

 

Yea lots of times since its emerging you have to move around between doctors before you get one that's in the know. You will probably put on 25 pounds and some of course will be water. Keep the diet clean and you are going to really feel amazing and see a solid transformation.

 

Well 330lbs is my goal so that would put me around that. My diet is and has been clean for a while now so I've managed to stay fairly lean even at 295-300lbs. I was on a recomp to keep fat off but I'll likely just go to a straight bulk diet while on cycle.

All I care about is the strength and breaking these plateaus lol if I only gain 5-10lbs but my lifts go up I'm happy.

 

Maybe down the hallway. But then you get closer to them and they start to question it.

you’re in the wrong thread, buckaroo.

Probably dead from his fast. Or trying to figure out how he can gain weight by doing IF. (Hint: he’s still eating over his caloric maintenance)

you all look alike.

the only real way to get big is to be like your hero and fuck some fruit.

 

Too tall



...better

 

No I just genuinely do not think that it is appropriate to diagnose individuals with low T just by using a serum blood test alone. The range or normal testosterone levels are vast and one blood number does not tell the whole story.
I’m frustrated with the lack of research and knowledge about hormone levels in general. But I think throwing pharmaceuticals at a poorly understood condition is irresponsible. There are risks and consequences to drug treatments. Its not as harmless as prescribing water.

I’m perfectly OK with TRT in individuals who have a diagnosed pituitary or hypogonadism disorder. I just don’t get behind the hyped up “low T” movement where every guy lines up around the block to get it. I think the potentiality for there being a different root cause for the symptoms is likely. Again the T level isn’t the whole story.

Your decisions are between and your doctor. I do not judge that. I just don’t like the encouragement for others to go get diagnosed for a condition they may not have. You cannot diagnose it off a single blood test result and thats what a lot of docs do.

Docs prescribed it to me. No indication they needed to do it. I have a thyroid condition thats treated the same way, oh your numbers are off lets inundate you with hormones see if that helps. Luckily I found a great doc that pulled me off everything and helped me reset my life. That was a shitty year.

Again, you and your health is between you and your doctor. Not judging that. Do whats best for you.


I worked on the TRT mass litigation as well. There was a lot going on behind the scenes to essentially promote the image of a condition that really doesn’t exist and it hurt a lot of people. Again pituitary disorders and hypogonadism exist, but these are conditions verifiable by multiple tests, whereas a lot of times the full array of tests are not done so people are unnecessarily getting drugs.
I hope that makes my point clear and understandable. Being a judgmental dick is not where I’m going with this.