Time for an old dude to step it up

[Old Duffer]

My history can be found in the TRT section, but here's the Readers Digest version.
Was fat, weak and old. Found TRT. Found Steroidology. Read, read, read. Adjusted TRT. Lost over 30#s in prep. Tracking macros. 10yrs of less than fruitful weightlifting. Lots of BW. I'm now ready to pop da cherry.

6'2", 210#s, age mid-50s
Lifting 3+ per week, 5x5 with some HIT
250mg Te 2/wk, 200mg Eq 2/wk, 0.5mg Anast eod
Started 5/2. Plan 14 weeks

Week 1 macro ave: 30% protein 29% fat 41% carb 2500 cals

I'm easing into the cals but it's tough to not go overboard after all those months at 1770cals/day (or less). My body really wants to eat!

Last week's measures:
Calf 16"
Thigh 23.75
Hip 38.5
Belly 39.75
Bicep relaxed 13.25
Bicep cold flex 15.0
Chest 40.5

Gym access is make due/limited. Yeah, I know. But it's on site and free and I make it work.
Multistation cable, lots of dumbbells, no barbells, no cage, adjustable benches, dip/pull up station. it's enough for me.... for now
Maybe best accessory: excellent, motivated gym partner. She can't 'spot' me but I get alot of motivation from her!

Some baseline weights to measure progress from: all of these are last set of 5 progressing sets (5x5 right?) ;-)
Low angled bench = pair of 80#s x5 but cannot get them up by myself...yet
Rope cable tri's 90# X2
Laying skulls a single 80# X2
Cable squats 180# x7
DB shrugs pair of 85s x5
Cable rows 190 x7
Cable pull down 195 x5
Bent (knee on bench) one hand row 100 x6
DB curls - still fine tuning these. I tend to max freestanding with a pair of 30s x5, then I'll do each side sitting at 35 & some 40s. Today I did makeshift preachers, pair of 35s x6

No where to go but up!
I'll try to get a pic up just so you know what I'm working with

Thanx for reading along

 

[Old Duffer]

Early update for end of week 2 cuz of being done with week 2 gyms. Did all 5 days this week! Unusual.
Sunday back n bi
Monday legs n core
Tues chest n tri
Wed doubled down on back n bi
Thursday aerobics, core n some dip & pull-up challenge sets

Up 4# in the 2 weeks since start. Roidcalc says tortoise should be almost 2/3 of the way to peak levels this weekend and already over 5 times trt levels. Only noted sides thus far = a little winded today and 'brain fog' somewhat increased. Tortoise can donate in 2 weeks again.

Ave weeks cals = 2430, pro30%, fat28%, carbs42%

Interesting note/screw-up. Since the spotter is getting scared of the max db weights, moved bench to under cable machine as a test. Couldn't figure why it seemed SO DAMN HEAVY! Read the wrong exercise on the 5x5 chart! So where the last two should have been 150# & 170#, did 5 clean at 170, 5 short stroked at 195, then 5 shorted at 170, 5 at 150 and 5 at 120 (randomly pyramid an exercise or 2 every day)

So moral of story.... pay attention! (Tho I was pretty dang happy to find out I could get 195 up at all)

Summary:
2 weeks ago dB angled press 140x5 unassisted & 160 x 6 with help getting them up
1 week ago. 150x7 unassisted but no spotted so no 170s
Yesterday angled cable press. 170x5, & 195 x5 cheaters

Others of note:
Last set of dB curls now at makeshift preacher last week 30x8, this week 35x8
Cable wide pull down (now that I make shifted to strap my azz to the bench) from 195x4 to 200x5 to this week 205x5
Our dbs only go to 100#, so bent no longer 5x5 increase. Now just straight to max 100 for multiple sets. 2 weeks ago 100x4, last week 100x6,x5. And this week 100x7, x6, x5!

Cable squats from 185x7 to 190 x7 to this week 195x7

Cable machine only goes to 200#s. Ima break that damn thing!!!

Sorry for the length of thread. Over n out. Pic edited btw. Will post soon. Don't beat me up too much. Lol

 

[Old Duffer]

View attachment 564415View attachment 564416

 

[Old Duffer]

End of week 3. Roughly.
Difficult work week but got 3 full sessions plus a short 4th.
Jumped up weight to 217#
Tortoise is showing all the side effects except one. Not noting labito increase. Yet.
Mrs. Tortoise is happy about that. So is gym partner btw.
Ave weekly cals 2659
Protein 29%
Fat 34%
Carbs 37%

Still way early for anything of real note but I'm happy. Tortoise is happy. All is well

Well, here's a note. Last time I did pull ups, they were assisted a lot. Like 90#s assist. 3x8 sets
Just for fun (I didn't put them on my 5x5 cuz I couldn't do many/any at body weight) I tried a few. It was the strangest feeling. Not like I was a bunch stronger but more like I was a bunch lighter! Cranked out 12 smooth and easy! Only stopped cuz I got swinging too much. Hmmm, I say. Nice.

Old guy out

 

[Old Duffer]

Serious liftus interruptus till yesterday.
Work, Band played Local charity Cancer fundraiser, Then Family Funeral.
Feeling extra intensity to catch up.

Personal definition of H.I.T. last night. Chest n tris plus crunches session. Full 5 minutes afterwards of keeping my dinner from coming up! Followed by Ibuprofens and a left elbow slathered with Bengay. Grrrrr.

End of week 4. 217#s

Need to find some restraint. Tortoise turbo not even kicked in yet. Bad bad time for him to get hurt and waste it all!

 

[Old Duffer]

1 month down.
Getting in my sets, even with an extra rough travel/work schedule. I hesitated to post weight from Wednesday gym cuz I didn't believe it. I knew it was a bad travel week with crappy food, but..... 224# !!! Gotta be extra water. That's 7 pounds in a week! So yesterday gym weight.... 225#!!! :-o

Then I looked at my macros for the week. 51 carbs, 34 fat, 18 protein. Yup. Gotta correct that! I thought calories would be way off but week average was 2750. Week before was 2876.

But on the positives, measurements!
Ok, so up 15# in a month, but

Calf - same
Thigh - up 3/4"
Hip - up an inch
Belly - up 1 3/4 (there's some weight!)
Bicep relax - same
Bicep flex - up 1/2"
Chest - 2 1/4" !!!!

I'm noting tortoise gets winded a little easier. Donation soon. Bloodwork in a few more weeks.

Tadalafil experiment was not worth it. Seems to have kicked acne up a couple notches. Kinda strange. Topic for another day

EDIT: ok, someone is futzin with me at the gym! Same scale, same clothes, always preworkout, and now it shows a much more reasonable 219 pounds! Geez, I must have given birth last night in my sleep :-o

THAT I can deal with. 9 pound gain in one month.
Ps: I hate leg day! Oh the burn, da burn! Lol

 

[Old Duffer]

Bloodwork scheduled for next week

Bacne about the same. Gotta make a stop for supplies

Weight was going crazy there, but seems to settled at 218-ish. Those 5, 6, 7 pound swings kinda freaked me out! Otherwise, all is well.

Giving it all this old guy has!

View attachment 564604

 

[Old Duffer]

Coming up on half way point

Update:
Halflife calc shows levels should be close to peak in blood now. BW taken Monday, still waiting results
Weight 220
Ave week cals = 2890
Carbs 46%
Fat 27%
Protein 27%

Wife says I'm a furnace. Mostly feel normal temp-wise with some night sweating

Of gym note: not sure if it's 'pump pain' or lactic or what, but my biceps are tight and burning/aching by the time I leave the gym.... even on leg day! And it won't let up for a couple hours. This has always been one of my gripes as an old guy lifting with my genetics. I've seldom has THE STRENGTH to leave the gym with sore muscles! Oh, I'd leave a sweaty, exhausted hulk and OH, do they ache a day later... but it was like I didn't have the strength to really strain the muscles and guess what.... they wouldn't grow! Not currently a problem. Oh da pain! Da pain!! (And no that's not a reference to Fantasy Island although I do have a couple tattoos ) lol

Bicep measures have only gone up 1/2" flexed. strength slowly inching upward

Exa: looking back at my logs, in mid April I was able to db row 95 x 5 and max 100 x 6 (last 2 sets of my 5x5)
Yesterday (cuz our dbs only go up to 100) my chart required 100x5, 100x5, 100x5 and I was able to do 100x10 (catch my breath) and then another 100x5 each side

Side note: (interestingly left side stronger rowing, right stronger curling)

Donation scheduled for next week.

 

[Gainjin260]

Keep up the good work old man!

Assuming you never considered cycling until you had to go on TRT? That's the boat I'm in.

 

[Old Duffer]

That's correct. Started researching TRT here and one thing led to another:;-)

 

[w8t lifter]

Keep posting updates.

 

[Old Duffer]

http://www.steroidology.com/forum/a...71-bloodwork-fun-random-dude.html#post3742365

Link to random tortoise bloodwork

Also this:

 

[Old Duffer]

Weekend update

Weight held at 222 all week until today hit 224.
Average calories this week 2801/day
Carbs 48, fat 27, protein 25 - yeah, I know. Ran out of fridge stock of meat. I gotta get cooking again!

Really good couple weeks. Gym 5 visits per week last 2 weeks. I was thinking not enough time between muscle groups as I was falling behind my 5x5 progressions on some exercises. ....and then... something I'd only read about happened on last biceps day. Biceps are a weak point for me.

One of the exercises I was falling behind was my standing db curls. I had to back the 5x5 down 10 lbs AND do my last 2 sets by preacher or cable. On the 20th I was doing 70x4 dbs and then 90x5 preacher. But on the 23rd, all db sets just seemed easy. Like someone turned down gravity. And I was able to do all 5 sets, including 80x5, standing dbs. Easily. So I added another db set at 90# for 4 more reps! All standing dbs. That's a huge jump for me.

Followed by some regret after I left the gym :-o. With a little breather, I could have done more! Damn psychology!

Today was chest&tris. My arms ARE KILLING ME!
I've mentioned earlier I had to move from db bench presses to the cable machine cuz the weights were scaring my gym partner (snicker) ;-)
Beginning June was 105x6, 120x6, 140x6, 160x6, 175x5, 175x5, 160x4, 140x4
Today 120x8, 140x8, 160x8, 180x5, a sloppy 195x3, 180x3, 160x2. This 5x5 is getting ahead of me but I'm Givin er all I got!

Couple of notes. Pip is getting worse but only on the left side. So weird. Same gear. Oh well.
Also body temp is generally toastier. Night sweats.no biggie. But getting good case of heat rash between my pecs. :-( ichy! Break out the cortisone cream!

Now, this is still 6 more weeks out yet (14 week cycle) but my wheels are turning already. If all is going well at 14 weeks, do I tack on any more before sliding back to my TRT? Probably best to just shut er down I'd guess.
And I'm reading all I can about how to keep as much gain as I can while dropping some more body fat. Ive definitely put some on this 1st half.

What's the best plan for that next 14 weeks?

 

[Milton]

Looking great thanks for the update!

 

[Old Duffer]

And here's how you create 230#s for cable squats. Making due with what's available, redneck style

 

[Old Duffer]

Very quick update just cuz I'm pleased it happened again. I guess this stuff is starting to really do it to it!

Cable pulldowns: 2 weeks ago had to start chaining myself down to the bench. 130x8, 150x8, 170x8, 195x5, 215x4 maxed. Done.
Today not only did I chain myself down but had partner sit on the bench. 140x8, 160x8, 185x8, 210x8, 230x8.... and not to make that mistake again and leave anything on the table... catch my breath and another 230x8!!!

I've not considered bw pull ups before just cuz between my body weight and lack of strength I could only do a few. Looks like I'm gonna have to reconsider this as I can only stack so much extra weight on the cable machine before someone chews my azz out for safety hazards!

BW 224#s today. Enjoying a big bowl of Cajun soup now, with veggies, bear burger and smoked chicken breast. Good stuff!

Thanx for tuning in.

Ps. 3 more weeks and my workout partner can do another Var cycle. I'm excited for her. She is really working hard!

 

[Old Duffer]

Very short - another 1st. After heaviest set of bench presses, sat up and felt that familiar dribble. Just never happened from a workout before. Nosebleed. Minor. Sealed right up. Blood pressure check time!

223#, very good gym day, an hour later arms are still killing me!

Also last night 1st symptom of can't sleep. Brain would not shut down!

Good times!

 

[Old Duffer]

Happy post 4th of July holiday hangover! Fireworks are done. Time to blow up some other stuff ;-)

My last gym day before vacation was the 30th. IT sucked. What else can I say. Too much travel plans on the brain to focus.
I didn't completely laziness the holidays tho. Spent one morning swinging a chainsaw. Did a lot of hilly off road walking. Cals for the week we're 3230, bumped up by the 3500/day holiday weekend pigouts. Macros: pro24%, fat31%, carb45%

1st day back in gym last nite was good tho still making gains!
Cable Bench: 125x8, 145x8, 165x8, 185x5, 210x3, 185x5
Cable tri: 60x8, 70x8, 80x8, 90x8, 100x7, 100x5, 90x7, 80x8

DB skull crushers I have to recalculate for my 5x5. It's just getting too out of control!
55x8, 65x5, 75x5, 85x4.... then supposed to do 95# but that's not happening, at least not yet.

Lastly, been doing something I saw online but don't remember what it is called. It's 1 armed, cable, really clamps my pecs but hard on the elbows. I'll have to look it up again. It's a cable crossover


Anyway, hope everyone kept all their fingers n toes, and kept the liver damage to a minimum!

 

[Old Duffer]

Kinda banged thru my workout tonite. Bicep pump n ache nonetheless!

dB bent over rows for example: 85x5, 100x5, 100x5, 100x5, 100x8
Standing DB curls: 25x5, 30x5, 35x5, 40x5, 45x3

2 more sessions and I've maxed out cable pull downs. Stacking as many extra lil dbs on the plates as they will hold!

Weight 223
Average cals last week (including Holiday cheats) = 3460
P25%
C45%
F30%

And this dufus

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[Old Duffer]

A little behind on updates. Family reunion vacation 2 weeks ago tho I did try to get some redneck workouts in. Push ups in the shade and standing curls of 2 6 gallon plastic buckets full of water.... set after set after set... ;-)

So vacation week numbers kinda suck:
222#, 3140cals/day, 50carb,32fat,18pro.

This last week:
223#, 2950cals, 42,32,26

2 more weeks to go. May tack on just a bit more to run out my supplies. We'll see. Donation tomorrow. BW the last week before I shut down. I want to get another set of numbers as I turned down the Anastrazole mid cycle.

Still random sweats. Still some acne 'popping' up. Pun intended.

Today hit 225#. I got some leaning out to do next go. Strength gains still happening.

Exa: today legs: cable squats 150x8, 175x8, 205x5, 230x5, 255x5 (amusing pic coming)
Last bent db rows: 90x5, 100x5,5,5,10
Cable lat pulldowns are over max so 150x5, 175x5, 200x5, then chin ups x9, x12, x8

And reminder, I'm doing slight angled bench press under the cables: 130x8, 150x8, 170x6, 195x5, and I was able to 'short stroke' 215x4. It wasn't that many weeks ago I couldn't get 195 off the stops!

Old guy, limited equipment, making do and getting er done as best I can!

Btw: the better I look, the more freaked out my wife gets lol!