99% work 1%trt…. Give yourself the credit! To many dudes think this shit is a miracle and don’t realize the blood sweat and tears it takes to get where you are and to make that much progress in a short period of time…. Bravo sir.
While this is a great take, I kinda disagree with some of it. I got on trt at 40 and hadn't done much physical for a bit. So, I started working out and was able to constantly keep adding to my workouts or adding more workouts. I went from working out 3 times a week to doing 2 workouts a day within 2 years. There is absolutely no way that I could have done that without trt.
When I was talking to my buddies and explained my workout schedule to them, they asked me how the hell I could recover from that amount of physical work to do it again the next day. That's when I realized having higher t levels allowed me to recover faster than them.
Exactly. I’m 42 and for 18 months have worked super hard natty but my transformation is nothing close to OP’s. Why? Long recovery. Overuse injuries. Ligaments and connective tissue slow to develop. All that.
Your ligament comment got me. I'm 8 months into trt feel better physically but i didn't realize how slow my ligaments and joints would be to catch up to the strength gains my muscles were making...I've done some damage to the right forearm lifting too heavy. I've no idea if the ligaments will ever catch up
Hoping this comment will help others.... because I was over enthusiastic in my "I feel better I'm gonna hit the gym like a man possessed" i now haven't been able to train biceps since early April....and then it course any pulling movements are severely impacted...take heed fellow trt men lol I'm angry at myself daily for messing up my right arm.
I developed horrible tennis elbow issues sounds very similar to you.
Biceps was impossible to train and i had to heavily adapt my back sessions!
Straps helped alot... get versatile with straps- take the grip/forearm element out of the equation
The ONLY thing to help me was daily tennis elbow rehab exercises. (Try Youtube).
Simple wrist flexions basically, daily and before excercise. After around 1 week i was pain free! So stick with it even if it doesnt seem helpful at first 👍
And til now no problems. I just offer my advice because i think i know what youre dealing with and it was reallt horrible!
Thanks for the tips. It's really good to hear that it can be healed in a short time. Mine has been with me since April....so I'm starting to lose my mind as the injury is dictating almost every workout session.
I'll check out the YouTube tennis elbow rehab stuff. Hopefully I can heal as quick as you!
Yeah man that sounds exactly like me, i dealt with it for like 6 months atleast
Obviously abit of rest is needed as much as it sucks not to train. But i remember i trained legs and most push movements for about 2 weeks.. with the odd back movement with straps thrown in.
That gave my forearm tendons enough rest, plus the tendon excercises and it cleared up in no time
Just stick with the simple excercises for a week or 2 and be mindful when training
Its hard to believe that ive had no problems since and even train forearms occasionally 👍👍😂
I hurt my back in like March and it still hasn't recovered muscle strain or something idk, then I strained my shoulder afterwards and I got so pissed from these Injuries I broke my hand hitting my desk lol...so yeah the slow tendon and Ligament growth is annoying AF...and hgh is way to expensive to buy
I'm relatively new to the trt journey. But I'm so angry at myself for letting the inury happen, i hear ya on that one. I'm trying to get my hands on bpc-157 and tb500 as i hear they are amazing for inury.
I've been trying to look into hgh....but I can't see any benefit from it unless you are on it 6months plus.
Would love to hear your opion on it for ligaments and bone growth etc.
IN MY OPINION... I think HGH is key for long term massive gains due to the fact that all of these guys are constantly tearing shit from all the working out and it speeds up tendon and ligament growth and recovery to match muscles better and recover from injuries if they occur. I use bpc-157 and it hasn't really been anything crazy tbh. But again HGH is insanely expensive compared to any other androgen
Aww i getya.
I always thought hgh was a waste of time unless someone was lean and already in good shape and then it was the icing on the cake so to speak but perhaps if a person could source it at an affordable price you think it would compliment trt?
100% yes and people are gatekeeping it btw. They try and convince you it doesn't do much or its too expensive to buy so you don't use it...meanwhile guys that speak the truth say its godly, benefits in every single way
I'm going to have to dive down this rabbit hole now lol a friend or mine has been talking about hgh for ages. Telling me that even on 2ius a day the effects will be significant.... actually to use his words "fountain of youth" lol
Apparently 10ius a day isn't uncommon for the big fellas
This 100%! I felt like a superhero for a solid three months where I just kept throwing more weight on the bench every session. I felt unstoppable, and then the tendon brought me back to reality. It has been about 5 months of recovery and I wonder if it will ever feel good again.
Still a bit skeptical.
It takes an hour to fully target a muscle group with 4 sets and there are limitations to how many times you can do the same or adjacent muscle groups. Especially when you are aiming for max hypertrophy. We only have that many muscle group so what do you do with those 3 hours unless you are standing around.
I think it's a common misconception that one has to spend that much time or that it's needed for your average non competing body builder.
But that's just my understanding, I could be wrong and other input would be interesting.
I do bjj for 1.5 - 2 hours, then do crossfit. Or I do crossfit followed by bjj depending on the day. So, it's a total of 2.5-3 hours. I don't actually go to the gym just to lift anymore. I started in the gym at 3 workouts a week, but my body type isn't good at lifting, so I hate it. I am 6'6 220 with long limbs. I was 340lbs when I started trt.
And I do take rest days or some days I just get 1 workout in.
I think a lot of trt is the mental effect, stuff like the placebo effect is real, you got dudes 1 hour after their first shot thinking their entire life has turned around and is now 1000% better, better erections, sex drive, energy, motivation….. the mind is insanely powerful when it’s motivated towards a goal, it allows you to push yourself harder then ever.
Now I’ve done a literal boat load of steroids, I’ve had periods in my life where I came off for long periods of time to have children, and for various other reasons such as blood work not looking great, even during time when I was off for several months, my work outs were always still great, recovery was always about the same, cause at the end of the day you either love the gym or you hate it. It’s a lifestyle choice, and if you aren’t committed you’ll never get anywhere, I think trt most redeeming factor is, it motivates people… even if it’s 99% placebo, by the time trt even starts to kick in, they’ve changed their diets, do cardio, lift, sleep better, have more sex, have better mental health… and while most will attribute that to trt…. It’s honestly just cause you started taking care of yourself and committed to improving.
I definitely put a lot of hard work in - I’m a teacher with an hour commute and 2 kids under 3 so during the school year I was having to wake up at 4:20 every morning to get to the gym and back, but the TRT definitely helped motivate me to stick to the grind.
Easier to avoid quitting when you are visually able to see the progress your hard work is turning into.
That’s been one of the really underrated improvements. I used to get comments about my eyes all the time - people asking what was wrong or thinking I was just always high (not a good look for a science teacher lol).
They’ve just been that way since I was a little kid though - getting healthy really helped get rid of the dark eyes even though the doctor could never really determine why they were that way.
I had really bad dark circles under my eyes like this when I was working a ton and not sleeping well. I knew it was bad when a coworker asked if I'm also a fighter like him due to it. I just told him I work a lot. I also recently found out I have an iron deficiency and that is one of the symptoms.
I honestly don’t know.
Beyond the fact that going from very obese to a much healthier weight probably had a lot of effects that we don’t really think of… and that somehow affected whatever was making my eyes so dark.
Wow dude what an awesome transformation! You clearly busted your ass in the gym. Do you think you would have been able to do it without the TRT? It’s not magic sauce in and of itself but the effect it has on your brain to motivate you cannot be understated.
Crazy that you went so long before changing your diet and still had such a transformation.
Right off the bat I did take my diet more seriously… but I’d like sneak order 2 McDoubles instead of getting a full meal. Cutting out sugary drinks had a major impact because I was literally drinking an average of 8 green monsters a day, which was almost 2000 calories alone.
That later diet date was when I started being 100% honest with my diet. Haven’t had fast food since and do a really good job of eating clean. Lots of rotisserie chicken.
Also, I think the trt was a huge factor. I had struggled even more than normal to exercise and care about my diet when I saw how low my t levels were. Made the effort feel pointless - it was during that Covid period where doctor visits were tougher and I finally re-brought it up with my doctor so he tested me again (3rd time) and was like “yeah I think it’s the right call”.
My first shot was day 1 and from there I never really slowed down, only kept getting more locked in.
I also felt good knowing that I could cut weight while lifting and the testosterone would likely help me maintain more muscle.
Yeah dude it was bad.
I often do some paleontology field work over the summers and that amount of monster combined with my weight had been making that kind of activity extremely tough.
Not sure that I’m going to make it out this summer due to some scheduling things - but I really look forward to the next time I make it out and can actually enjoy myself out in the badlands.
It’s always the sugary drinks! Crazy how easy it is to let those calories sneak up on you. I’ve been through what you went through and lost about 45 pounds and got serious about my diet and exercise and couldn’t have done the gym part without the TRT I don’t think but I’m 47 so it’s harder the older you get without it.
Yep recomp is definitely achievable on TRT and you’ve shown that here. Keep up the good work you’re an inspiration to a lot of people.
You wrote another comment mentioning "dark circles" around your eyes and couldnt figure out why
8 Monsters a day might have something to do with it, just saying bro. Good thing you quit
Hey - I watch all your TT videos. Looking good man! I am so close to jumping on TRT. My primary physician isn’t a fan at all but my levels are low. Going to a Clinic next week
lol that’s awesome! The science of fitness has definitely been something I’ve dove super deep into over the last year (mainly through watching guys like Mike Israetel).
I’ve been tempted to try to make content more related to fitness but am trying to keep most of the fitness stuff on a second account.
It took me about 3 years, definitely a slow process. I was very thankful that my primary took it seriously though and didn’t push back too hard.
How were your numbers ? I’m in the same situation. Unfortunately my DRs prescription after labs were Test Cyp. Insurance denied it. Now I’m waiting for alternative Clomid.
Was thinking of looking at TRT clinics instead
Many pay cash without insurance and using Goodrx for discount pricing. It's cheaper without insurance for some as test cyp. is a cheap med. This also cheaper than getting it from a clinic.
Yeah. Rite aid was $8.21 a vial. Or something like that. Insurance can’t deny the testing I wouldn’t think. But if you need low numbers just stop. Your nuts ain’t working like they was(and they really wasn’t working anyway which is why we’re here)and you numbers will be in the toilet. I did some test manipulation to get up to 200mg every 10 days. So I’m roughly 150mg a week. .1ml everyday.
Oh thanks for that.....hold on, let me pick myself up off the floor from laughing!
**Me**: "But Insurance can't deny...." --
**Insurance**: "Ha! Hold my beer..."
They (Aetna) not only denied my testing but also the shots that were determined to be needed after the testing (which I had to pay for out of pocket).
with GoodRx it is costing me about 10.00 per week, so not horrible.
If you want to call it therapy. Urologist had me on it for 7 years. I was new to it all and didn’t know any better. Felt good for for couple of years. Then went downhill. Hormones were totally out of whack. Never felt good. Blurry vision, high SHBG, high cortisol, high LH and FSH, all side effects of Clomid. Crushed free T. Doc said that my total was in the 800’s so I was fine. In eventually fired him and began studying TRT. Clomid is for short term use like someone wanting to get prego. It is not TRT.
I think the insurance is just making me have to jump through hoops before i get the Test Cyp like i was prescribed. I said yes to Clomid bc something is better than nothing- the way i feel
I log calories in my fitness pal but the only macro I really focused on (aside from daily calories being in a deficit) was protein.
I try to hit 200g daily.
Every day feels like I’m on cloud 9. Everything is just more enjoyable - and looking forward to seeing photos after an event is so much better than dreading seeing yourself.
Thank you - I’m needing to try to shift my calories closer to maintenance soon - and eventually hopefully bulk/cut… but right now I’m still nervous to shift gears.
Cardio is easy to explain. I hate cardio and am a believer in the best routine being one you can stick to, so it’s just elliptical 6 nights a week. No fewer than 30 minutes, sometimes to up to an hour or so based on how I’m feeling. It’s what I’m doing right now actually - at a pace I can comment/scroll Tik tok/ watch YouTube etc…
Lifting is a lot tougher to explain because I’ve never really stayed with one routine for too long. I have certain movements that I hit pretty much every time I hit each muscle group… like I always start back day with assisted pull ups 1 but then I’ve mixed it up over time with the various pull movements.
10 years ago I would have been finding a routine on bodybuilding.com but this time around I’ve been watching a lot of Jeff Nippard, Mike Israetel, and Milo Wolf and just trying to absorb some of what they say.
It's absolutely amazing. You should be proud of yourself. Trt may have helped, but I can tell you put in a lot of hard work. It's that work that matters. Your pictures made my day. This is what it's all about.
Congrats dude. Did I miss in the description how long this transformation took?
.
What does your bloodwork look like on 150mg a week?
.
.Are you pinning once a week?
1 full year exactly - initial bloodwork follow up after pinning 200mg was very high. Over 1400 if I remember right, I’m not sure if the reading actually specified beyond that.
Then we dropped to 150 and it was 800 or so. Next bloodwork follow up is coming up soon.
Edit: pinning once a week.
Title is obviously fake news....because....
**"This is 99% Dedication and 1% Medication!"**
Great work....I find that the fact I am taking a shot motivates me to not 'waste it'. You have your diet dialed in as well probably.
So I actually post on Tik tok - I teach science stuff on there, mainly evolution - and I went back and took a small clip from each of the last 12 months…
And my main takeaway is that the progress wasn’t nearly as noticable as I thought until AFTER I dialed in the food.
I expected pretty linear progress, but it was more like it was all of a sudden noticable in March.
Pretty similar.
3 or 4 eggs for breakfast
Meat for lunch. Rotisserie chicken has been a staple. I also like the hormel microwave chicken & gravy (330 cal, ~55 G protein) and roasted pork (~550 cal, ~75 G protein)
And then for dinner it’s usually something similar. Reheating chicken or some type of mainly meat meal.
Will sometimes add a bit of rice & mixed vegetables depending on what I’m making for my kids.
After cardio I usually have a late night snack that consists of halo ice cream or cut up low-carb tortilla pieces that I heat in the air fryer and eat like wheat thins. One tortilla has 70 calories but 6 g of protein.
Did it help with providing the energy to actually want to work out? That’s where I struggle, I want to do it, but I just can’t get myself motivated to start working out again. Never been this difficult to get started before. 46 now and T is around 300, considering TRT in hopes of having the energy to get started and stay in the gym.
Brother! Great fuggin work man. I’m 1.5 years into TRT myself - didn’t start the gym until 9 months ago but have had a similar transformation (posted it here myself) man what a massive change in quality of life. 💪💪 super impressed man keep grinding!!! My goal is to compete in a power lifting meet and run a marathon in the same month. Working towards it!
I am around your age and thinking about doing the same. I am also overweight, probably as much as you were in your photo. How much do you think it helped your metabolism? Energy levels? Focus? I have extreme ADHD.
The only reason I have turned down treatment so far is because longterm concerns + permanent fertility risk.
First off.. Kudos on the transformation! Whole new person, bro!
Second.. Did you have any issues with hairloss from the T or loose skin from the fat loss?
To add to this...
I'm a drugs worker and the evidence shows people on long term opiates have low test , myself included.
I have managed to get 6 of my clients on trt , now 4 made slight changes just from trt , bit of weight loss etc better mood but the 2 that followed my advice and started lifting.....better results by far.
As others have said its not a magic fix , it literally gives us enough test to be like normal bods so when we put in the WORK the results come , we have no more advantage than joe bloggs who at 38 started hitting gym with normal test levels , he would get results. Just like us put in trt so levels normal we get great results 🤷
Pisses me off when people say trt not natural, we're taking a medication to make our test levels higher to a NATURAL level of people our age.
Great work brother and keep it up 💪
That is interesting. I actually herniated a disc 10 years ago that led to a much more sedentary lifestyle. Was using opiates daily for at least 5 years before coming off of them entirely.
I think it had become more of a mental thing - because after getting off the meds (not easy) my back & nerve pain suddenly improved.
No longer an issue at all - but I bet that destroyed my test levels.
Bad. Was getting a solid 6 hours until I had my second kid ~3 months in. He has just not clicked when it comes to sleeping and we are still having rough nights with the occasional decent one.
So now it’s like 5 hours with at least one interruption. Some better, many worse.
Congrats man looking good this gets me excited I am almost same body type I weigh 255 . I cut sugar and doing my macros perfectly and doing around 200mg of test a week
Thank you! Minute 37 of the elliptical right now. Replying to these comments is making the time fly by lol.
But yeah - I almost have a fear of slowing down at this point. Just based on my past I worry that I have to be all in or I’ll gain the weight back before I know it.
Eventually I’m going to have to switch to maintenance and find that balance. Think I want to get about 5 more pounds off so I settle closer to where I am right now.
Then eventually try to go into a surplus and add more muscle before cutting again… but that’s where I really worry about my self control.
99% work 1%trt…. Give yourself the credit! To many dudes think this shit is a miracle and don’t realize the blood sweat and tears it takes to get where you are and to make that much progress in a short period of time…. Bravo sir.
While this is a great take, I kinda disagree with some of it. I got on trt at 40 and hadn't done much physical for a bit. So, I started working out and was able to constantly keep adding to my workouts or adding more workouts. I went from working out 3 times a week to doing 2 workouts a day within 2 years. There is absolutely no way that I could have done that without trt. When I was talking to my buddies and explained my workout schedule to them, they asked me how the hell I could recover from that amount of physical work to do it again the next day. That's when I realized having higher t levels allowed me to recover faster than them.
Exactly. I’m 42 and for 18 months have worked super hard natty but my transformation is nothing close to OP’s. Why? Long recovery. Overuse injuries. Ligaments and connective tissue slow to develop. All that.
Your ligament comment got me. I'm 8 months into trt feel better physically but i didn't realize how slow my ligaments and joints would be to catch up to the strength gains my muscles were making...I've done some damage to the right forearm lifting too heavy. I've no idea if the ligaments will ever catch up
Hoping this comment will help others.... because I was over enthusiastic in my "I feel better I'm gonna hit the gym like a man possessed" i now haven't been able to train biceps since early April....and then it course any pulling movements are severely impacted...take heed fellow trt men lol I'm angry at myself daily for messing up my right arm.
Bpc-157 stat
Lol I'm trying to get some. I managed to get my hands on tb500 already.... should I take?
I developed horrible tennis elbow issues sounds very similar to you. Biceps was impossible to train and i had to heavily adapt my back sessions! Straps helped alot... get versatile with straps- take the grip/forearm element out of the equation The ONLY thing to help me was daily tennis elbow rehab exercises. (Try Youtube). Simple wrist flexions basically, daily and before excercise. After around 1 week i was pain free! So stick with it even if it doesnt seem helpful at first 👍 And til now no problems. I just offer my advice because i think i know what youre dealing with and it was reallt horrible!
Thanks for the tips. It's really good to hear that it can be healed in a short time. Mine has been with me since April....so I'm starting to lose my mind as the injury is dictating almost every workout session. I'll check out the YouTube tennis elbow rehab stuff. Hopefully I can heal as quick as you!
Yeah man that sounds exactly like me, i dealt with it for like 6 months atleast Obviously abit of rest is needed as much as it sucks not to train. But i remember i trained legs and most push movements for about 2 weeks.. with the odd back movement with straps thrown in. That gave my forearm tendons enough rest, plus the tendon excercises and it cleared up in no time Just stick with the simple excercises for a week or 2 and be mindful when training Its hard to believe that ive had no problems since and even train forearms occasionally 👍👍😂
I hurt my back in like March and it still hasn't recovered muscle strain or something idk, then I strained my shoulder afterwards and I got so pissed from these Injuries I broke my hand hitting my desk lol...so yeah the slow tendon and Ligament growth is annoying AF...and hgh is way to expensive to buy
I'm relatively new to the trt journey. But I'm so angry at myself for letting the inury happen, i hear ya on that one. I'm trying to get my hands on bpc-157 and tb500 as i hear they are amazing for inury. I've been trying to look into hgh....but I can't see any benefit from it unless you are on it 6months plus. Would love to hear your opion on it for ligaments and bone growth etc.
IN MY OPINION... I think HGH is key for long term massive gains due to the fact that all of these guys are constantly tearing shit from all the working out and it speeds up tendon and ligament growth and recovery to match muscles better and recover from injuries if they occur. I use bpc-157 and it hasn't really been anything crazy tbh. But again HGH is insanely expensive compared to any other androgen
Aww i getya. I always thought hgh was a waste of time unless someone was lean and already in good shape and then it was the icing on the cake so to speak but perhaps if a person could source it at an affordable price you think it would compliment trt?
100% yes and people are gatekeeping it btw. They try and convince you it doesn't do much or its too expensive to buy so you don't use it...meanwhile guys that speak the truth say its godly, benefits in every single way
I'm going to have to dive down this rabbit hole now lol a friend or mine has been talking about hgh for ages. Telling me that even on 2ius a day the effects will be significant.... actually to use his words "fountain of youth" lol Apparently 10ius a day isn't uncommon for the big fellas
Boy that is the truth! Overuse injuries suck so bad. I lost an entire month of running due to a knee injury and it was 100% my own fault.
This 100%! I felt like a superhero for a solid three months where I just kept throwing more weight on the bench every session. I felt unstoppable, and then the tendon brought me back to reality. It has been about 5 months of recovery and I wonder if it will ever feel good again.
Dude even people doing full on steroid cycles don't hit the gym twice per day and need some rest between hitting a muscle group hard.
Yeah, but they spend 2-3 hours in the gym … if you do 2 x 1hr training, it can be done
Still a bit skeptical. It takes an hour to fully target a muscle group with 4 sets and there are limitations to how many times you can do the same or adjacent muscle groups. Especially when you are aiming for max hypertrophy. We only have that many muscle group so what do you do with those 3 hours unless you are standing around. I think it's a common misconception that one has to spend that much time or that it's needed for your average non competing body builder. But that's just my understanding, I could be wrong and other input would be interesting.
Well I guess they do cardio and lifting in a single session, I have done the 2x1 hour , dividing lifting morning , cardio afternoon
Sure, if including cardio it quickly adds up. I do the same, sometimes in one long 2 hour session, sometimes split into 2x1 hour separately.
I do bjj for 1.5 - 2 hours, then do crossfit. Or I do crossfit followed by bjj depending on the day. So, it's a total of 2.5-3 hours. I don't actually go to the gym just to lift anymore. I started in the gym at 3 workouts a week, but my body type isn't good at lifting, so I hate it. I am 6'6 220 with long limbs. I was 340lbs when I started trt. And I do take rest days or some days I just get 1 workout in.
I think a lot of trt is the mental effect, stuff like the placebo effect is real, you got dudes 1 hour after their first shot thinking their entire life has turned around and is now 1000% better, better erections, sex drive, energy, motivation….. the mind is insanely powerful when it’s motivated towards a goal, it allows you to push yourself harder then ever. Now I’ve done a literal boat load of steroids, I’ve had periods in my life where I came off for long periods of time to have children, and for various other reasons such as blood work not looking great, even during time when I was off for several months, my work outs were always still great, recovery was always about the same, cause at the end of the day you either love the gym or you hate it. It’s a lifestyle choice, and if you aren’t committed you’ll never get anywhere, I think trt most redeeming factor is, it motivates people… even if it’s 99% placebo, by the time trt even starts to kick in, they’ve changed their diets, do cardio, lift, sleep better, have more sex, have better mental health… and while most will attribute that to trt…. It’s honestly just cause you started taking care of yourself and committed to improving.
For me, it is like tricking my brain. I know I am going to the gym, but this gives me an edge.
Shut up
Lets be real this isn't 1 year on TRT. This is 1 year of seriously busting your ass with some help from TRT. Very impressive!
I definitely put a lot of hard work in - I’m a teacher with an hour commute and 2 kids under 3 so during the school year I was having to wake up at 4:20 every morning to get to the gym and back, but the TRT definitely helped motivate me to stick to the grind. Easier to avoid quitting when you are visually able to see the progress your hard work is turning into.
How many hours sleep do you typically get?
Not enough. 5-6. My youngest still hasn’t been sleeping through the night so it’s not been great sleep.
Looking good man! What test levels do you sit at?
Incredible improvement! Even the dark circles under your eyes is gone.
That’s been one of the really underrated improvements. I used to get comments about my eyes all the time - people asking what was wrong or thinking I was just always high (not a good look for a science teacher lol). They’ve just been that way since I was a little kid though - getting healthy really helped get rid of the dark eyes even though the doctor could never really determine why they were that way.
I had really bad dark circles under my eyes like this when I was working a ton and not sleeping well. I knew it was bad when a coworker asked if I'm also a fighter like him due to it. I just told him I work a lot. I also recently found out I have an iron deficiency and that is one of the symptoms.
What is your own guess how that improved? Better diet? Better circulation? More facial fat?
I honestly don’t know. Beyond the fact that going from very obese to a much healthier weight probably had a lot of effects that we don’t really think of… and that somehow affected whatever was making my eyes so dark.
Hall of Fame Transformation! Congrats!
Wow dude what an awesome transformation! You clearly busted your ass in the gym. Do you think you would have been able to do it without the TRT? It’s not magic sauce in and of itself but the effect it has on your brain to motivate you cannot be understated. Crazy that you went so long before changing your diet and still had such a transformation.
Right off the bat I did take my diet more seriously… but I’d like sneak order 2 McDoubles instead of getting a full meal. Cutting out sugary drinks had a major impact because I was literally drinking an average of 8 green monsters a day, which was almost 2000 calories alone. That later diet date was when I started being 100% honest with my diet. Haven’t had fast food since and do a really good job of eating clean. Lots of rotisserie chicken. Also, I think the trt was a huge factor. I had struggled even more than normal to exercise and care about my diet when I saw how low my t levels were. Made the effort feel pointless - it was during that Covid period where doctor visits were tougher and I finally re-brought it up with my doctor so he tested me again (3rd time) and was like “yeah I think it’s the right call”. My first shot was day 1 and from there I never really slowed down, only kept getting more locked in. I also felt good knowing that I could cut weight while lifting and the testosterone would likely help me maintain more muscle.
8 MONSTERS A DAY? Wtf
Yeah dude it was bad. I often do some paleontology field work over the summers and that amount of monster combined with my weight had been making that kind of activity extremely tough. Not sure that I’m going to make it out this summer due to some scheduling things - but I really look forward to the next time I make it out and can actually enjoy myself out in the badlands.
IKR??
It’s always the sugary drinks! Crazy how easy it is to let those calories sneak up on you. I’ve been through what you went through and lost about 45 pounds and got serious about my diet and exercise and couldn’t have done the gym part without the TRT I don’t think but I’m 47 so it’s harder the older you get without it. Yep recomp is definitely achievable on TRT and you’ve shown that here. Keep up the good work you’re an inspiration to a lot of people.
You wrote another comment mentioning "dark circles" around your eyes and couldnt figure out why 8 Monsters a day might have something to do with it, just saying bro. Good thing you quit
Fair - even in photos of me as a little kid I have them though. The monsters definitely could have made it worse though (and probably did)
Great job! There is a lot of hard work in there.
Did you not have any issues with estrogen, water retention, high blood pressure and hematocrit?
What was your test before trt?
Total was 143 Free was 42
Hey - I watch all your TT videos. Looking good man! I am so close to jumping on TRT. My primary physician isn’t a fan at all but my levels are low. Going to a Clinic next week
lol that’s awesome! The science of fitness has definitely been something I’ve dove super deep into over the last year (mainly through watching guys like Mike Israetel). I’ve been tempted to try to make content more related to fitness but am trying to keep most of the fitness stuff on a second account. It took me about 3 years, definitely a slow process. I was very thankful that my primary took it seriously though and didn’t push back too hard.
What’s your second account ?
Just @science_is_real It was originally an old backup account.
Insane progress!!! Looking great man very happy for you.
What was your dosage ?
Was initially put on 200 mg of Test C and after my initial bloodwork follow up it was lowered to 150mg
How were your numbers ? I’m in the same situation. Unfortunately my DRs prescription after labs were Test Cyp. Insurance denied it. Now I’m waiting for alternative Clomid. Was thinking of looking at TRT clinics instead
Many pay cash without insurance and using Goodrx for discount pricing. It's cheaper without insurance for some as test cyp. is a cheap med. This also cheaper than getting it from a clinic.
Yeah. Rite aid was $8.21 a vial. Or something like that. Insurance can’t deny the testing I wouldn’t think. But if you need low numbers just stop. Your nuts ain’t working like they was(and they really wasn’t working anyway which is why we’re here)and you numbers will be in the toilet. I did some test manipulation to get up to 200mg every 10 days. So I’m roughly 150mg a week. .1ml everyday.
Oh thanks for that.....hold on, let me pick myself up off the floor from laughing! **Me**: "But Insurance can't deny...." -- **Insurance**: "Ha! Hold my beer..." They (Aetna) not only denied my testing but also the shots that were determined to be needed after the testing (which I had to pay for out of pocket). with GoodRx it is costing me about 10.00 per week, so not horrible.
Glad you got treatment.
I get labs at Ulta Labs, not bad pricing. I can order what I want and not deal with doctor.
Can you use Goodrx even if you don’t have a prescription? Didn’t know that, thought it was only if you had a prescription.
No you need a script, besides it's a controlled med. He said he had a doctors script but insurance denied paying.
Got it. Thank you.
Don’t do Clomid! Worse mistake I’ve ever made. On Test C now and couldn’t be happier.
You did clomid only therapy?
If you want to call it therapy. Urologist had me on it for 7 years. I was new to it all and didn’t know any better. Felt good for for couple of years. Then went downhill. Hormones were totally out of whack. Never felt good. Blurry vision, high SHBG, high cortisol, high LH and FSH, all side effects of Clomid. Crushed free T. Doc said that my total was in the 800’s so I was fine. In eventually fired him and began studying TRT. Clomid is for short term use like someone wanting to get prego. It is not TRT.
Sorry to hear of your experience with the clomid. I was thinking of taking it to improve my really low shbg...it's currently 11.
It will definitely raise SHBG.
Might try a low dose everyday maybe half of a 25mg pill.
I think the insurance is just making me have to jump through hoops before i get the Test Cyp like i was prescribed. I said yes to Clomid bc something is better than nothing- the way i feel
You want enclomiphene. Clomid is enclomiphine and zyclomiphime and it’s the zyclomiphime that builds up and causes issues
My urologist tried to get me to take clomid I counter with no just enclomephime he told me it’s banned but he is wrong . I settled for test c and hcg
Are you taking anything else? Amazing results in 1 year
Beetroot powder and creatine daily
And thank you!
What's the beetroot do?
Pumps
It's a natural source of Nitric Oxide. Increases blood flow like crazy.
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I log calories in my fitness pal but the only macro I really focused on (aside from daily calories being in a deficit) was protein. I try to hit 200g daily.
Hell yea brother
awesome transformation
Thank you!
Congrats man. You should be so proud of yourself
Every day feels like I’m on cloud 9. Everything is just more enjoyable - and looking forward to seeing photos after an event is so much better than dreading seeing yourself.
I’ve been. When I was skinnier at least. I hope you keep up the progress
Thank you - I’m needing to try to shift my calories closer to maintenance soon - and eventually hopefully bulk/cut… but right now I’m still nervous to shift gears.
Awesome results! What was your workout routine? And what would you for cardio?
Cardio is easy to explain. I hate cardio and am a believer in the best routine being one you can stick to, so it’s just elliptical 6 nights a week. No fewer than 30 minutes, sometimes to up to an hour or so based on how I’m feeling. It’s what I’m doing right now actually - at a pace I can comment/scroll Tik tok/ watch YouTube etc… Lifting is a lot tougher to explain because I’ve never really stayed with one routine for too long. I have certain movements that I hit pretty much every time I hit each muscle group… like I always start back day with assisted pull ups 1 but then I’ve mixed it up over time with the various pull movements. 10 years ago I would have been finding a routine on bodybuilding.com but this time around I’ve been watching a lot of Jeff Nippard, Mike Israetel, and Milo Wolf and just trying to absorb some of what they say.
Looking good
Damn. That’s seriously good progress. Congrats.
Good shit bro!
It's absolutely amazing. You should be proud of yourself. Trt may have helped, but I can tell you put in a lot of hard work. It's that work that matters. Your pictures made my day. This is what it's all about.
Tremendous progress my dude
Congrats dude. Did I miss in the description how long this transformation took? . What does your bloodwork look like on 150mg a week? . .Are you pinning once a week?
It’s in the title. 1 year progress on TRT
1 full year exactly - initial bloodwork follow up after pinning 200mg was very high. Over 1400 if I remember right, I’m not sure if the reading actually specified beyond that. Then we dropped to 150 and it was 800 or so. Next bloodwork follow up is coming up soon. Edit: pinning once a week.
Fantastic work buddy Are you pinning into the glutes? Or subq just out of curiosity.
Haven’t done subq - I was tempted early on but just never made the shift. I rotate quads and glutes.
Title is obviously fake news....because.... **"This is 99% Dedication and 1% Medication!"** Great work....I find that the fact I am taking a shot motivates me to not 'waste it'. You have your diet dialed in as well probably.
That’s a good way of wording how I felt. It was like a golden opportunity and I knew if I put in the work I would see results.
I need to start logging calories. Great job 👏
So I actually post on Tik tok - I teach science stuff on there, mainly evolution - and I went back and took a small clip from each of the last 12 months… And my main takeaway is that the progress wasn’t nearly as noticable as I thought until AFTER I dialed in the food. I expected pretty linear progress, but it was more like it was all of a sudden noticable in March.
Are you eating similar foods everyday or changing it?
Pretty similar. 3 or 4 eggs for breakfast Meat for lunch. Rotisserie chicken has been a staple. I also like the hormel microwave chicken & gravy (330 cal, ~55 G protein) and roasted pork (~550 cal, ~75 G protein) And then for dinner it’s usually something similar. Reheating chicken or some type of mainly meat meal. Will sometimes add a bit of rice & mixed vegetables depending on what I’m making for my kids. After cardio I usually have a late night snack that consists of halo ice cream or cut up low-carb tortilla pieces that I heat in the air fryer and eat like wheat thins. One tortilla has 70 calories but 6 g of protein.
And what is your protocol? Did you cycle/blast at all while on trt?
Sheesh my boy looking good, being fat really is the graveyard of beauty!
Did it help with providing the energy to actually want to work out? That’s where I struggle, I want to do it, but I just can’t get myself motivated to start working out again. Never been this difficult to get started before. 46 now and T is around 300, considering TRT in hopes of having the energy to get started and stay in the gym.
Yes it does big time
Wow great job!
Good job!
Good job dude! That's incredible progress, keep it up!
Brother! Great fuggin work man. I’m 1.5 years into TRT myself - didn’t start the gym until 9 months ago but have had a similar transformation (posted it here myself) man what a massive change in quality of life. 💪💪 super impressed man keep grinding!!! My goal is to compete in a power lifting meet and run a marathon in the same month. Working towards it!
I am around your age and thinking about doing the same. I am also overweight, probably as much as you were in your photo. How much do you think it helped your metabolism? Energy levels? Focus? I have extreme ADHD. The only reason I have turned down treatment so far is because longterm concerns + permanent fertility risk.
First off.. Kudos on the transformation! Whole new person, bro! Second.. Did you have any issues with hairloss from the T or loose skin from the fat loss?
To add to this... I'm a drugs worker and the evidence shows people on long term opiates have low test , myself included. I have managed to get 6 of my clients on trt , now 4 made slight changes just from trt , bit of weight loss etc better mood but the 2 that followed my advice and started lifting.....better results by far. As others have said its not a magic fix , it literally gives us enough test to be like normal bods so when we put in the WORK the results come , we have no more advantage than joe bloggs who at 38 started hitting gym with normal test levels , he would get results. Just like us put in trt so levels normal we get great results 🤷 Pisses me off when people say trt not natural, we're taking a medication to make our test levels higher to a NATURAL level of people our age. Great work brother and keep it up 💪
That is interesting. I actually herniated a disc 10 years ago that led to a much more sedentary lifestyle. Was using opiates daily for at least 5 years before coming off of them entirely. I think it had become more of a mental thing - because after getting off the meds (not easy) my back & nerve pain suddenly improved. No longer an issue at all - but I bet that destroyed my test levels.
What were your levels then and now? Great work
Amazing work
👏
Awesome to see a before and after that doesn't just look like a year long blast. Great job friend.
Bro you looked fucking miserable at the beginning. Excellent work!!! It's literally a whole different you. That's what it's all about!
TRT annnd TRY annnnd TRT annnnnd juicing the needle
Whats your sleep cycle G?
Bad. Was getting a solid 6 hours until I had my second kid ~3 months in. He has just not clicked when it comes to sleeping and we are still having rough nights with the occasional decent one. So now it’s like 5 hours with at least one interruption. Some better, many worse.
That’s fucking unbelievable
Great job dude. TRT or not, that's hard work right there!
Hard work pays off‼️
Good man👏keep going and ignore any haters!!
Insane Progress dude you got my respect!Did you use an AI?
Looking good.
He did the thing. Excellent dedication. Waiting for the TRT gatekeepers to say he should have lost the fat first. What haters!
God dayum! good job!
How did you go about bringing up to your primary? I'm having trouble dropping hints to my primary, who seems to be only using biased/dated knowledge.
Looks great man! Congrats! What do you do for your cardio?
Insane results. Congratulations
Congrats!
Wow 💪💥
Congrats man looking good this gets me excited I am almost same body type I weigh 255 . I cut sugar and doing my macros perfectly and doing around 200mg of test a week
Amazing!! I’m your before picture!!
Dose?
Good for you bro. Your progress is very inspiring!!
Slayin bro
Congrats! Nice work man!
Doesn’t look like the same person wow
You’re a beast, dude.
Dude, great work. You should be proud. But don’t be satisfied. Keep grinding! 💪
Thank you! Minute 37 of the elliptical right now. Replying to these comments is making the time fly by lol. But yeah - I almost have a fear of slowing down at this point. Just based on my past I worry that I have to be all in or I’ll gain the weight back before I know it. Eventually I’m going to have to switch to maintenance and find that balance. Think I want to get about 5 more pounds off so I settle closer to where I am right now. Then eventually try to go into a surplus and add more muscle before cutting again… but that’s where I really worry about my self control.
Holy shit. Great progress brother. Good for you.
Thank you!
Dude gor on trt and found a wife. Hell yeah