210mg Test/Week. How Much Muscle Can I Gain?

Doc has me on 210mg test cyp a week. Is this a blast? What kind of muscle gain and body re-composition can I expect with this protocol? Some info and history below: I have had an extremely difficult time building any muscle at all, after getting labs my Free T levels were 6.5 (labcorp range of 6.8-21.5) so that explains a lot. So after my first 6 weeks my free T levels are up to 26.

I got into lifting 4 years ago because I wanted to look better naked and actually look like a guy who lifted. At first I was clueless as to how to do this but read nonstop from guys like John Meadows, Paul Carter, John Rusin, Christian Thibideau etc and would now consider myself an intermediate lifter. But it has been a struggle, 3+ years of lifting and only gained minimal muscle (less than 10 pounds) and any time I went into a caloric surplus I gained way more fat than muscle, even when that surplus was from totally clean eating.

I eventually realized something was not right, no libido, losing or difficulty gaining muscle despite perfect diet and weight training so I got my blood tested and sure enough, my free T was actually below the bottom end of the normal range (see my other thread for all my lab numbers). Help Understanding Lab Numbers, Appt with Doc Tomorrow

So back to my question. You see so many amazing physiques on men in their 40s (I just turned 40) on social media but it’s impossible to know if they got there naturally, or with HRT, or with AAS. Now that I am on TRT (and my doc wants to see my free T at a very high level so no issue there) can I expect to build some appreciable mass and build a lean and chiseled physique? I would absolutely love to put 15-20 pounds of pure muscle on my frame and trim down to about 8% BF. I am currently 5’11”, 175 pounds and probably 13-15% BF

My nutrition and training are dialed in, currently using Dr John Rusin’s “Functional Hypertrophy Training” program. I am starting to notice some strength gains in the gym and progressive overload is the name of the game every week.

Thoughts?

You can gain a nice amt on that dose with proper diet and training, not as much as one would on 300mg+, but you’ll gain much faster than you would otherwise naturally.

If your doctor is supervising the dosage then no, it’s not a blast. Some guys have trt doses as low as 100mg, others need much more to reach the higher end of normal. If a doctor is in charge of it then I don’t believe we can qualify that as a blast.

Thoughts on realistic gains for my age?

It’s really hard to tell. Genetics play a huge role. I know a guy who before TRT had a total testosterone level of 150 ng/dl. The dude was jacked at the same time. I think before TRT he was squatting around 575, benching around 375 and deadlifting a bit over 600. He is now on TRT, and his lifts have gone up a lot. I think he just hit a 750 lb deadlift at 200 lbs.

I guess what I am saying is that genetics probably has more to do with muscle than testosterone level. That is unless you want to use much more than TRT. You will gain easier, but I doubt it will be as dramatic as what you are thinking.

Yeet, igf-1, AR density, lifestyle, diet, insulin sensitivity all play a part in the equation of “how hyooge will I get on cycle”. I’m actually on the verge of purchasing some Carnitine as I’ve seen some literature showing it increases AR density.

Test is just part of the equation, if you have shitty insulin sensitivity, diet, drink a case of beer every day and for whatever reason have down-regulated androgen receptors you won’t make as much gainz on cycle as someone with high AR density, perfect insulin sensitivity, a solid diet and training routine (AAS increase igf-1 so… floop)

Good info, I had not heard that about carnitine. What size dose?

I do have fairly high IGF-1 levels according to my last 2 labs (I was at 220, Labcorp ref range 83-233)

I rarely drink alcohol and my nutrition and sleep are on point. Very little junk food. Obviously can’t control my genetics but I feel I am optimizing everything that I actually can control. I guess time will tell, I’m only 3 months in so I know I need to be patient.

I started supplementing L carntine l tartrate today. I read the study on pub med about them using 2g daily and saw some positive affects on AR density.

Fingers crossed!