No Real Gains on Test

58 y.o. Been on 200mg test for 2 years. Was doing 1 shot a week then switched to 100mg every 4 days. All labs “normal” range. E2, free, total, shbg, etc… Work out 4-5 days a week. Eat plenty of protein with good carbs. Healthy otherwise. I have yet to see any real gains in the weight room. I did have a boost of energy about the 1st 6 months, then that subsided. Libido is slightly better than before. I was basically doing the same thing, same results without test.

Just trying to figure out why I dont have all of the positives to the extent of some people I see online.

It’s going to be real difficult to help out saying all lab values are in range.

This could the key to your problem, if you had baseline labs and labs continuing on we could potentially spot the problem. You want us to figure out what’s wrong without labs, it’s not going happen.

If you have low thyroid hormones, testosterone can’t be metabolized in the liver.

Are you gaining weight from year to year?

I am a long time lifter, and before trt I had a good amount of muscle despite having low test. I think the more developed you are, the less you will see. I have seen fat loss, and some muscle, but not a night and day difference.

I know another lifter that I would have never believed had low testosterone. Guy was jacked with TT at about 150 ng/dl. He was squatting and deadlifting in the mid 600s and benching about 400. He did not really have much change on test quickly, but over the last two years he has made some progress.

Have you tried bulking? Your body can’t grow from nothing. You may be at the point where you need to put on some mass to gain muscle.

Bulking right now at about 225 @ 5’10 roughly 20-25 percent body. I train mostly for strength, so a bit of extra weight helps. Have a powerlifting meet next week, then recomping a bit.

@rockinl
You’re likely not eating enough. Eating too little and you lose weight, eat too much and you start getting fat, eat enough to maintain and you maintain, eat just enough and you gain.

Go with a Veggie diet for Dinner. This is where gains are made when we start to get older. Meat and potatoes doesnt cut it anymore. Look into it. Veggie is the way to go

@middleages
What does that even mean?

3 Likes

I’m the same size. Strength levels plateaud at about 225-230 on the last bulk. Currently cutting on 210mg t a week and lost 12lbs so far. Minimal strength loss and kept my lbm except for the glycogen. If you look at our ffmi we are still about 10lbs of muscle away from our natural ‘peak’. Where we’d have to be enhanced to go any further. Because of your age you may already be there. Beyond that point (ffmi 25-26) even with drugs every pound of muscle is hard earned and requires synthetic assistance.

Great points. I have developed a good amount of muscle over the years. Working graveyard for 2 years and being inconsistent in the gym contributed to weight gain and lowering tt. However, the muscle remained. Still strong af.

5’9", 225, about 20 percent bodyfat. Can’t seem to lose the layer of fat even working out as much as I do and with cardio. Eating mostly chicken and fish and have cut the carbs to a minimum. Next labs are coming up so maybe that will tell something. Also going to check into cardaerine.

It means cut out meat at later meals and watch your body change for you. You get more protein this way. Meat slows down you metabolism and the way it builds muscle. Once I cut out meat at lunch and dinner, my gains have been showing up. Cows and chicken are simply the middle man to all of the protein you are ingesting.

@middleages
Can you post a pic when you are meat vs when you cut meat out of your diet? I would love to see the results.

If you are a powerlifter then I am not surprised that you haven’t seen much results. Training for hypertrophy would be more effective. Lighten the weight, slow down the reps, focus on the contraction and the negative. Go to failure or beyond on one set per exercise. Fail in the 8-15 rep range. I have absolutely blown up over the last year on 180mg weekly and I have been the most dedicated lifter that I know over the last 20 years of my life. TRT has been a game changer as far as gym results.

What are your numbers on the big lifts? Squat, bench, press, deadlift?

Do you have a coach to drive your progress? Consider it, if not, worked for me.

I’m about 6 years younger than you and I got up to about 315 sq, 275x3 bch 200 prs & 375 dl on half the dose you’re using. Working on a couple of injuries before starting to hit it again.

Huge difference from when I started.