BobTheOldLifter

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is spongy and bruised..

tapadh leat gu mòr (thank you very much in Cape Bretonese aka Scottish Gaelic)

I don't know how I haven't seen this before. Some are really funny. "Absolutely no fights to the death" ahahahahah....

Others will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that will work. Even a low dose will shut you down quickly. You'd need HCG to keep you going beyond a very short time.

@CLVTCH the finger prick hemo test is not very good accuracy-wise. I've seen widely different values compared to lab tests. Asked my doc about it and he said it's not reliable compared to lab. I'm gonna go back on my grapefruit seed extract and try the IP6 and Circumin and see what happens. If it doesn't work, will try to find phlebotomy, or maybe just a couple bar fights...been a while

Yeah I hear ya. It's frustrating. My doc is anal about this and takes me off until it comes down. I don't seem to have it as bad as you, when I donate it usually falls below range. Except this time I couldn't get in to LifeLabs quickly enough after donating. They closed the closest location b/c of Covid, and other locations were totally swamped and I got turned away twice. Finally went to Dynacare and got in, but almost a week had passed and I was over again, and was told to stop. Fuuuuuck! I've never seen 200, that sounds high, but FWIW, if you're going by pre-donation readings, those are not very accurate. I'm thinking of seeking therapeutic phlebotomy if I have to wait too long. Maybe bribe my vet if I have to Also begs a question for you and others: Are there any compounds that have little effect on hematocrit that could be used during these intervals? Sarms maybe instead?

Thanks, yes very helpful. I have a pretty good theoretical understanding of the powerlifting bench, but am thinking I'd like advice from a coach as well. Thanks for the sticking point tip too. I almost always get it out of the hole but sometimes can't lock it out. Time to get an order in. Strength very close to pre-Covid now. And thanks @Ryujiin for reminding me of GH. Should probably do a run or two for health benefits alone.

"Weighed in at 210.5kg" Oh lawd, he comin!!

Covid results: Went in to lock down at 255 and reasonably lean (maybe 12-14%). Emerged at 230 and fat. Lost at least 30lbs of muscle while gyms were closed! Good news is it still comes back fast. 240 this AM and leaning out (my belt doesn't lie). Just on 100mg TRT, but gonna do a little blast when results level off. Thinking a little NPP on top of maybe 300 Test and a little Anavar.

FWIW, I thought he was trolling for sure when he said he doesn't like to 'strain' his shoulders. Then he talks about a 'lifting partner ' that trains once per week. Hmm..... But the biggest evidence is his total lack of progress with apparently large doses of AAS. Something isn't right. Maybe the simplest explanation is total lack of training. Maybe he goes to the gym and plays with the pink dumbbells for five minutes and thinks he worked out. We'll never know because he never seems to follow any good advice.

Video in French, but 100% easy to understand with zero French.

Very much appreciated gentlemen. Equipoise is out. Will try the others soon - probably not all at the same time though. One nice thing about getting older when you're a saver (or just a cheap SOB maybe) money is less and less of a problem so the cost of something like Primo is no biggie. I've heard good things about Deca and joints too. Thoughts?

FWIW, my gym just emailed with instructions/rules. Facemasks only required upon entry and exit, but not during workout. Interesting.

FWIW, I'd love to bid to try a few new things, and it still looks like excellent value, but Mig is a no-go for me.

Everybody knows that it's much more important to get your nails done than go to a gym.

In all seriousness, although I don't know a helluva lot about this, I do know that this can be dangerous and there are some idiosyncratic reactions even at low doses. So for the love of everything holy, start low...

Basic Stats: 53 yrs old, 255lbs, 5'11', 15% -ish bf Background: Lifting since forever. Very lucky I still have healthy shoulders - can bench a lot. Hips a little tender these days, but still squat, but not too heavy. As I've talked about in the past, I'm on TRT prescribed, 100mg/wk - best thing I ever did. Puts me just under the high limit of normal at 5 days after injection. I test my blood 4X/yr. When cruising on TRT, I pin once/wk. I notice no up/downs. No prob increasing frequency when augmenting. I seem to be lucky in that I have responded very well to low dosages so far. Saw some fantastic results on TRT alone. On it now for a little more than a year. Previous 'Cycles': Increased T to about 225 mg/wk total (2 pins/wk) and 50 mg Anavar/day. Did this for about 6 weeks then gyms closed - fuck! Back to TRT since. Holy mother of jesus, what a brief but fun ride. All lifts improved, but my bench especially. Not bragging, but it's just the facts here, this put me over the Canadian Bench Record with a gym lift. Signed up to make it official at a meet, but then this Covid BS happened - fuck again!! Anyway, I have access to a well-equipped home gym now, so I'm back on the horse again for a few weeks now. But it's a bit of a drive, so I'm just kinda maintaining with 2 full body workouts/wk, plus cardio on my own. I won't do any augmentation until gyms open and I can be properly frequent again, but I want to prepare now for when this happens. Goals: To officially break the Bench record. However, this will require a little recomp, as I will compete in the 241 class. Nutrition is no prob - former BB'er and can control food. So basically looking for suggestions for strength/recomp/joint protection protocol for an older, but high-responder type who doesn't want to fuck with my health. I really don't think I need high doses of anything considering my history, but I know there's so much experience here, I'd love to hear suggestions to optimize my goals. Thanks in advance! PS - In addition, if anyone has any suggestions for a Bench Technique/Training coach, I'd be grateful too. I know the basics of powerlifting benching, but am a newbie at shooting for maxes.

Happy to contribute when I CAN ACTUALLY LIFT IN A GYM AGAIN!!!

40+? No way! You kids can go play somewhere else!

Exactly! And don't fucking tell me what's essential to me. Garden centres more important than gyms? Never ceases to amaze me how spectacularly stupid government is.

Maybe get a blood test and remove all speculation as to the cause. High E is only one possible reason.

You mean today? Bit of a cautionary tale there I'd say...

Yeah, I'm the same. My base TRT is only 100 mg and I just go once per week. Every blood test puts me at top of normal range 5 days after. I don't notice any swings at all. But everyone's different. Edit: And just to add, I've had E levels come back very high a couple times when I was augmenting my TRT and I felt perfectly fine. Don't notice it at all.