1st Cycle at 47. Advice is appreciated

[jailhouse]

I am preparing to start my first cycle at age 47 because why the hell not. Backstory:

18 months ago I was 240 lbs fat mess. Not musculature just doughy softness. Overt the last 18 months I have dropped as low as 166 lbs. I am now maintaining 180 ish pounds for the last 6 months with a caloric intake of 2700 cals (40% protien, 25% fats, 35% carbs). I am 6'4" and would estimate sub 10% body fat (scale says 11.5 and calipers are 6.5). I am currently on 100 mg per week (50mg twice injected) of Test Cyp. Current blood work:
Total Test: 650
Free Test: 137.8
HCT: 44%
Creatinine-Serum: 1.11 mg/dL
EGFR: 75.33 ?????

For my first cycle I plan to run for 12 weeks. I need a month to drop my levels back to TRT levels by May 8 when the doc pulls my bloodwork. I also plan on running my own bloodwork at week six to see where I am at mid cycle.

400 mg Test E per week - 2 doses of 200 mg M/Th
Arimedex if needed (dosage?? .5 the day after injection)
Up my caloric intake to 3k possibly 3.2k

Looking to bulk lean with minimum fat accumulation. I know there will be fat just don't need to do a dirty bulk. I don't want to have to lose the shape I currently have.

Current work out is using Fitbod App. I lift 5x a week. Two major muscle groups per day, 1/2 sets of abs, and a secondary muscle (forearms, traps, calves). Lifting take about 1 - 1.5 hours.

Any advise and guidance is appreciated. This site is a wealth of knowledge and love reading everyone's storys and learning from them. I plan to start a thread for my cycle and update weekly with progress pics and weights.

 

[Gadawg]

Excellent work. And sure seems like youve done your homework. You may wanna look real hard at the math to see that your T levels will be back down after 4 weeks. Probably be cutting it a little close. You could run a shorter ester just to be sure

 

[lifter6973]

I am preparing to start my first cycle at age 47 because why the hell not. Backstory:

18 months ago I was 240 lbs fat mess. Not musculature just doughy softness. Overt the last 18 months I have dropped as low as 166 lbs. I am now maintaining 180 ish pounds for the last 6 months with a caloric intake of 2700 cals (40% protien, 25% fats, 35% carbs). I am 6'4" and would estimate sub 10% body fat (scale says 11.5 and calipers are 6.5). I am currently on 100 mg per week (50mg twice injected) of Test Cyp. Current blood work:
Total Test: 650
Free Test: 137.8
HCT: 44%
Creatinine-Serum: 1.11 mg/dL
EGFR: 75.33 ?????

For my first cycle I plan to run for 12 weeks. I need a month to drop my levels back to TRT levels by May 8 when the doc pulls my bloodwork. I also plan on running my own bloodwork at week six to see where I am at mid cycle.

400 mg Test E per week - 2 doses of 200 mg M/Th
Arimedex if needed (dosage?? .5 the day after injection)
Up my caloric intake to 3k possibly 3.2k

Looking to bulk lean with minimum fat accumulation. I know there will be fat just don't need to do a dirty bulk. I don't want to have to lose the shape I currently have.

Current work out is using Fitbod App. I lift 5x a week. Two major muscle groups per day, 1/2 sets of abs, and a secondary muscle (forearms, traps, calves). Lifting take about 1 - 1.5 hours.

Any advise and guidance is appreciated. This site is a wealth of knowledge and love reading everyone's storys and learning from them. I plan to start a thread for my cycle and update weekly with progress pics and weights.

Are you already on TRT? If not, I wouldn't cycle because your TT seems adequate.

 

[jailhouse]

Are you already on TRT? If not, I wouldn't cycle because your TT seems adequate.

Yes. I am currently on 100mg weekly. Before my test was at 240 .

 

[jailhouse]

Excellent work. And sure seems like youve done your homework. You may wanna look real hard at the math to see that your T levels will be back down after 4 weeks. Probably be cutting it a little close. You could run a shorter ester just to be sure

I was hoping 4 weeks back at 100 mg per week would be enough time to have it cycled out. I think the half life of test cyp is 8 days if I'm not mistaken. But I can also reschedule my appt at the last minute and squeak another week out.

 

[JakeGoodfella]

Looks like you're making great progress on TRT alone. Why not just up your calories a bit for the next few months and see how you respond? After the doc pulls blood in May, see how happy you are with the progress. If you still want to run a cycle, I'd keep it at 300 mg of Test weekly for 12 weeks. See how your body responds to this and you can always adjust upward for the next cycle.

I'll be 47 this month and I am cruising at 200 mg of Test until I decide if I want to blast again or just cruise. If I blast, it will be Test only for 12 to 16 weeks. Dosage and duration is still TBD.

 

[jailhouse]

Looks like you're making great progress on TRT alone. Why not just up your calories a bit for the next few months and see how you respond? After the doc pulls blood in May, see how happy you are with the progress. If you still want to run a cycle, I'd keep it at 300 mg of Test weekly for 12 weeks. See how your body responds to this and you can always adjust upward for the next cycle.

I'll be 47 this month and I am cruising at 200 mg of Test until I decide if I want to blast again or just cruise. If I blast, it will be Test only for 12 to 16 weeks. Dosage and duration is still TBD.

I'm not really wanting to bulk in the summer. Honestly I'm not looking to be a mass monster either. I want to see how 200 lbs looks and decide if I want to move up from there (we already all know that answer). Since losing all that fat I have a fear of going backwards and putting it back on. I know it's not rational but it's a fear. Really wanting to put on as much lean muscle as I can. Was hoping to hit 200 by the end of the year (end of 2023).

 

[JakeGoodfella]

I'm not sure I follow. Are you saying you want to bulk up as much as possible before summer, then maintain over summer, then bulk again to hit your target weight of 200 by year end?

You weigh 180 lbs now and want to hit 200 by year end, keeping it lean muscle mass as much as possible. You have 12 months to put on 20 lbs then. That's about 1.5 lbs per month. Why not do the slow and steady approach for awhile at TRT and then blast after your bloodwork? If you don't want to cycle during the summer, then wait till after summer, see where you're at, then blast 12 to 16 weeks to finish the year off.

 

[jailhouse]

I'm not sure I follow. Are you saying you want to bulk up as much as possible before summer, then maintain over summer, then bulk again to hit your target weight of 200 by year end?

You weigh 180 lbs now and want to hit 200 by year end, keeping it lean muscle mass as much as possible. You have 12 months to put on 20 lbs then. That's about 1.5 lbs per month. Why not do the slow and steady approach for awhile at TRT and then blast after your bloodwork? If you don't want to cycle during the summer, then wait till after summer, see where you're at, then blast 12 to 16 weeks to finish the year off.

This is why I asked for advice. I like your idea. Maybe run high trt (200mg) up until a month before my bloodwork and add a slight calorie surplus? Say like 2900 cals. See what that does the. Decided to go full blast after the bloodwork.

The only reason I want to drop the month before bloods is to not have my doctor give me shit. I like this approach also. Gives me time to see how I do against smaller increases.

 

[lifter6973]

This is why I asked for advice. I like your idea. Maybe run high trt (200mg) up until a month before my bloodwork and add a slight calorie surplus? Say like 2900 cals. See what that does the. Decided to go full blast after the bloodwork.

The only reason I want to drop the month before bloods is to not have my doctor give me shit. I like this approach also. Gives me time to see how I do against smaller increases.

On the bloods Id say even drop to 75 mg/week a month out. You don't want to go over the high end of the normal range scale whatever that is now (generally in between 950 to 1000). It seems to shift slightly depending on the scale the doctor decides to use.

 

[lukiss96]

Hey man, as I said awesome work in your intro!

You look legit ~13% body fat which is lean don't get it wrong, I'm talking real not internet bs.

First cycle is usually testosterone only to assess how you tolerate it and how sides affect you.

Even something like 300mg/week will work good for fist few times, you can do 500mg or so, but do you really need to, it's up to you.

You can always bump up the dose on your way, but starting low is a safe bet and that's what I would do if I started over again.

 

[DF]

Welcome to the UG!

You are certainly on the right track. Congratulations on the hard work & effort. You’re looking great & awesome transformation!

Sorry if I missed it. How long have you been on trt?

 

[Badleroybrown]

If you use 100mg of test a week now and you show 600+ng.
You def don’t want to fuck your blood test up.
You go i there with an upwards rang of 8-900ng your dc is going to know something’s up..
When I blast and I worry about my blood tests I use a lot of prop. It’s out of my system fast and I don’t have to worry about being over
Well my ddr accepts 1000-1100ng’s.

But yours might not and that could be enough for him to stop you.
Play it safe. Either shorten your cycle or use a shorter ester.

BTW nice transformation..

 

[JakeGoodfella]

Yeah, if it was me in your shoes, I wouldn't mess with a cycle before the bloodwork. I understand your concern.

I also wouldn't worry about blasting for the summer on 300 mg of Test. As long as your diet is on point with a slight caloric surplus, the weight you add should be of quality and it should only enhance your appearance.

if you run 300 mg of Test for 12 weeks after the blood draw, that puts your cycle start somewhere in mid to late May. You could finish the cycle by Labor day or so and evaluate the results (strength, appearance, blood work, side effects, etc.). If all checks out, you could cruise on for TRT for another 12 weeks or so, then consider starting another blast around year end 2023. You could think about upping your dose to 400 mg this time and run it for 12 weeks again. This cycle would end in late Mar/early Apr 2024 before your next blood draw with the doctor (assuming you do bloods with him once a year). Just my 2 cents...

Either way, congrats on the transformation. With us old guys, it's a marathon not a sprint!

 

[jailhouse]

Hey man, as I said awesome work in your intro!

You look legit ~13% body fat which is lean don't get it wrong, I'm talking real not internet bs.

First cycle is usually testosterone only to assess how you tolerate it and how sides affect you.

Even something like 300mg/week will work good for fist few times, you can do 500mg or so, but do you really need to, it's up to you.

You can always bump up the dose on your way, but starting low is a safe bet and that's what I would do if I started over again.

I like the idea of just upping it to 200 until I get through the docs bloodwork and then re-assesing. I will probably raise the calories from 2700 to 2900.

 

[jailhouse]

Yeah, if it was me in your shoes, I wouldn't mess with a cycle before the bloodwork. I understand your concern.

I also wouldn't worry about blasting for the summer on 300 mg of Test. As long as your diet is on point with a slight caloric surplus, the weight you add should be of quality and it should only enhance your appearance.

if you run 300 mg of Test for 12 weeks after the blood draw, that puts your cycle start somewhere in mid to late May. You could finish the cycle by Labor day or so and evaluate the results (strength, appearance, blood work, side effects, etc.). If all checks out, you could cruise on for TRT for another 12 weeks or so, then consider starting another blast around year end 2023. You could think about upping your dose to 400 mg this time and run it for 12 weeks again. This cycle would end in late Mar/early Apr 2024 before your next blood draw with the doctor (assuming you do bloods with him once a year). Just my 2 cents...

Either way, congrats on the transformation. With us old guys, it's a marathon not a sprint!

I like this approach. I will probably run 200 mg before the bloods. If everything feels good I may run 300 after. I think the key to the type of weight I out on will be dictate by diet. So far it's really good. I just need to hold tight and keep grinding.

 

[jailhouse]

If you use 100mg of test a week now and you show 600+ng.
You def don’t want to fuck your blood test up.
You go i there with an upwards rang of 8-900ng your dc is going to know something’s up..
When I blast and I worry about my blood tests I use a lot of prop. It’s out of my system fast and I don’t have to worry about being over
Well my ddr accepts 1000-1100ng’s.

But yours might not and that could be enough for him to stop you.
Play it safe. Either shorten your cycle or use a shorter ester.

BTW nice transformation..

Yeah. This doctor is a dick. He almost castrated me on the original protocol (100mg every 2 weeks). Dropped my level to 80. I know if I come in high he will say something. Just going to run 200 mg until 4 weeks out and the drop to 75 that month.

 

[jailhouse]

Welcome to the UG!

You are certainly on the right track. Congratulations on the hard work & effort. You’re looking great & awesome transformation!

Sorry if I missed it. How long have you been on trt?

About 6 months now.

 

[DF]

About 6 months now.

100mg/week is pretty low for trt. Good idea to bump up to 200mg. I’ll bet you make good gains.

You’re doing great! Keep it up! I’m looking forward to see your further progress.

 

[lifter6973]

100mg/week is pretty low for trt. Good idea to bump up to 200mg. I’ll bet you make good gains.

You’re doing great! Keep it up! I’m looking forward to see your further progress.

Standard for most docs prescribing TRT is 200mg every two weeks (1 pin in 2 weeks).
Some divide that into 100 mg/week.