Hi all,
It s my first time posting here after harvesting information for a couple of months.
I was always active and got serious into strength training about 3 years ago, trying different styles to see what s what (crossfit, powerlifting, then strongman). I m 39 yo at 5'11, 210 and about 16-18 bf. My first try at a comp was static monsters a few months ago. I did reasonably well and met my goals, so I m now preparing for next year.
I went to a sports medicine doctor and started doing TRT in May 2022 with a 100mg gel (natural test at 300 at that point, then 550). In May 2023, I started with 200mg test c / week (test went up 850-900). During the summer, I took anadrol (60mg day for 60 days) alongside the regular trt. Starting in October, I took anavar (20mg day for 60 days). Bloods in December were on point apart from a mild change in LDL that went from excellent to good, but my doctor indicated this is not a big deal and likely due to recent anavar usage. I also get a sample diet plan which I follow reasonably well, sleep schedule is on point and alcohol consumption is minimal (I d say 3-4 times month, about 2-4 glasses of beer or wine max, if at all). I do a shitload of lab tests every 90-120 days following my doctor's requests. My goal is to stay healthy and active in the long run so I m not after anything crazy, but I am willing to compromise here and there since I really enjoy training hard and focusing on amateur level comps.
The thing is, as much as I am happy with my doctor's advice, he s based overseas (my home country) and has a career-long focus on bodybuilding. Sometimes I feel he doesn t always hit the mark when it comes to strenght training in general, but I trust him to read my lab tests etc so this trumps peak performance for me.
Hence, I wanted to ask for your advice. I had to cut 12 pounds for the static monsters and in all honesty, it was a pain. Not so much since I have no issues with following the diet plan and eating the same shit every day if necessary, but as someone who works full time alongside this amateur training thing, I was borderline dysfunctional due to being energy depleted. Pre comp training ranged about 3-4 hours 4 days a week (I have a coach taking care of that and the prep plan is great). I was occasionally hungry but brain fog and exhaustion were constant, I was shredded and strong, but otherwise useless. I resumed eating as usual after the comp and this depletion disappeared, my mood and productivity improved, as did my sleep and overall strenght. I m now back to 210, happy and all.
For this reason, the goal now is to move up to 230 (the next weight class for most strongmen comps). I do not necessarily need to reach this weight in the short term but I want to prioritise quality of life, so I want to avoid weight cut with heavy training later on. Also, I m leaning to the tall size at 198 in strongman, so I believe 230 is worth a try. At the moment, my doctor put me on 350mg test c per week during the early stage of hypertrophy training (taken as 250mg every 5 days), then will stack 350mg deca per week plus 60mg/day anadrol starting in February.
Since my goal is mass-building with a focus on strength, I wonder what you guys think of it. Anadrol was terrible for my appetite, I had stomach pain and occasionally some diarrhoea. I also had acne in the back and mild gyno. Acne I treated with topic stuff (partial success) and I used anastrozole for gyno (good results).
After reading a lot of content here, I m thinking about swapping anavar with dianabol (at 20mg day??). Also, would you suggest a different stack other than 350/350 testo and deca per week? A different ratio maybe?
A quick edit to add that I am currently based in the US and using napsgear dommestic delivery.
It s my first time posting here after harvesting information for a couple of months.
I was always active and got serious into strength training about 3 years ago, trying different styles to see what s what (crossfit, powerlifting, then strongman). I m 39 yo at 5'11, 210 and about 16-18 bf. My first try at a comp was static monsters a few months ago. I did reasonably well and met my goals, so I m now preparing for next year.
I went to a sports medicine doctor and started doing TRT in May 2022 with a 100mg gel (natural test at 300 at that point, then 550). In May 2023, I started with 200mg test c / week (test went up 850-900). During the summer, I took anadrol (60mg day for 60 days) alongside the regular trt. Starting in October, I took anavar (20mg day for 60 days). Bloods in December were on point apart from a mild change in LDL that went from excellent to good, but my doctor indicated this is not a big deal and likely due to recent anavar usage. I also get a sample diet plan which I follow reasonably well, sleep schedule is on point and alcohol consumption is minimal (I d say 3-4 times month, about 2-4 glasses of beer or wine max, if at all). I do a shitload of lab tests every 90-120 days following my doctor's requests. My goal is to stay healthy and active in the long run so I m not after anything crazy, but I am willing to compromise here and there since I really enjoy training hard and focusing on amateur level comps.
The thing is, as much as I am happy with my doctor's advice, he s based overseas (my home country) and has a career-long focus on bodybuilding. Sometimes I feel he doesn t always hit the mark when it comes to strenght training in general, but I trust him to read my lab tests etc so this trumps peak performance for me.
Hence, I wanted to ask for your advice. I had to cut 12 pounds for the static monsters and in all honesty, it was a pain. Not so much since I have no issues with following the diet plan and eating the same shit every day if necessary, but as someone who works full time alongside this amateur training thing, I was borderline dysfunctional due to being energy depleted. Pre comp training ranged about 3-4 hours 4 days a week (I have a coach taking care of that and the prep plan is great). I was occasionally hungry but brain fog and exhaustion were constant, I was shredded and strong, but otherwise useless. I resumed eating as usual after the comp and this depletion disappeared, my mood and productivity improved, as did my sleep and overall strenght. I m now back to 210, happy and all.
For this reason, the goal now is to move up to 230 (the next weight class for most strongmen comps). I do not necessarily need to reach this weight in the short term but I want to prioritise quality of life, so I want to avoid weight cut with heavy training later on. Also, I m leaning to the tall size at 198 in strongman, so I believe 230 is worth a try. At the moment, my doctor put me on 350mg test c per week during the early stage of hypertrophy training (taken as 250mg every 5 days), then will stack 350mg deca per week plus 60mg/day anadrol starting in February.
Since my goal is mass-building with a focus on strength, I wonder what you guys think of it. Anadrol was terrible for my appetite, I had stomach pain and occasionally some diarrhoea. I also had acne in the back and mild gyno. Acne I treated with topic stuff (partial success) and I used anastrozole for gyno (good results).
After reading a lot of content here, I m thinking about swapping anavar with dianabol (at 20mg day??). Also, would you suggest a different stack other than 350/350 testo and deca per week? A different ratio maybe?
A quick edit to add that I am currently based in the US and using napsgear dommestic delivery.