This post started out as an answer to a question by MOB...
From my experience I will give you this. Everyone is going to metabolize exogenous hormones differently. One thing you did not metion was, what were the preexisting levels of hormones in the two men? This has to be consider as "how big was the ice cream cone to start with before you put that cherry on top?" Forget about that for now. Everyone acts differently depending on everything from diet ( some need more of one thing than others), to actuating enzyme levels (still a mystery), to natural set points (which the body will strive to get back to), to amounts of muscle type ( I or II), and amounts of receptors in muscles (which also change depending on genetics/age/current fitness level). A person with more body fat has more estrogen receptors. Did you know that creatine works much better in people with higher levels of fast twitch muscle fiber?? This is true and I have seen it. I believe that adding testosterone will accentuate/amplify the body's aready existing proportions of E2 to DHT, etc. But this is also only true to the point of saturation that is possible. Where the rest goes I am starting to believe is simply excreted after the body is exhaustingly overworked tryinng to removed what can not be uptaked propertly. hence heart, liver, kidney stress. Bigger guys can utilize more steroids for (DHT) muscle, and fatter guys can utilize more steroids for E2. This I am becomming convinced of and why I am starting to believe that more is not only useless, but a TERRIBLE STRAIN on vital body systems. And that if you do have the capacity to use the exogenous hormone as applied, then there is abosolutely no major risk to organs. JUST MY THOUGHTS. Dont bank it. I used to believe that if I guy had the make up of a high estogen person ( no hair loss, or body hair), that this would mean he would create a bunch of estrogens. I have since revised this theory. I have two friends that are both obviously inclined to high E2 to DHT ratios, denoted by not much body hair, and full heads of hair. I have now seen both of them after administering high amounts of exogenous testosterone. The one of them who is less active and even has a pot belly as he does not get to exercise that often, blew up like a pregnant woman. I mean face swollen, serious water retention throughout his body, and emotional signs of high estrogen. The other one, who also has all his hair and happens to work out and has a good degree of muscle, got huge, AND FAST! He has no water bloating and get tons of strength and energy from testosterone. Personally I am the other side of the coin. I am naturally higher in DHT than E2 by makeup. I started loosing my hair and had plenty of body hair at the age of 25. HOWEVER, now nearing 40 ( and only being involved in testosterone supping a few years now), I have a lot of body fat and less muscle than I used to. I am finding that I can hardly make any extra DHT, but I am making plenty of E2. While My bodytype is borderline and only slightly naturally skewed toward a DHT/E2 ration that is slightly higher in DHT, I now have more E2 receptors than I used to causing nothing but negatives when I add too much test. I am thinking that I was close in my theory all along about exogenous test only amplifying natural proportions. This is true to a large degree. However the natural proportions that are being amplified and the current conditions of muscle verses bodyfat. This I am now certain of. So it looks like a condition that can compound on its self. The more muscle you build in the gym, the more exogenous test you can use positively speaking. I am thinking that muscle fibre types are playing a greater role than realized as well.
So now you have to wonder, what is even the fucking point?
(1) I am more and more convinced that there is absolutely no benefit from adding exogenous testosterone unless you have to muscle capacity to merit it. And that would be a great deal of muscle to push the testicles to levels they cant support. The problem with being 30 and going to the gym to find out you cant recover in less than a week is not due to the body's lack of ability to supply necessary testosterone. It can supply enough to get pretty big and benching as much as 400 lbs. The problem ALWAYS lies in the fact that the person has been sedentary for an extended period of time and the HPTA cant compensate overnight. And the older we get, the longer it takes to compensate.
(2) For serious body builders, the normal body can only produce so much testosterone naturally depending on its genetic capability, so if you have created the demand, or you have aged to the point that you can no longer put out the levels to support that 400lb bench press, then you can justify it. I AM STARTING TO THINK PERIOD.
Even Bigger is then WHAT IS THE POINT IN TRT??
(1) I am not even fucking sure anymore.
(2) If you are talking about taking a healthy male who has simply declined in testosterone levels due to natural aging, His body more than likely has the bases already covered for what it currently requires. And the case is really more along the lines not of natural aging, but time on that lazy overworked ass!!!
(3) Keep in mind we are talking about taking 100-150mgs /wk just to "feel better", and improve some "symptoms". The typical candidate for replacement therapy these days is 30-40 years old, no energy in gym/ can't recover from workout, feeling depressed, low energy, poor this, poor that, etc... But what really are we looking at? He is a male who has not been active for 10 plus years, at least not on a regular basis, and he has put on some body fat. So YEA, GO FIGURE, what did I just say. He has already altered his body's proprotional composistion of E to T by changing the primary demand systems structure. So what is adding testosterone going to do for him? AGGREVATE HIS ALREADY WHACKED OUT FATTY ASS with even higher available testosterone to turn into even more E2 and less DHT. AND FINALLY whatever excess he is getting is working the shit out of his organs to excrete!!!!
(4) Any sedentary person is going to still have some availability for bioavailability at receptor points. Hence ANYONE is going to feel something from the initial onset of TRT. A male will welcome the slightly raised DHT and ignore the new E2. A typical protocal for doctors with no sense of homones is to write gel or cream. What happens. The person feels good for a little while (2 weeks), his body starts to compensate (shut down test production) so he continues to feel a little kick from the test cream for a few months as he is still enjoying this little extra bit of DHT, while trying his hardest to ignore the new E2. And then finally after 3-4 months he is completely shut down. The minimal amount of receptors he has are now saturated. He is left with nothing more than now fully saturated receptors with an even higher E2 level totally relying on exogenous hormones to exist. Whatever feeling he got from the initial rush of whatever extra DHT action his small available receptor pool allowed for is now long forgotten due to the prolonged E2 now even more pronounced than before TRT. And FINALLY he says, "Fuck this doc, its not doing anything for me". I would bet that 95% of the folks that try test cream or gel from a general practicioner simply for the reasons of feeling better are finished with it in 6 months tops.!! This is the whole scam and safety mechanism that allows any doc to write gel and not be worried about consequences and not even worry about doing it.
(4) While overall, gels and creams are not even enough hormone to justify using them over sucking on a boar hog's titties, doesn't this just prove the point. I am willing to bet that no AVERAGE TRT CANDIDATE got anymore sensation out of shooting 500mgs of test on Monday, than he would have from applying cream or get for a week. The room simply is not there at the receptors as the body has already supplied them with MOST of what they can handle. And all you are doing after that point is straining organs!!!
(5) THE FUNNIEST PART OF IT ALL IS: Isn't it funny how we all want a quick fix when after all that effort the key was simply in the fact that you had already made yourself what you are, and the only real fix is to change what you are with work and diet education.
(6) Workout recovery is slow = go back again.
Tired all the time = get an athletic hobbie and crankstark your motor.
Can't sleep = thats cause all you did was sit on your ass today.
Depressed = I am too when I dont have a physical sport to bring physical fulfillment.
(7) IN SHORT, for that average healthy 30 year old male considering a cycle or replacement. They may be one in the same! Without exercise, EITHER IS POINTLESS, except for the fact that you are now straining organs too with a cycle size Dose because you are not able to utilize it.
I have constantly experimented with large doese of testosterone while not exercising. IT ONLY MAKES ME FEEL WORSE. Especially psychologically due to the estrogen. I have lived under the false belief that a high dose would someday make me feel good. Shit my out a balance high E2/DHT ratio has me so fucked up I can barely shoot a load well. And the well has never been so dry. I am loosing any doubt that E2 is the sole and major offender to the prostate. I am convinced that without exercise, even TRT is a total waste, if not detrimental. I am sure that body fat to muscle composition is strictly responsible for the hormone composition (that we are interested in) of the body. It would appear to me that the most important and EFFECTIVE thing we can do to improve our hormonal composition is to lower body fat and exercise. Then and only then supplement extra testosterone if you develop the muscle to justify it. I have a buddy who is 37. He has exercised regularly all his life. He has never supp'd testosterone. His T levels are 800 and he feels great. Go figure.
To those that have physical reasons requiring hormone replacement, this was obviously not directed to you. MY POINT IS that all this campaign to get the world on TRT is TOTAL BULLSHIT!!!!!
From my experience I will give you this. Everyone is going to metabolize exogenous hormones differently. One thing you did not metion was, what were the preexisting levels of hormones in the two men? This has to be consider as "how big was the ice cream cone to start with before you put that cherry on top?" Forget about that for now. Everyone acts differently depending on everything from diet ( some need more of one thing than others), to actuating enzyme levels (still a mystery), to natural set points (which the body will strive to get back to), to amounts of muscle type ( I or II), and amounts of receptors in muscles (which also change depending on genetics/age/current fitness level). A person with more body fat has more estrogen receptors. Did you know that creatine works much better in people with higher levels of fast twitch muscle fiber?? This is true and I have seen it. I believe that adding testosterone will accentuate/amplify the body's aready existing proportions of E2 to DHT, etc. But this is also only true to the point of saturation that is possible. Where the rest goes I am starting to believe is simply excreted after the body is exhaustingly overworked tryinng to removed what can not be uptaked propertly. hence heart, liver, kidney stress. Bigger guys can utilize more steroids for (DHT) muscle, and fatter guys can utilize more steroids for E2. This I am becomming convinced of and why I am starting to believe that more is not only useless, but a TERRIBLE STRAIN on vital body systems. And that if you do have the capacity to use the exogenous hormone as applied, then there is abosolutely no major risk to organs. JUST MY THOUGHTS. Dont bank it. I used to believe that if I guy had the make up of a high estogen person ( no hair loss, or body hair), that this would mean he would create a bunch of estrogens. I have since revised this theory. I have two friends that are both obviously inclined to high E2 to DHT ratios, denoted by not much body hair, and full heads of hair. I have now seen both of them after administering high amounts of exogenous testosterone. The one of them who is less active and even has a pot belly as he does not get to exercise that often, blew up like a pregnant woman. I mean face swollen, serious water retention throughout his body, and emotional signs of high estrogen. The other one, who also has all his hair and happens to work out and has a good degree of muscle, got huge, AND FAST! He has no water bloating and get tons of strength and energy from testosterone. Personally I am the other side of the coin. I am naturally higher in DHT than E2 by makeup. I started loosing my hair and had plenty of body hair at the age of 25. HOWEVER, now nearing 40 ( and only being involved in testosterone supping a few years now), I have a lot of body fat and less muscle than I used to. I am finding that I can hardly make any extra DHT, but I am making plenty of E2. While My bodytype is borderline and only slightly naturally skewed toward a DHT/E2 ration that is slightly higher in DHT, I now have more E2 receptors than I used to causing nothing but negatives when I add too much test. I am thinking that I was close in my theory all along about exogenous test only amplifying natural proportions. This is true to a large degree. However the natural proportions that are being amplified and the current conditions of muscle verses bodyfat. This I am now certain of. So it looks like a condition that can compound on its self. The more muscle you build in the gym, the more exogenous test you can use positively speaking. I am thinking that muscle fibre types are playing a greater role than realized as well.
So now you have to wonder, what is even the fucking point?
(1) I am more and more convinced that there is absolutely no benefit from adding exogenous testosterone unless you have to muscle capacity to merit it. And that would be a great deal of muscle to push the testicles to levels they cant support. The problem with being 30 and going to the gym to find out you cant recover in less than a week is not due to the body's lack of ability to supply necessary testosterone. It can supply enough to get pretty big and benching as much as 400 lbs. The problem ALWAYS lies in the fact that the person has been sedentary for an extended period of time and the HPTA cant compensate overnight. And the older we get, the longer it takes to compensate.
(2) For serious body builders, the normal body can only produce so much testosterone naturally depending on its genetic capability, so if you have created the demand, or you have aged to the point that you can no longer put out the levels to support that 400lb bench press, then you can justify it. I AM STARTING TO THINK PERIOD.
Even Bigger is then WHAT IS THE POINT IN TRT??
(1) I am not even fucking sure anymore.
(2) If you are talking about taking a healthy male who has simply declined in testosterone levels due to natural aging, His body more than likely has the bases already covered for what it currently requires. And the case is really more along the lines not of natural aging, but time on that lazy overworked ass!!!
(3) Keep in mind we are talking about taking 100-150mgs /wk just to "feel better", and improve some "symptoms". The typical candidate for replacement therapy these days is 30-40 years old, no energy in gym/ can't recover from workout, feeling depressed, low energy, poor this, poor that, etc... But what really are we looking at? He is a male who has not been active for 10 plus years, at least not on a regular basis, and he has put on some body fat. So YEA, GO FIGURE, what did I just say. He has already altered his body's proprotional composistion of E to T by changing the primary demand systems structure. So what is adding testosterone going to do for him? AGGREVATE HIS ALREADY WHACKED OUT FATTY ASS with even higher available testosterone to turn into even more E2 and less DHT. AND FINALLY whatever excess he is getting is working the shit out of his organs to excrete!!!!
(4) Any sedentary person is going to still have some availability for bioavailability at receptor points. Hence ANYONE is going to feel something from the initial onset of TRT. A male will welcome the slightly raised DHT and ignore the new E2. A typical protocal for doctors with no sense of homones is to write gel or cream. What happens. The person feels good for a little while (2 weeks), his body starts to compensate (shut down test production) so he continues to feel a little kick from the test cream for a few months as he is still enjoying this little extra bit of DHT, while trying his hardest to ignore the new E2. And then finally after 3-4 months he is completely shut down. The minimal amount of receptors he has are now saturated. He is left with nothing more than now fully saturated receptors with an even higher E2 level totally relying on exogenous hormones to exist. Whatever feeling he got from the initial rush of whatever extra DHT action his small available receptor pool allowed for is now long forgotten due to the prolonged E2 now even more pronounced than before TRT. And FINALLY he says, "Fuck this doc, its not doing anything for me". I would bet that 95% of the folks that try test cream or gel from a general practicioner simply for the reasons of feeling better are finished with it in 6 months tops.!! This is the whole scam and safety mechanism that allows any doc to write gel and not be worried about consequences and not even worry about doing it.
(4) While overall, gels and creams are not even enough hormone to justify using them over sucking on a boar hog's titties, doesn't this just prove the point. I am willing to bet that no AVERAGE TRT CANDIDATE got anymore sensation out of shooting 500mgs of test on Monday, than he would have from applying cream or get for a week. The room simply is not there at the receptors as the body has already supplied them with MOST of what they can handle. And all you are doing after that point is straining organs!!!
(5) THE FUNNIEST PART OF IT ALL IS: Isn't it funny how we all want a quick fix when after all that effort the key was simply in the fact that you had already made yourself what you are, and the only real fix is to change what you are with work and diet education.
(6) Workout recovery is slow = go back again.
Tired all the time = get an athletic hobbie and crankstark your motor.
Can't sleep = thats cause all you did was sit on your ass today.
Depressed = I am too when I dont have a physical sport to bring physical fulfillment.
(7) IN SHORT, for that average healthy 30 year old male considering a cycle or replacement. They may be one in the same! Without exercise, EITHER IS POINTLESS, except for the fact that you are now straining organs too with a cycle size Dose because you are not able to utilize it.
I have constantly experimented with large doese of testosterone while not exercising. IT ONLY MAKES ME FEEL WORSE. Especially psychologically due to the estrogen. I have lived under the false belief that a high dose would someday make me feel good. Shit my out a balance high E2/DHT ratio has me so fucked up I can barely shoot a load well. And the well has never been so dry. I am loosing any doubt that E2 is the sole and major offender to the prostate. I am convinced that without exercise, even TRT is a total waste, if not detrimental. I am sure that body fat to muscle composition is strictly responsible for the hormone composition (that we are interested in) of the body. It would appear to me that the most important and EFFECTIVE thing we can do to improve our hormonal composition is to lower body fat and exercise. Then and only then supplement extra testosterone if you develop the muscle to justify it. I have a buddy who is 37. He has exercised regularly all his life. He has never supp'd testosterone. His T levels are 800 and he feels great. Go figure.
To those that have physical reasons requiring hormone replacement, this was obviously not directed to you. MY POINT IS that all this campaign to get the world on TRT is TOTAL BULLSHIT!!!!!
