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jcgadfly
jcgadfly g Jeff Craft
192 Post(s)
192 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: May 5, 2015
Posted

Hi all,

I'm approaching my first year of lifting life (at least with free weights) and I have no idea what to expect (especially since I'm a novice and I'm not a natural lifter). 

Pick up your lower jaws, folks. I'm not natty - haven't been for a lot of years. Don't get it twisted - I'm not Bostin Loyd or Rich Piana and don't do massive amounts of anything (you've seen my pictures - if I'm pinning that much crsp I really suck at this game). That being said, I am on prescribed TRT (Androgel) for low T and I take Levothyroxine because cancer took my thyroid away and I no longer make my own T4 

Now, what are my chances of improving myself? What information do I need to give you to help you with my question?

Thanks.

 

Old enough to know better, young enough not to care. I'm an eternal rookie - As soon as I stop learning I start dying.
jmboiardi
jmboiardi p John M Boiardi
2.6K Post(s)
2.6K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: October 10, 2013
Posted
Posted By: jcgadfly

Hi all,

I'm approaching my first year of lifting life (at least with free weights) and I have no idea what to expect (especially since I'm a novice and I'm not a natural lifter). 

Pick up your lower jaws, folks. I'm not natty - haven't been for a lot of years. Don't get it twisted - I'm not Bostin Loyd or Rich Piana and don't do massive amounts of anything (you've seen my pictures - if I'm pinning that much crsp I really suck at this game). That being said, I am on prescribed TRT (Androgel) for low T and I take Levothyroxine because cancer took my thyroid away and I no longer make my own T4 

Now, what are my chances of improving myself? What information do I need to give you to help you with my question?

Thanks.

 

Jeff,

 

The choice to use exogenous testosterone is a personal one and even though this site expouses natural lifting it is not judgemental. I did steroids for 4 years when I was younger and then made a conscious decision it was not what I wanted for my ultimate fitness goals. There are legitimate medical reasons for TRT as you know. I, for one, believe it can be fixed with proper diet especially proper fat consumption but that is my opinion.

 

What you can expect from your physique comes down to 3 basic things: nutrition, training intensity, and age. We can't control our age and the physiological changes that go with it but we can affect change in nutrition and training. I have no insight into these in your regard so I can't comment specifically on your situation but being the same age as you (52) I can say that I am in the best shape of my life now. I am, however, anal about my nutrition and eat clean 24/7/365 no exceptions and I train very intensely - many of the younger people in my gym can't comprehend how much volume I do at my age.

 

I would consult your doctor an make sure your thyroid medication dosages are spot on, if you are not already doing this. Your thyroid controls your metabolism and your body temperature. If it is off, it will affect your energy levels and how your metabolism processes macronutrients.

 

John

34 years of lifting and nutritional experience and resident "old man" :-) MS Athlete and past Super Hermanite since 2013.
jcgadfly
jcgadfly g Jeff Craft
192 Post(s)
192 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: May 5, 2015
Posted
Posted By: jmboiardi

Jeff,

 

The choice to use exogenous testosterone is a personal one and even though this site expouses natural lifting it is not judgemental. I did steroids for 4 years when I was younger and then made a conscious decision it was not what I wanted for my ultimate fitness goals. There are legitimate medical reasons for TRT as you know. I, for one, believe it can be fixed with proper diet especially proper fat consumption but that is my opinion.

 

What you can expect from your physique comes down to 3 basic things: nutrition, training intensity, and age. We can't control our age and the physiological changes that go with it but we can affect change in nutrition and training. I have no insight into these in your regard so I can't comment specifically on your situation but being the same age as you (52) I can say that I am in the best shape of my life now. I am, however, anal about my nutrition and eat clean 24/7/365 no exceptions and I train very intensely - many of the younger people in my gym can't comprehend how much volume I do at my age.

 

I would consult your doctor an make sure your thyroid medication dosages are spot on, if you are not already doing this. Your thyroid controls your metabolism and your body temperature. If it is off, it will affect your energy levels and how your metabolism processes macronutrients.

 

John

Thanks for the answer though I do have to disagree on the non-judgmental aspect. This site screams that not being natty is so far on the Dark Side of the Force that Shakespeare comes to mind sometimes, i.e., "The lady doth protest too much, methnks."

 

I'm also impressed/concerned that you obsess about eating clean 24/7/365. I went through some food paranoia in the past where I was overly concerned about what I ate and orthorexia scares me silly.

Old enough to know better, young enough not to care. I'm an eternal rookie - As soon as I stop learning I start dying.
jmboiardi
jmboiardi p John M Boiardi
2.6K Post(s)
2.6K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: October 10, 2013
Posted
Posted By: jcgadfly

Thanks for the answer though I do have to disagree on the non-judgmental aspect. This site screams that not being natty is so far on the Dark Side of the Force that Shakespeare comes to mind sometimes, i.e., "The lady doth protest too much, methnks."

 

I'm also impressed/concerned that you obsess about eating clean 24/7/365. I went through some food paranoia in the past where I was overly concerned about what I ate and orthorexia scares me silly.

Jeff,

 

I think the Natty core here are not overtly critical of the ones who choose to use steroids. In any public forum, you will get extremes of opinions and viewpoints.

 

As for my diet, it is not an obsession. I don't even have to think about eating clean all the time I just do it. My metabolism is so fined tuned now and my workouts are so demanding that I don't crave nor like to eat non-nutritious foods as they make me feel "off" and affect my workouts. Bodybuilding to me is a lifestyle not a hobby. As such, following the right steps to ensure I meet my goals is just part of the process.

 

John

34 years of lifting and nutritional experience and resident "old man" :-) MS Athlete and past Super Hermanite since 2013.
pharmafreen
pharmafreen g pharma afreen
4 Post(s)
4 Post(s) Gender: Female Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: October 10, 2017
Posted

 

Pharmascience Health Gainer for Weight gain

Mens need many calorie requirements that many men have proves to be incredibly trying Pharmascience health gainer a weight gainer makes this far easier. If you consider the fact that there are weight gainers available that pack in over a thousand calories per shake .

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jcgadfly
jcgadfly g Jeff Craft
192 Post(s)
192 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: May 5, 2015
Posted
Posted By: pharmafreen

 

Pharmascience Health Gainer for Weight gain

Mens need many calorie requirements that many men have proves to be incredibly trying Pharmascience health gainer a weight gainer makes this far easier. If you consider the fact that there are weight gainers available that pack in over a thousand calories per shake .

For more visit

..............................................................

Weight Gainer

Believe me, don't need a weight gainer. I can look at food the wroing way and gain weight. It's the kind of weight that I'm trying to control. To that end, I'm trying to get in about 1g per pound of my target body weight (TBW - 183) of protein, .6g per pound of TBW of fat and the rest in carbs - that leaves me a alittle over 2900 kcal/day. If I can get close to that it'll seem like a reverse diet.

Old enough to know better, young enough not to care. I'm an eternal rookie - As soon as I stop learning I start dying.
muscular strength
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