Thanks from an older beginner and a TRT question

[tbennett]

Hey, Rip.

Just had to give thanks where thanks is due. I just turned 40, and I've been following SS since Jan 1st or so. I've played around with weights every now and then in my years, but never really got anywhere, obviously due to not knowing what the heck I was doing and having no plan for progression whatsoever.

Anyway, I started conservatively, seeing as I'm 40, married, and don't need to impress anyone :-P

Here are how my lifts have progressed in two months: (3x5)
1. Squats - 85 to 225
2. Bench press - 80 to 165
3. Deadlift - 135 - to 315
4. Press - 65 to 120
5. Power cleans - 65 to 125 (probably could be more, but I hurt my wrist a bit racking the weight onto my hand instead of my delts, poor form obviously)

I've also gone from 190 to 212, and in spite of that increase, my waist is actually a bit smaller (belt is looser) while at the same time I am damn close to having to buy new shirts for work - case in point, last week at a meeting I leaned forward and crossed my arms while sitting and almost ripped my lab coat. So, thank you for your book, it has made a wonderful change in my life for the better.

But here's the question (which I was unable to find in a search). The primary reason I got back into exercise like this after a 10+ year layoff was because at my check-up at 40, my doc said I had low testosterone and put me on a supplement (Testim gel). He noted that guys my age tended to gain 3-5 pounds lean body mass in 6 months, although the study that showed that gain said nothing about whether those guys gained that weight by exercising (and if so, how), or sitting on their butts, etc. My doc said if I liked lifting, now was the perfect time to get back into it.

I started using the gel about 1 month before starting to lift, so I've been on the testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for almost 3.5 months now. My doc and I are supposed to meet at 6 months to evaluate if I need to continue it.

So, finally, the question - have you had any students/clients who were on this stuff, and if so, did any of them have any noticeable effects when stopping? I'm inclined to stop it myself (it's not cheap, it smells bad, and I have to be extremely careful not to transfer it by contact to my little daughters). I suspect that if I follow the program, the gains will follow regardless of any miracles of modern chemistry, but I hate to think that these wonderful gains might stop - or worse, disintegrate a few months down the line...

(just for reference, my test prior to TRT was 191, and I think 200 or 250 is supposed to be the minimum of the range for guys my age)

[Mark Rippetoe]

We have several guys on TRT here. The gel is a damned messy, imprecise way to administer. Just stay on it, and if the doc doesn't agree, get another one that does.

[tbennett]

Much obliged. And thanks again, it's amazing to me that at 40 I'm the strongest I've ever been in my life, *and* I keep adding weight to the bar every week. It's almost addictive, I get it now how some folks loathe missing a workout, a run, etc.

Tangent to that - I'm a psychologist, and if I could find a way to get my patients to do SS instead of the typical drug therapies, I'd be all for it ;-)

[tennisgod]

Hi tbennett... Have you noticed any ill-effects from the TRT treatment? What are the positive effects?
I am 50 yo and in the same boat. My last test results was 8.8 nmol/L, when the normal range is 10-28 so I have a devil/angel conversation with myself every once and awhile as to getting the hormone-replacement treatment.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Tangent to that - I'm a psychologist, and if I could find a way to get my patients to do SS instead of the typical drug therapies, I'd be all for it ;-)

It would be better to get them on TRT and barbell training, since a low serum level of SSRI makes little sense.

[Sami]

Can't you just get injectables? I know the injections might be a pain, but there are many other benefits. It's probably cheaper, I would assume.

[tbennett]

Hi tbennett... Have you noticed any ill-effects from the TRT treatment? What are the positive effects?
I am 50 yo and in the same boat. My last test results was 8.8 nmol/L, when the normal range is 10-28 so I have a devil/angel conversation with myself every once and awhile as to getting the hormone-replacement treatment.

No negative effects other than one possible bad tube of gel that gave me a mild rash on my shoulders for 2 days (one tube out of 120+ is not too bad, I suppose). As for positive, it's difficult to say for sure, since I started SS one month afterward - I feel great physically, I'm stronger, much less fatigue, less stress, more energy, etc., but how much of that is due to TRT and how much is exercise, I couldn't say for sure.

I mentioned the cons to Rip - it's expensive (to be blunt, Testim is s/t like $250 a month, but with my insurance it's $30, I don't know what your situation is), it's messy (takes ~10 minutes to apply, and I have to leave my shirt off for another 15-20 or else it sticks), and it does have a distinctive odor (my wife complained mildly at first, but now says she's used to it, and no one else has asked me if I'm wearing some odd new cologne or s/t). The first 1-2 hours after you put it on, it's possible to transfer to someone else, and if it's to a woman or especially a pre-pubescent girl, the effects can be nasty, at least according to the literature I found - I don't want my 3 year old growing pubic hair, for example.

I'm sure Rip may have something humorous to say about this, but the only effect I can report for sure that is due more to the TRT than the lifting is libido. To be blunt again, the wife and I were getting busy maybe 1x a week prior to TRT; now it's 3-4x. And if we didn't have little babies, that might be higher :-) Also, it had been years since I woke up with morning wood, too, and now that's a daily occurrence. The low libido was actually the symptom that made me ask my doc about getting my T levels checked, and this has squared it away pretty well.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I mentioned the cons to Rip - it's expensive (to be blunt, Testim is s/t like $250 a month, but with my insurance it's $30, I don't know what your situation is), it's messy (takes ~10 minutes to apply, and I have to leave my shirt off for another 15-20 or else it sticks), and it does have a distinctive odor (my wife complained mildly at first, but now says she's used to it, and no one else has asked me if I'm wearing some odd new cologne or s/t). The first 1-2 hours after you put it on, it's possible to transfer to someone else, and if it's to a woman or especially a pre-pubescent girl, the effects can be nasty, at least according to the literature I found - I don't want my 3 year old growing pubic hair, for example.

This is what I'm talking about. It's silly to do anything but inject it.