started trt about 6 months back and its honestly been great for getting me back into the gym and actually enjoying it again which was a huge passion of mine like 20 years ago. im doing 125mg a week split into mwf pins and ive already put on maybe 15lbs of muscle but i feel like ive definitely hit a plateau now.
my last bloods showed total t at 1280 and free t at 400 with e2 sitting at 104 but i dont really get any side effects so i only touched an ai maybe 3 times total in the last 6 months.
im thinking about doing a 12-16 week cycle to try and pack on some more size and hopefully burn off some of this visceral fat around my midsection. was wondering if i should just bump the test up to like 200 or 300mg a week or if i should try a test and npp stack? grok llm actually
honestly if you’re already at 1280 total T, bumping to 200-300 might not give that much more unless your goal is seriously pushing size
NPP alongside Test could help fill in those stubborn spots and keep joints happy during heavier work
visceral fat usually responds more to diet + slight surplus than just cranking your dose
your E2 is already high but if you’re not feeling sides it’s probably fine- just keep an eye on it
12-16 weeks is a solid window for seeing progress without overdoing it
splitting 125mg over MWF is smart, maybe keep that approach if you bump the dose so levels stay smooth
man 1280 total T on just 125mg? you must be a hyper-responder lol. honestly if you're feeling good and have no sides with E2 at 104 i wouldnt even touch the AI. if i were you id just bump the test to 300 and see how it goes before adding other compounds. keep it simple since its your first real blast.
nice progress on the 15lbs so far! just a heads up though- gear isnt really a fat burner. itll help you hold muscle while you cut but the visceral fat is mostly gonna come down to your diet and cardio. maybe try 250mg test and a slight deficit? test and npp is a great mass builder but it might make you hold a lot of water.
if you've only been back at it for 6 months after a 20 year break you might just be hitting a wall because your training/diet needs a tweak. you can definitely go up to 300mg test easily but dont expect it to melt the midsection fat off- thats the boring kitchen work sadly lol.
id stay away from npp for your first cycle back. 300mg of test is a totally different ballgame than trt doses and you already know how you handle test. plus npp can mess with your head sometimes and if youre enjoying the gym right now you dont want to ruin the vibe with mental sides.
15lbs in 6 months is huge man congrats. i wouldnt overcomplicate it yet. just bump the test to 250 or 300 and see if the plateau breaks. you have plenty of time to add the fancy stuff later once you stop growing on test alone - good luck with the cut!
