will low natural test levels cause me to lose gains quickly?

[viperbluelx]

A year ago my test level was 330, which for a then 30 year old is low. My doc put me on a gel which I hated. So anyway I'm 6 weeks into a 12 week test C cycle at 500mg/wk and I'm seeing good gains and feel great. My worries are after PCT when my natural levels drop backin the low 300s will I lose all the muscle or will test levels in that range be enough as long as I keep up my diet and training?

 

[stevesmi]

no you can build muscle with low levels of test.

there are guys with high levels of test that look like crap... you need to workout

and 330 can be boosted with a better diet, working out (deadlifts, squats) and natty supps.. you do not need HRT.... yet.

 

[johnnyboy3689282]

no you can build muscle with low levels of test.

there are guys with high levels of test that look like crap... you need to workout

and 330 can be boosted with a better diet, working out (deadlifts, squats) and natty supps.. you do not need HRT.... yet.

Put very well. The only reason you will lose mass from cycle is from not continuing to workout at the same intensity, cardio, diet, and not having proper PCT. U cant bulk for 14 weeks on cycle and eat all these axtra calories to gain the extra weight, and then when done with PCT, go back to shitty diet. Or vice Versa with cutting....

Keeping gains= Consistency, Diet, and Dedication after your cycle... Diet is prolly the biggest.

PCT- If you do proper pct, u should just see the water retention go and not the muscle... Muscle loss again when test levels are below your normal level... Everyones level is different, high or low, just need to get your own supply back going no matter what it is. Hey, your body has to pull the test from somewhere.

 

[stevesmi]

^^ that and while you are on your body is much more easily in an anabolic and androgenic state. so its totally normal to lose SOME strength and size when you come off.. if you keep hammering away you should keep most of your gains.

i like to bulk on cycle, and cut off cycle.. my weight goes from 180 cutting off, to 190 bulking on.

 

[skaman007]

i have low test off 330 too...i lose all my gains after pct every cycle...and i have tried all the pcts recommended here from otc to clomid/nolva....my training stays the same as does food intake....i think imo with our low test we will constant yo yo unless we stay on.

 

[stevesmi]

sadly there is a genetic element involved with bodybuilding. thats the interesting thing about this sport, everyone is different.. we all have different shapes and sizes.

can you overcome genetic deficiences to become a professional athlete? nope.. can you overcome them to become Mr. Olympia? no.. but it doesn't mean you cannot still bust your butt and look better than 99% of people out there.

 

[aquatic_glories]

Truth to be told, unless you are at beginner level, you will lose some size. If you are 220+ , the best thing you can do is to try to protect it with that low levels of hormones..

During my last pct , my test was mid 200 about 7-10 days after cycle and I was literally killing myself to get one extra rep.. And of course in the first week of crash, I lost 4-5 reps on most exercises.. I had very high protein and cal intake and gave everything I could to my training and kept almost all size.. Now my test is back to what it was normally (800-1200) and I have no problem adding weight to the bar even with much lower protein and calorie intake(and higher intensity training..)

I know that psychology very well.. But definitely you are not going to lose ALL muscle.. Keep diet and training in check and you will keep most of your gains (and almost all of it if your cycle was anabolics only).. You are going to feel like crap , have depression-like effects but be tough and it is gonna pass..

And also , 300 is very low level for a 30 year old.. The lab ranges,, yeah the low limit says 230 something but it is for 70 80 year olds.. I felt like shit at that level.. So go to an endo and do what he says , it nothing else works, go to HRT.. That way, you can build lots of muscle even after using AAS..

Also use peptides, creatine , test increasers like unleashed during your therapy.. It helped me a lot.. I believe there was no way I could have kept my size with that low test levels during that week or two..

 

[mrplunkey]

1) If your test levels are chronically low, you will eventually lose muscle.

2) 330 is lowish for your age, but the clinical threshold is 200 to 250 (varies by physician).

3) Even if your levels drop low again after your cycle, it takes longer than you'd think to begin losing muscle (for me it's a good 10-12 weeks)

4) A lot of physicians will put you on a cycle where you either stay on (which I'd never do) or an alternating cycle where you stay on for a while, then spend at least that much time (or more) off.

 

[aquatic_glories]

1) If your test levels are chronically low, you will eventually lose muscle.

2) 330 is lowish for your age, but the clinical threshold is 200 to 250 (varies by physician).

3) Even if your levels drop low again after your cycle, it takes longer than you'd think to begin losing muscle (for me it's a good 10-12 weeks)

4) A lot of physicians will put you on a cycle where you either stay on (which I'd never do) or an alternating cycle where you stay on for a while, then spend at least that much time (or more) off.

I definitely do not agree with that.. It is like saying when your hormones skyrocket after starting AAS, you ll start gaining in 3 months.. With that low levels of testo, muscle is gonna be lost very quickly unless diet and training is well.. His body will prefer burning muscle

 

[stevesmi]

I still gotta disagree with some of you guys. high test levels doesn't necessarily mean high sex drive and muscle building ability and vice versa.

I had 97 test level for 2 months after deca, i was shutdown pretty good for a while.. and I STILL was able to break highs in my lifts and still had a good sex drive.

and I know guys who run cycles with test and their levels are 1500+ and they cannot put a single pound of muscle and their sex drives are dead. there are threads on here with guys on test who say this all the time. heck I've run cycles myself where my sex drive dove towards the end of it. maybe it was because i wasn't take DHEA? maybe the test was underdosed (however i was still gaining muscle and strength go figure)

bottom line is it takes more then high test levels to build muscle.. does it help? yes, it probably does.. but there is more to it. and sex drive is more complicated then just high test levels will make you horny. i would argue that being in an androgenic state will make you more horny then just high test levels theoretically.

would love for this discussion to continue, think its a cool thread and I know we all are gonna have differing opinions cause lets face it.. everyone's body is different and reacts differently to AAS.