[Freddie Baker]

Lat, tricep and shoulder strength is a big part of most selection courses. Don’t have to be big, just explosively strong in those areas.

TRT…yeah pinning will be an issue, but your biggest concern will be CDTs. I was RM and by week 8 we all had to have done a random test but at any point in the first 8 weeks you were picked. We were under Naval Command so unsure if the Army/RAF are as ‘on it’ with testing. I’d have thought be easier to run trt AFTER your pass out and you’re settled into your first draft. Still risky though, but if you’re caught after selection you won’t immediately get AGAI67, just an improvement notice.

Im serving army now, so thankfully a little too senior in ranks to be marched down to a CDT! Just the usual wait until the 200 have gone through testing for the CDT team to leave and then I’ll reappear! Christ if they popped for gear we would lose all of our support company in one go!

[/quote]
Ah thought you meant you were off to be a nod. My bad! 😂

Yeah I can imagine there’d be nobody left, especially if they got strict with the odd recreational. 🤪[/quote]

Haha lord no, im too old to ever go back to para depot and be cracking p company ever again!

Ive got 1 good shot at selection and i definitely wanna make the most of it!

Believe it or not recreational drugs are an immediate discharge – you can pull a mental health card and get away with it!

[Freddie Baker]

Lat, tricep and shoulder strength is a big part of most selection courses. Don’t have to be big, just explosively strong in those areas.

TRT…yeah pinning will be an issue, but your biggest concern will be CDTs. I was RM and by week 8 we all had to have done a random test but at any point in the first 8 weeks you were picked. We were under Naval Command so unsure if the Army/RAF are as ‘on it’ with testing. I’d have thought be easier to run trt AFTER your pass out and you’re settled into your first draft. Still risky though, but if you’re caught after selection you won’t immediately get AGAI67, just an improvement notice.

Im serving army now, so thankfully a little too senior in ranks to be marched down to a CDT! Just the usual wait until the 200 have gone through testing for the CDT team to leave and then I’ll reappear! Christ if they popped for gear we would lose all of our support company in one go!

[Freddie Baker]

Are you going for UK selection?

If so, which branch?

How long before selection starts are you planning on coming off everything?

Itll be aptitude within 12-18 months. Bodyweight and fitness need to improve and a few injuries need rehabilitation. I spoke with my coach and we agree, For me I’d rather attempt BAC when I know im ready as opposed to panic fitness inorder to pass.

Yes I will likely come off, or drop down to TRT – but that’s logistics dependant etc as you can’t always jab can you!

[Freddie Baker]

very open ended question as depends how much you want to throw at it and how far you are off were you want to be.

in reality you should need very little for this if anything at all. If I was trying to just maximise training for this I would do the following.

Test – 250-300mg
mast 100mg

SLU PP – 600mcg
Glow or Klow blend for recovery/injury prevention
Mots C if you find you need the energy and focus enhancement

GH is always helpful but never a must – 3iu pre bed

In terms of what I’ll throw at it, I’ll do anything to achieve the end goal- its just i want to go about it the right way and not mess conditioning up with too much.

My primary weakness isn’t strength but aerobic performance, running economy and loaded endurance, with this would you still choose 250–300 mg Test, or would you keep testosterone lower to minimise bodyweight gain, hematocrit rise and cardiovascular impact?
Ive always stuck to TRT + low dose primo or Mast like 50-100mg. But it never felt enough compared to other guys cycles when they passed –

my last bloods had me here
Total Testosterone: 30.10 nmol/L
Calculated Free Testosterone: 0.9890 nmol/L
SHBG: 10.5 nmol/L
Estradiol 141 pmol/L

[Freddie Baker]

Maybe lead with that information next time as it’s very relevant haha.

I would say dropping bodyweight and moving more are both more effective at lowering blood pressure than Telmisartan so you are on the right track.

Some other things that aid in controlling blood pressure:

Staying hydrated
Omega 369 intake 6-9g daily
Magnesium supplementation – I take 10mg per kg bodyweight (elemental magnesium)
TBJP Health stack (love heart, vital support, heart care)

Definitely should have lead with that! I was on 80mg a day – but ill drop the Telmisartan out for now while I continue dropping more weight and improving conditioning.

Conditioning is definitely improving with the 6 mile + runs and areobic work, but my breathing still feels quite heavy at times with my current size, especially at night when lying in bed – any clue as to what can be causing this? Or is it purely my size as im not running enough gear to cause crazy issues

[Freddie Baker]

Buy a blood pressure monitor and check it. That’s how you will know if your blood pressure is high or not.

Last few reading are 140 – 130 over 90

Im in the process of dropping weight. From 125kg to currently 119 and will likely pull another 10kg

[Freddie Baker]

Your H n H are not elevated they are in range just the upper range. As this is better for performance particularly endurance based i certainly would not want to change that.

E2 is also in range and again in the upper end which is better for lipids / sex drive and performance in most so again nothing to adjust here.

Creatinine is elevated I imagine from creatine intake and eGFR is on the lower side due to creatinine read so would not worry me. Very common to see.

Alt a touch raised likely due to hard training. Again not a worry for me.

HDL a touch under range which is Normal to see in most. Bump omega intake up to 6-9g Tbjp omega pro

Bloods are all as expected and fine imo

Perfect thank you for the reply – so keep things as is and add in the supplementation?

[Freddie Baker]

There is no issues with that total mg for most, the way most look a a cruise or trt + as some like to call it is usually around the 300mg total mark, for most people they can keep blood work in a perfect place on that total load no issues.

its then just about splitting the dose that works best for keeping your hormones/E2 were you want it.

personally for me 150mg test and 100mg primo would drive E2 to low but I have a client that sits perfect on it. You just need to figure out were you sit best

Thank you Peter,. Appreciated as always

If the 150 T:100 P ratio Would knock E2 too low, would you increase the test to 200mg + 100mg primo to keep within the max 300mg weekly amount or keep test at 150mg and lower primo to avoid adverse effects of cardiovascular fitness – seeing as thats a priority atm?

[Freddie Baker]

Why does she feel she needs a GLP to aid fat loss ?

Has she struggled to diet before due to adherence? Any other possible health issues ?

I would honestly spend the first 6-12 weeks focusing on solid nutrition and exercise. I would then run bloods to assess were her hormones and thyroid is post pregnancy as these things tend to be off in a lot of people.

If she sticks a GLP in straight away and under eats on top of these issues it could turn into a bit of a shit show so to speak and end up in a terrible place when she stops them. Hunger spikes and body is in an even worse place than it was to begin with.

Hi Peter, yes in the past diet adherence has always been an issue, certainly around emotional connection to food. But I think the main issue is body confidence or perception post birth – so I think she wanted the GLP to get in a position where she feels comfortable to leave the house and return to the gym.

From my end, post feedback from this thread ive sort pelvic floor info etc and recovery and will try my hardest to support. But I will relay the message about the necessary timelines and will book bloods & MRI at the 12 week mark.

Thank you

[Freddie Baker]

Initially I would focus on healing before fat loss. For the first six weeks, stick to light walking, breath work and pelvic floor activation. Avoid any heavy lifting or high impact exercise. Once she is cleared at her postnatal check, she can then gradually rebuild strength with simple core exercises and increase her walking pace and duration. From around 12 weeks, most people can return to more intense training with strength work and low impact cardio. For fat loss, I would see what she can do with a sustainable calorie deficit first before considering introducing any drugs or medication. Keep protein high with plenty of nutritious fruits and veg. Her body has just gone through an incredible, but very disruptive experience, there’s no need to rush.[/quote

Thank you, what pelvic floor work would you recommend?

[Freddie Baker]

Hello mate, totally agree with Clare here.
Her body needs to heal. I would NOT do a deficit, but a body recomposition first.
Light training first and VERY IMPORTANT, she has to do an MRI to check if she got a diastasis recti !!!! Can happen post pregnancy and the results will define the process later on.
First move for me is the MRI. She will need to strengthen pelvic floor anyway but if she got a diastasis; this could take 6months to 1year until being able to focus on weight training.
So confortable diet, physiotherapist regularly to help her with pelvic floor, hypopressives to help with inner abs, and MRI.

Oh that’s fascinating thank you! Would it have to go private for the MRI, or is it something the maternity ward would facilitate through the NHS?

Ill seek out a specialist trainer for the above, do you have any recommendations – or do you offer it yourself

[Freddie Baker]

Im in exactly the same boat! My Son is 5 days old and has spent most of that time in hospital!

I dropped my down to TRT test @ 150mg weekly cyp – split into daily shots alongside my 2mg of weekly reta. I just couldn’t see the point in running anymore, when for the next few weeks ill be fighting for sleep and maintaining my gym work at best!

When I can train properly again the primo will go back in!

Love to hear peoples thoughts on this and how others dealt with new borns

I’ve actually held performance really good and actually progressed on some movements
I said once baby is here I’ll just re access my movements and progressing nicely .
But sleep is the worst part
Do you think 150mg is just safest thing to do so ?[/quote]

I based my TRT of an initial recommendation from Peter on here, I then ran bloods to assess the dose and it put me right in the sweet spot!

I was also coming off recovery for a hair transplant and other surgeries so training volume was low.

I just couldn’t justify the additional compounds when sleep, training etc was going to be sub par – like you said, ill get as much out the gym as I can atm with the aim of maintaining numbers & fitness – whetever or not that means lower volume or less exercises etc or saying i can 100% stick to 3 gym sessions a week, so ill take consistency for now. Then primo will come back once I can really push my S&C work and be on a proper program

[Freddie Baker]

Im in exactly the same boat! My Son is 5 days old and has spent most of that time in hospital!

I dropped my down to TRT test @ 150mg weekly cyp – split into daily shots alongside my 2mg of weekly reta. I just couldn’t see the point in running anymore, when for the next few weeks ill be fighting for sleep and maintaining my gym work at best!

When I can train properly again the primo will go back in!

Love to hear peoples thoughts on this and how others dealt with new borns

[Freddie Baker]

Primo is a derivative, it’s not DHT, so adding it in, especially at 100mg, isn’t going to negatively impact your hair. I’d still wait to add anything over test until you’re back in the gym though. If you’re wanting to ensure there are no speed bumps, don’t change anything just now in your hair recovery.

Perfect thank you for that Andy, is it advised to wait the full 30 days before returning to the gym?

[Freddie Baker]

They will most likely tell you to stop all PEDs assuming you’ve been honest with them. I was on TRT at the time anyway, so I just stayed on that, and added in 2IU/GH as I knew this would help with healing. They’re most likely just covering their end by telling you to come off everything, rather than it impacting the transplant itself.

How long post transplant did you stay on just TRT? Also did you wait the full month before returning to the gym?