Expert Answered TRT maximizing efficiency

[DutchBells]

Hi all,

I'm 42 years old and considering starting TRT, not because I have a clinically diagnosed testosterone deficiency, but because I want to explore whether further optimizing my testosterone levels could improve my overall performance, recovery, body composition and quality of life.

Here are my latest blood test results (October 2026):
- Total Testosterone: 26.20 nmol/L (864 ng/dL)
- SHBG: 52.4 nmol/L
- Albumin: 50 g/L
- Free Testosterone: 35.2 pmol/L
- Free Androgen Index (FAI): 50.0

I'm quite active and disciplined when it comes to fitness and nutrition:
- Strength training 4–5 days per week.
- Cycling to and from work 5 days per week, approximately 40 km per day.
- Tracking my food intake and paying close attention to my nutrition.
- I've been training on and off for around 20 years, with periods of consistent strength training.

Despite having trained for so many years, I feel I've never really reached my full muscular potential.

I've also experimented with cutting and getting leaner, but I noticed that prolonged calorie restriction negatively affected my motivation, libido and sleep. My body seems to respond much better to a higher calorie intake, with better training performance and overall well-being.

I'm now wondering whether TRT could potentially help me optimize my hormonal environment and support my long-term fitness goals.

If I decide to proceed, I'm considering starting with 125 mg of testosterone enanthate per week, split into two injections:
- Monday: 62.5 mg
- Thursday: 62.5 mg

My goal would be to maintain relatively stable testosterone levels throughout the week while monitoring blood markers closely and evaluating the overall effects.

I understand that my total testosterone is within the normal range, and I'm aware that TRT is not necessarily indicated based on these numbers alone. However, I'm interested in hearing from people who have considered or started TRT primarily for optimization rather than treating a diagnosed deficiency.

A few questions:
1. Has anyone started TRT with testosterone levels in a similar range?
2. Did you notice improvements in muscle growth, recovery, motivation, libido or overall well-being?
3. Would you consider my SHBG and free testosterone levels relevant when evaluating my hormonal status?
4. In hindsight, was TRT worth it when your starting levels were already within the normal range?

I'd appreciate honest experiences, particularly from people who were already training consistently and following a disciplined diet before starting TRT.

My stats :

Length : 190 cm
Weight : 87,5 kg
Bodyfat : 19%

 

[SalvatoreCorvus]

Hi.

A few answers:
1.
Yes. And As long as you stay within a physiological range, no change will be observed. No additional muscle gain or faster recovery etc. You only cut your natural production to obtain natural levels. So no physiological change.

And the sad reality is that even at doses of 500mg of testosterone life does not become more exciting or followed by a superman feeling
2.
No. Except the first few week. Just happy to inject products. So purely placebo effect.

3.
Of course, it would be useless. Because your body already works like that.
4.
Absolutely not. Even if you chose to do a TRT to reach the high standard, it wouldn't change anything. The difference might be noticeable for someone who is really low, bordering on testosterone deficiency.

In your approach you just risk a mandatory trt for life and a placebo effect at the beginning. And maybe The need to manage E2 or an incipient gynaecologist or hematocrit too high.

Hope this truth can help you (And yes it may not be what you wanted to read. But it's the "hard" reality )

 

[DutchBells]

I understand your point, and I genuinely appreciate your honesty.

Knowing that the dose is too low to achieve my goals, while the risks are still too high, what would you consider the optimal dosage to achieve the desired results while minimizing side effects?

Would a blast-and-cruise approach be a reasonable option, or would it be better to do a single blast followed by PCT?

 

[Sam Bjorn]

I completely agree with @SalvatoreCorvus. Using physiological doses of testosterone to improve your quality of life and athletic performance when your natural testosterone levels are already normal isn't the best idea.

You need to clearly distinguish between medicine and biohacking.

Medicine is about treating diseases, and TRT is designed for exactly that — treating age-related hypogonadism (or any other form of hypogonadism).

Biohacking, on the other hand, is about going beyond normal physiological levels, and by doing so, you're accepting all the risks associated with increasing the levels of hormones, neurotransmitters, or altering anything else in your body using various substances.

You can't have it both ways. If you want to experiment, doses that might actually provide some improvements would start at around 180 mg per week. 125 is totally useless dosage

 

[Sam Bjorn]

Would a blast-and-cruise approach be a reasonable option, or would it be better to do a single blast followed by PCT?

If you want to give it a try, there's no point in planning what you'll do in the future just yet. First, you simply need to try a cycle and then decide whether it's really something for you based on your own personal experience.

I mean, you need to actually hold a syringe in your hand, do your first injection, then go get blood tests, deal with elevated estradiol, bring it back down, and so on.

Of course, we'll help you with all of these things, but the point is that you need to experience it firsthand and understand whether it's something you really want or not.

Then we can figure out what to do next.

 

[DutchBells]

I'm not afraid to experiment and see how my body responds. Around 15 years ago, I did a cycle of 500 mg Test E per week combined with DBOL, but I honestly don't remember much about the experience. Perhaps the quality of the products wasn't very good, which may have limited the results.

I also can't really remember experiencing any significant side effects, although that could again have been related to the quality of the compounds.

This time, my preference is to use the lowest possible dose to achieve my goals while keeping side effects to a minimum. I'm perfectly comfortable with self-injections, and unlike last time, I'm planning to have regular blood work done beforehand and throughout the process, particularly to monitor estradiol levels.

I'm open to different approaches, but minimizing health risks and keeping side effects under control are my main priorities.

What would be a good starting point?

 

[DutchBells]

I decided to start with a 250mg Test E cycle for 12 weeks. Nolvados on the side for AI and Enclomilad for PCT.

I will do baseline bloodwork in advance and check my Test and E2 after 4-6 weeks.

I'll open a new topic to log the Journey.

 

[Sam Bjorn]

I'm not afraid to experiment and see how my body responds. Around 15 years ago, I did a cycle of 500 mg Test E per week combined with DBOL, but I honestly don't remember much about the experience. Perhaps the quality of the products wasn't very good, which may have limited the results.

I also can't really remember experiencing any significant side effects, although that could again have been related to the quality of the compounds.

This time, my preference is to use the lowest possible dose to achieve my goals while keeping side effects to a minimum. I'm perfectly comfortable with self-injections, and unlike last time, I'm planning to have regular blood work done beforehand and throughout the process, particularly to monitor estradiol levels.

I'm open to different approaches, but minimizing health risks and keeping side effects under control are my main priorities.

What would be a good starting point?

Okay, I understand you perfectly. That changes the approach quite a bit.

To get a clearer picture, it would help if you could send me a photo of your current physique and preferably a photo of the physique you'd like to achieve (for example, one from the internet). I need to understand where we're starting from and what we're trying to achieve. That way, the path forward becomes much clearer.

Also, if you have any blood test results from the last 6 months, that would be a plus.

And besides that, I'd like to know more specifically what aspects of your life you'd like to improve with PEDs, apart from your physique and recovery. It's important for me to understand the context better.

 

[Sam Bjorn]

I decided to start with a 250mg Test E cycle for 12 weeks. Nolvados on the side for AI and Enclomilad for PCT.

I will do baseline bloodwork in advance and check my Test and E2 after 4-6 weeks.

I'll open a new topic to log the Journey.

As for the testosterone dosage, that's perfectly fine, but there's no need to keep Nolvadex on hand. Get anastrozole or exemestane instead.
But I wouldn't rush into it, because considering your age (even though you do a lot of cardio), you might also need statins and telmisartan.
How's your blood pressure?

 

[Sam Bjorn]

I will do baseline bloodwork in advance and check my Test and E2 after 4-6 weeks.

I'd recommend getting a more comprehensive blood panel rather than just checking your hormones, so we can spot any abnormalities. I have a testing protocol I can share with you.

 

[DutchBells]

As for the testosterone dosage, that's perfectly fine, but there's no need to keep Nolvadex on hand. Get anastrozole or exemestane instead.
But I wouldn't rush into it, because considering your age (even though you do a lot of cardio), you might also need statins and telmisartan.
How's your blood pressure?

My bloodpressure was 118/76.

 

[DutchBells]

I'd recommend getting a more comprehensive blood panel rather than just checking your hormones, so we can spot any abnormalities. I have a testing protocol I can share with you.

That would be great. Where I live I don't get them from a dochter so to check my values it would cost me €200 each time. For my health that's resonable but expensive nonetheless.

 

[DutchBells]

Okay, I understand you perfectly. That changes the approach quite a bit.

To get a clearer picture, it would help if you could send me a photo of your current physique and preferably a photo of the physique you'd like to achieve (for example, one from the internet). I need to understand where we're starting from and what we're trying to achieve. That way, the path forward becomes much clearer.

Also, if you have any blood test results from the last 6 months, that would be a plus.

And besides that, I'd like to know more specifically what aspects of your life you'd like to improve with PEDs, apart from your physique and recovery. It's important for me to understand the context better.

This cycle would be a test run to see how my body responds to the dosage and chemicals. If I get a little leaner and muscular that would be great but I'm realistic and not expecting anything much this time, just testing the waters.

The only bloodwork I have was from my testosterone results mentioned above in my original post.

I will get a better one before starting the cycle to get a baseline.

 

[Sam Bjorn]

My bloodpressure was 118/76.

That is great!

The only bloodwork I have was from my testosterone results mentioned above in my original post.

Okay, in that case, I have a model that I’ve developed through practice. I use two types of screening: a minimal and an extended list of tests.

Based on this, I suggest three ways of working with them:

1. Do the minimal list of tests before the cycle and monitor the minimum necessary number of markers during the cycle. It’s budget-friendly and not optimal in terms of risk management, but it’s better than working blindly.
2. Do the extended bloodwork, identify weak points, try to address them (or at least keep them in mind), and then during the cycle do the necessary tests + monitor any markers that were outside the reference ranges. In my opinion, this is the best of the three options.
3. Do the minimal list before the cycle and gradually add the other tests from the extended list to get a broader picture of what’s going on over time. It’s not the optimal option, but it’s still a valid approach.

Since you've already had your sex hormones checked, there's definitely no need to test them again. So whichever option you choose, we'll leave those tests out to save you some money.

 

[DutchBells]

That is great!

Okay, in that case, I have a model that I’ve developed through practice. I use two types of screening: a minimal and an extended list of tests.

Based on this, I suggest three ways of working with them:

1. Do the minimal list of tests before the cycle and monitor the minimum necessary number of markers during the cycle. It’s budget-friendly and not optimal in terms of risk management, but it’s better than working blindly.
2. Do the extended bloodwork, identify weak points, try to address them (or at least keep them in mind), and then during the cycle do the necessary tests + monitor any markers that were outside the reference ranges. In my opinion, this is the best of the three options.
3. Do the minimal list before the cycle and gradually add the other tests from the extended list to get a broader picture of what’s going on over time. It’s not the optimal option, but it’s still a valid approach.

Since you've already had your sex hormones checked, there's definitely no need to test them again. So whichever option you choose, we'll leave those tests out to save you some money.

Thanks!

What markers should I check for a minimum? That way I can create a package for my baseline test without the sex hormones.

 

[Sam Bjorn]

Thanks!

What markers should I check for a minimum? That way I can create a package for my baseline test without the sex hormones.

In your case, I'd go with the following list. During the cycle, you won't need to repeat all of these tests, just a few to monitor any changes.

• Complete Blood Count (CBC)
• LDL-C
• HDL-C
• Triglycerides (TG)
• Apolipoprotein B (ApoB)
• Lipoprotein(a) — Lp(a)
• Homocysteine
• PSA
• ALT
• AST
• GGT
• Creatinine
• Cystatin C
• HbA1c
• CRP

 

[DutchBells]

In your case, I'd go with the following list. During the cycle, you won't need to repeat all of these tests, just a few to monitor any changes.

• Complete Blood Count (CBC)
• LDL-C
• HDL-C
• Triglycerides (TG)
• Apolipoprotein B (ApoB)
• Lipoprotein(a) — Lp(a)
• Homocysteine
• PSA
• ALT
• AST
• GGT
• Creatinine
• Cystatin C
• HbA1c
• CRP

That list will cost me €500 over here, that's pretty insane!

Would this one suffice?

https://bloedcheckup.nl/onderzoek/testosteron-replacement-therapie-trt or this one https://bloedcheckup.nl/onderzoek/trt-uitgebreid

 

[SalvatoreCorvus]

That list will cost me €500 over here, that's pretty insane!

Would this one suffice?

https://bloedcheckup.nl/onderzoek/testosteron-replacement-therapie-trt or this one https://bloedcheckup.nl/onderzoek/trt-uitgebreid

Health is priceless (in my opinion). And everything quickly becomes expensive, especially when you use steroids and need to monitor your health.

So unfortunately no, the tests you show are not enough because they are incomplete to have a whole eyes one your health.
(And crossing a highway blindfolded is a fun but quite risky game )