I would generally consider 500mg of test by itself a small dose.. but it depends on the context and situation. but in general for a lot of guys that bodybuild thats really nothing more then a cruise dose. most guys i work with when coming off cycle and 'cruising' are running 500mg when off (I generally have them run anabolics mainly though and not just test, so something like 300mg of Primo and 150mg of test would be an "off cycle" cruise dose).
its really not about receptors being supressed or de-sensitized or anything like that , even though thats a popular belief. in fact the higher dosages and more gear you run the more dense androgen receptors become over time. you actually have more potential for putting on more muscle.
think of this.. if test was suppressive to androgen receptors and de-sensitized you over time,, then TRT would not work. your TRT doc would constantly have to be increasing your dosage and or giving you breaks and restarting your TRT all the time. but the fact is you get on TRT and lets say 200mg of test is what works for you, you can stay on that for 20 years straight without an issue. you don't de-sensitize. it works and always will work.
same with other drugs.. take your 70 year old grandma for example who is on 25mg of heart medication since she was 50. she is on the same 25mg of heart pills for the last 20 years and it works every single day she takes it , thats why she keeps taking it. it just works.
if you metabolize testosterone really well and achieve 10,000 ng/dl off only 500mg of test .. then thats great. especially if your a newer user.. but for guys that have been running gear for quite awhile , IF they are going to run a test only cycle, they generally will find that 800-1500mg per week is the sweet spot when the magic really starts to happen (especially if they can get their Estrogen levels way up there without issue). there is no magic at 500mg for them.. and on the other end of the spectrum they may find that Test sucks all together and they won't run it as part of their cycles and run actual anabolic steroids instead (note- test isn't an anabolic steriod).
3000mg of test for a 300 pound bodybuilder is fairly common.. but so is 500mg of test (a low dose) stacked with 3 grams of actual anabolics.
as far as cutting the Aromasin.. IF your goal was to put on size and muscle mass then yes I'd cut it out completely . elevated blood serum levels of estrogen in the presence of elevated androgens is going to promote a lot more muscle growth. If your gyno prone then simply run some Nolva, as it will block estrogen at breast tissue receptors sites while still allowing for elevated serum levels of estrogen.
the reason you got gyno and lactation from your last tren and test cycle is because Tren is a progestin derived compound. it acts on progestin receptors just like progesterone itself. this is going to result in being overly sensitive to estrogen, even if your E levels are low. an AI will NOT do a thing for this,, it doesn't matter if you limit aromatization, its the progestin receptor from the tren thats causing the issue not aromatization.
you need to add Masteron (and nolva). MASTeron . "mast" means breast.. its an AAS that was developed for female breast cancer patients to blunt estrogen and poregestin receptors in breast tissue.
add Masteron and Nolva and ditch the aromasin and you'll probably have less side effects with far better growth and results
your right , a little does go a long way . but truth is a lot goes an even longer way
