Originally Posted by
GearHeaded
Even if your on TRT you absolutely still can lose muscle mass and be catabolic. I've had times in my life where I've lost a good 30 pounds of muscle (due to severe injury) even though I was still taking exogenous test . 250mg per week was not enough to keep me from losing muscle.
personally I think TRT can help you reach a new set point and help maintain that set point, but after that set point is reached then your not going to grow anymore (your not going to be indefinitely anabolic and just keep growing).
eg., if a 180 pound guy gets on TRT (and he's training and eating consistently) for the first time, that constant and consistent higher levels of Test are going to help him out, but only to a certain level and then it tops out. His new set point with the TRT might be 192 pounds after say 8 months. now that 200mg of test he is taking for TRT will not help him grow anymore , its simply going to help keep him at this new 192 pound set point . AND if he stopped dieting and training properly, the test will not be enough to help him keep this new set point either, he will drop weight back.
you see this with retired pro bodybuilders as well . they down size and lose a lot of weight when retired, even though they are on TRT. the physiological dose of Test is not enough to have them keep their size (nor are the calories sufficient).
just my experience and thoughts . TRT will help you be 'anabolic' enough to maintain a certain set point, if the calories are available, but its to a fairly limited degree.