@Alex, Enclomiphene has a short half life but a very prolonged effect on hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Taking 20mg/twice weekly or every 4 days would essentially have same effect as a small dose every (other) day IMO.
I don’t think it has anything to do with patent laws. Enclompihene failed to pass phase III study and was never registered as a medicine and was refused marketing registration. It can be only sold as a research chemical and this is not trough pharmaceutical markets. It is indeed produced and sold mostly in the gray area of bodybuilding underground supplies shops.
This is why European medicines agency refused marketing authorization:
The CHMP (Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use) noted that although the studies showed an increase in testosterone levels with EnCyzix, they did not look at whether EnCyzix would improve symptoms such as bone strength, weight gain, impotence and libido. In addition, there is a risk of venous thromboembolism (problems due to the formation of blood clots in the veins) with the medicine. Therefore, the CHMP was of the opinion that the benefits of EnCyzix did not outweigh its risks and recommended that it be refused marketing authorisation.
Can an elderly man of 82+ years gain some additional muscle mass?
Okay, today is when I will start my 90 day clomiphene experiment to see if raising my very low T levels will let me gain muscle mass. I will be taking 25 mg every other day.
I am leaving soon to get a baseline blood work test at 8:30 AM which should be near my peak T levels. I will test my T levels every 30 days.
I will do the same thing at the gym, mainly resistance progressive overload at 5 sets for each muscle group.
I will measure my biceps at the end of 90 days. Biceps circumference is the easiest way for me to tell if I have made progress. Muscle strength is not necessarily an indicator of increased muscle mass. I will also document it with pictures.
My diet is basically carnivore based but I am eating too many carbs for it to be a keto diet.
Now that the holiday season is upon us, I am not going to be using weight as an indicator of increased muscle mass. Currently, I weigh 165 lbs, which is exactly what I weighed when I got out of the U.S. Navy in 1963
My supplement list for muscle gains:
Whey protein shakes
HMB
Creatinine
L-leucine
I am thoroughly convinced that rapamycin and exercise have prevented any sarcopenia in the last 2 years. Unfortunately, I didn’t document the results with a photo showing my bicep measurement at the beginning, but I have increased my bicep measurement from 12.5 inches to at least 13 inches.
@desertshores You might be interested in this podcast. Prof Luc van Loon (great name) says anabolic resistance is an artifact of insufficient stimulus, not insufficient protein or hormones. Keep hitting the gym. I’ll do the same.
“How much protein do you need to gain muscle? It’s a question that’s been debated for decades, with fitness enthusiasts and experts alike offering a range of recommendations.”
So, yes the recommended amount of protein intake for increasing muscle mass through strength training varies all over the place.
What results I have achieved didn’t involve 1gm/pound of body weight as Peter Attia suggests.
I have not tracked it closely, but I would say my average daily protein intake over the last decade has been less than 75 grams daily.
So right now, I will follow what I think is the middle road for muscle mass increase through resistance training. I will try to get ~100 g/day for the next 90 days. I also need to increase my daily caloric intake by adding an extra 300 or so daily. My problem is that I am almost never hungry, and when I am, it takes very little to satisfy me. Many seniors seem to have this problem hence the many protein drinks like Ensure are on the shelves of my local Walmart.
“The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of protein is 0.8 g/kg body weight/day (g/kg/d). That’s the minimum amount of protein to maintain health and muscle mass in a non-training population.
Training to increase your strength and muscle mass requires a daily intake of 1.6–2.2 g/kg/d to maximize your gains.”
“To increase muscle mass in combination with
physical activity, it is recommended that a
person that lifts weights regularly or is training
for a running or cycling event eat a range of
1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body
weight per day, or 0.5 to 0.8 grams per pound
of body weight. Consequently, the same 75
kilogram individual should increase their
protein intake to 75 grams (300 calories) to 128
grams (512 calories) in order to gain muscle
mass.”
As I said, I am almost never hungry and have to force myself to get enough calories daily.
I use cheese, butter, and whole-milk to try to achieve my recommended daily caloric intake.
I just ordered a flexible tape measure from Amazon.
I had an idea. I’m about 20 years too late to take on Agetron. But at 84 years old and @desertshores being 82 years old , its close enough to make things interesting.
Are there any other elderly people who might be interested in defining their goals and chronicling their progress as regards increasing muscle mass?
Different brand but looks exactly the same.
The problem I have with waist measurements is that there are too many variables:
Did you suck your stomach in? Are you fasting? Are you measuring right above the hips or around the belly button?
With thigh measurements is also problematic. Did you measure the exact place you measured last time?
Yes, there are some variables in the bicep measurement also, but I think we can agree that most people are trying for maximum flex. It is the most reliable repeatable measure for me. Doing at approx. the same time and at least an hour after an arm workout.
So, personally I just use the bicep measurement with the assumption that if the bicep is gaining muscle it it highly likely that the other muscles that I exercise are also gaining muscle.
I will do this too. I’m almost 79. Biceps currently cold L=13 1/2, R=13 5/8. I will try for 2X/week, 5 sets hitting each of biceps and triceps, probably mostly compound exercises that hit bi’s and tri’s together with chest, lats, etc. Go until G. Washington’s b’day on 2/22. Also, prob. no food/supp changes.
There are literallt hundreds of international studies that show that increasing protein to 1.6-2g/kg increases muscle protein synthesis and even a few that show that even up to 3.0g/kg muscle protein synthesis increases (especially when in a caloric deficit) but really the gym bros have known this for decades
The 5 sets / body part is aspirational. I’ve not been doing anything like that recently; mostly just grabbing a weight now 'n then. Maybe this puts me at an advantage for size gains? Apples 'n oranges? Anyway, we will see.
