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Hey, did you make this comment yourself? I know it's yours but it looks way too much like those fake accounts you see so much nowadays. Just thought I'd say it maybe it helps
I don't agree. He's not mainstream and therefore has a low amount of subs. If anything it shows he's not selling out with bullshit generic content. A channel for the true fan of strength sports.
Larry wheels and noel were the first ppl on the social media platform that were honest with their use of ped and now suddenly everybody decides to come clean.
@@AlexanderBromley I think he may be referencing the possibility that the myonuclei gained from PED use don't go away, so you may be more responsive to training or may maintain a higher LBM than you would naturally despite coming off gear. Now, I've never read or heard anything about how much this actually impacts gym progress realistically, and I'm not sure this is something that could even be studied reliably given how much variation there is from person to person.
@@DCJayhawk57 I was unaware of that. My gut tells me that the havoc that gets wreaked on your endocrine system and pscyhology more than outweighs that but that's just a guess; would be an interesting study to see if anyone could find a meanginful way to do it. Not that I have any way of substantiating it, but i legitimately believe I would be stronger right now if I never went on; less injuries, less swings in performance, less comebacks. But who knows, maybe I have a big upswing coming.
Alex, there’s so much value in this video. Thank you for the true transparency. The good the bad and the ugly. It shows a tremendous amount of acceptance and maturity on your end to be so transparent. It’s worth the praise.
This is really nice to hear. I am so over hearing TH-camrs that I have listened to for years say so often “work hard, eat right, rest” and leaving out the cold fact that their PED use is fundamental to their consistent muscle and strength gains. I’m not talking about the ones who lie about it, they are not worth listening too. I’m not even talking about the cool ones who are honest if vague about it. I’m talking about the dudes who just fail to mention that PEDs make it so that they are playing a very different game that those of us who don’t use.
Where have you seen any of these athletes being natural doing strength events? They are always on peds. I always knew this guys was on peds. You seen any jacked person as they get older when you start to lose muscle due to ageing. Come on now
@@SouthpawJoe i’ll counter-argue that they’re not obligated to say if they previously used or currently on PEDs. It’s different if the outright lie and proclaim they’re lifetime natty when in fact they’ve been through cycles
I'm 31 and I've never been on gear before. I train and diet consistently but I was having issues. Back in November I got tested and my total testosterone was at 186 ng/dl and my free was at 11.1 pg/mL. I was put on 25mg of Clomid daily starting in January. When I got tested again at the end of April my total test was 893. I feel way better and it resolved the issues I was having. Its been a life saver. I had a semen analysis done in April as well and everything came back great. I wish I had one before January so I could have compared results. I'm reasonably certain that my count would have been low prior to Clomid. It made a huge difference for me, my training, and hopefully we can get pregnant soon!
Any idea what caused your levels to tank? Mine dropped over 30% in the past couple years but the dr doesn't seem concerned since it's still "normal" at 460 ng. But I can see and feel the difference in my body
@@DaBrute I'm not sure, I had never had them checked before so I have nothing to compare it to. I'd been consistently training and dieting for 3 years which should have brought my levels up. I never thought I'd have low T. I found out my uncle also has low T so maybe is hereditary?
I vote going natty. Having a kid, I think re-approaching your health and fitness in a more well rounded standpoint for overall long-term sustainability and health will have the most positive impact on your presence in your child's life. Cardiovascular health, calisthenics, flexibility, in addition to the weights at the gym will ensure you are able to play and keep up with your child throughout their life in ways that other parents cannot, in addition to improving your long-term quality of life.
I'm 6'3, big framed and natty. While I've been training on and off for years, I can now red 100s for multiple reps. I can also do an hour of cardio no issues. Font think I'll ever hop on.
@@sleepyjo9340 Good on you. It means more. Seriously. Anyone can cheat to look impressive but it’s the day in day out “shnooks” (to quote Ray Liotta-at the end of Goodfellas 😁) that grind and put in the work for even the smallest gains and DON’T take the easy road that are the most impressive.
Cool story. I was tempted to use so many times back in High School and in my 20s. I was lucky and had a pretty good natural build and could lift fairly well. What got annoying was watching my friends who naturally I was far stronger than matching me and then surpassing me due to steroids. Still before this I did a large research project that was all about the dangers of steroids and I had interviewed many users that warned me it was not worth it. I am 47 now, I think I look a bit better than I did in my 20s and still have never used Peds. I will never be as strong as you are Alex, but I am ok with that. Hope all is well with you and your family.
Friendly word of advice. Keep off, at least until your first kid is born. IVF tends to fall far more often than not, and a lot of those pregnancies end up as late miscarriages. This has just been my experience, as well as the experience of many people in our support group.
This is without a doubt the best video on this topic.. Sir you've always delivered the most articulate and well thought out videos on training and fitness..Please keep it going..
I think you need to look at this also from the perspective of a father, which you already plan to be. Your longevity and health should be a part of the equation for what you do in the future regarding gear.
congrats man, I only started training again after my college years because I had my daughter and realized I wanted to be the best I can be, and I know that training brought that out of me. Having a kid will make you ID what's important and why, and I'm pretty sure that you'll figure out what your ideal training and PED use kind of stuff will be. for me I know it's just not worth it, but I'm not a competitor, and it's far from such a simple choice there. I can tell you though that something actually meaningful ironically AlphaDestiny (yes really) said about bodybuilder deaths actually is that John Meadows, for example, was loved and respected not for his maintenance of his physique but because of who he was and the knowledge and care he brought to everyone. Basically, you don't have to be who you *were* to be valuable and important as you *are*. It's ok to change- frankly, it's the most important thing, and it's ok to recognize what really matters, and what doesn't. Whatever happens you'll kill it, for sure, and best of luck
Dude I found your channel recently and absolutely love it. You’re honest, accomplished, educated, and communicate very well. I can’t do any form of gear because of my job and love seeing this honest analysis of your experiences both on and off gear and your lab numbers. Subscribed.
Once I hit my late 40's, I'm 57 now, I was tempted to start doing TRT etc but after research I just didn't want to get caught up in something I'd have to keep taking the rest of my life . I know enough about replacing something the body makes , and just finding ways to stimulate the body to make it on it's own. I think Western medicine is too quick to take the first route. Now I don't compete so just talking staying in shape and feeling good. And I'm doing great in both categories without any PED's. I have changed a lot of my diet and added things to my workouts that are advised to raise T levels and seem to. My energy is great, all the "plumbing" works same as always and I can put on muscle easy so life is good for me.
Recent subscriber, love your channel already. I think the most valuable thing we can learn from lifters like you is your mentality. It speaks volumes that you can go through the highs and lows of life and mentally stay in the pocket regardless of the struggles you face. I struggled with obesity in the past and yoyo-dieting and I remember the mental toll it took when I tore something in the gym and binged back a bunch of weight I had struggled to lose in depression. It's really motivating and inspirational to see you set your goals and simply handle the problems that come up with stoicism and a can-do mentality. When we see champions online it's easy for people like me to say "Oh, this guy is just a specimen and I suck, I'll never achieve anything close to that so why bother?". Videos like this demonstrate real strength and holds people that aren't accomplishing what they want responsible to do better, because it humanizes people who achieve a lot in life. Regardless of what you go for I think your success in your endeavors is inevitable with your approach to life.
Finally someone with the balls to be honest about the use. Years ago I used roids for a bit being deca and ganabol not at the same time and ended up hurting my shoulder even more than I actually had. Great video and cheers from Canada.
A very brave, informative video Alex. As someone who recently discovered your channel, I am truly glad to have found this great source of information. Keep up the good work and wish you and your family all the best!
Those in the know recognize this channel as gold. Dave Tate has name dropped him a few times in conversation. His base strength book should be required reading.
What mistakes?? Let's call them choices and decisions. A mistake is getting a girl pregnant you didn't mean to get pregnant that's that's mistake, hitting a brick wall full tilt is a mistake, running from the cops is a mistake, marrying 4 times is a mistake shit getting married once is a mistake taking gear is a choice. I hate how people say taking gear is a mistake,,,,, it's not a mistake it's I suppose like everything else in life a choice.
I have considered peds many times, made research many times and there is only reason that I would not touch that: I would not now if the progress is me, my mind and body or just the chemistry. Going off and seeing your body to worst state that it was 4 years ago must be devastating. After that you have to be on because the gains and your personality was in fact the PEDs not you. Those are my thoughts. Good vid Alexander.
Glad to see your doing well Alex. I met you at your gym back in 2018. Love your content and I wish you the best. The gym you built is still going strong!
strong content. I'm more of an endurance athlete, training for a marathon und trying to keep some strength and this is the only strength/weightlifting related channel i regularly consume. Wish you all the best
I went from 130 total T to 811 with enclomiphene. Honestly i didn't notice a huge change in the gym. The biggest changes were in mood, sleep quality, and sex drive.
This is the first post I have seen from you and it is good stuff. Thanks for putting your story out there and being so open. I really think with how influential these platforms are this kind of honesty needs to happen. I don't care who uses but they shouldn't pretend like they don't.
Thanks for the honesty! Hope the IVF turns out well and the channel grows -- you deserve it. Refreshing to hear about your journey. I stumbled onto your vids by accident but continue to return since the integrity is apparent. All the best.
Appreciate your honesty, and love the content. It feels like I am PR'ing every week on Bull Mastiff. The topic also hits close to home. I've considered PEDs, but with the idea of starting a family soon, I've held off.
I can confirm from my own life experience that you can get strong without having a high test level. My test levels have been in the mid 300s on the few bloods tests I’ve had over the years. As a drug free lifter my personal best lifts in powerlifting 735 knee wrapped squat 405 bench and 710 deadlift. I always found this topic to be interesting and am glad to see you bring this up. As you stated higher levels of testosterone will most certainly be a big advantage but it’s not a death blow by any means if you want to get strong and not use steroids.
@Sharno Tam if you train optimally in your younger years there is no way to beat those results later on. If you keep developing for 8 years it means your training is absolute shite and you never push yourself or you also what often happens is your record keeping is shit. Humans are full of errors. I saw how my classmates performed in school ... and our school was way above average.
@@agnidas5816 This is factually false. It is NOT uncommon for top level powerlifters who have been competing since their early 20's to get better into their 30's or even 40's as long as they haven't completely destroyed their body with injuries. Go tell them about how they didn't "train optimally" when they were younger despite competing at the top level Mr Agnidas. You don't know what you are talking about, you just sound like a middle aged dude who probably stopped training and now wants to blame everything on age, the usual "I used to bench 405 in high school". My advice is if you haven't done thorough research into something, don't have an opinion and shut up.
This is a bs cope. My dad is SEVENTY years old and has 18 inch arms and a huge chest and delts. He has been lifting since he was 15 and never stopped. He's an animal. He's not making gains anymore obviously, he's maintaining. But he is still bigger than the vast majority of 20-30 yr Olds in the gym. He does have good genetics though.
6:47 lifts going down might be psychological as well. I'm moving to endurance sports (while for decade doing both strength and endurance), which means that i have to get my weight down to be competitive. And there is clear swift in training focus. My deadlift went from reping 500 pounds to single 420. I've not been that weak in years, no matter how shitty i felt i could rep that weight. I lost few pounds of bodyweight, but my deadlift took a MASSIVE hit. I know i have to loose weight and big strong back is not desirable for me, so my mind made it easy for me: Anything over 360 and my head is going to explode. Squat numbers are remaining more consistent as that is the one lift which i try to keep as high as possible. Just to clarify: I've not used PEDs, so those do not explain why i lost strength in couple of months. It was pretty much just mental and neural.
Fucking great video man. Really appreciate you putting this out there. I’m definitely someone on the naïve end of the spectrum around this stuff, but this was quite revelatory. My own journey is natty, but this is a decent confidence boost. It eliminates some of my disappointment in my lack of progress 💪🏽. Lastly, it should be mentioned, you’re very well spoken and a great communicator. This deserves high praise 💪🏽.
I did my first string man show a couple months ago, I placed 4th in a pretty stacked class of middleweights. I won all the static events (drug free) and to be honest it was fun. Looking back I see that strongman is about all aspects of strength, not just static, but dynamic and endurance bases as well. You really have to be well rounded. You can get super strong natty. You definitely don’t have insane recovery and aggression but as a natural you have to program for the long game. It’s a challenge but to truly see where we can get without drugs is more appealing to me. Good job man
All good. I waited to get on TRT until I was 51. After kids. After my test levels dropped to 200 total and 6.0 on the free. Competitive events aside, TRT was meant for guys over 50. My levels are now 1,015/45. I am a beast now in the gym, at work and in the bedroom.
As a 37 year old 6’3 270lb life time natty I’m stronger than 95% of the guys on gear at our powerlifting gym. Granted most of them spend half their year injured, are in their early 20s, or just get on gear thinking it’s a fix all for a shit diet and bad program / form I don’t compete in anything outside of local meets and train high school athletes being on gear and training kids doesn’t sound right to me. I understand the use if your final goal is to compete. For me I mostly just liked pushing big weight I’m happy with my current natty PRs of 455 bench , 585 squat and a 655 deadlift
This was incredibly articulate and honest punctuated with some hilarious casually dropped in lines. My favourites being "when you're under 6ft tall, ginger and built like a thumb, women tend not to throw themselves at you". And of course comparing his belly button to a black hole with an accretion disc made of carbs! Haha! Nice video man.
I'd stay natty. When you have kids, you might start thinking about how to optimize around supporting them for as long as possible. For your low T, check out the pituitary gonadal axis and how that's affected by exogenous hormones like PEDs. MPMD has some good content on that
I bet he will change his mind after having a kid, especially since he’s been wanting one for so long. Most people change their priorities after becoming a parent, not only because they have to make sacrifices for them, but because they want to centre their lives around them. I think he’d much rather workout with his kid like Eddie Hall does now and drive them places, instead of risking his health and devoting all of his energy into being a full time athlete again.
Love this. Thanks for sharing. I vote you stay natty and and be an inspiration for middle aged men like me. Good luck whatever you choose. And good luck with building your family.
It's your life man, and I'm not you, but I think if you stay permanently off PEDs you'll be able to have more longevity and live to a ripe old age, be able to spend better quality time with your new family, and be in better health. I think about what happened to John Meadows, how his kid now has to grow up without a father, and maybe if he had decided to stop the PEDs earlier maybe that tragedy wouldn't have had to happen
Be there before I personally got told I couldn't have kids. After years of abuse of steriods.. and it was abused when I look back at it now... Went thru quite a few things you mentioned but I do have 4 daughter now..kids are worth it all... wish you luck in your adventure
excellent video. I appreciate how honest and open you are. Very informative. It would have been great to hear about your compounds and dosages but I understand why you may not have included those details.
I was on TRT for 2 years and ran a 12 weeks cycle with Tren/mast/anavar during that time. I got off everything 7 months ago. I’ve been using Roman testosterone support, boron, d aspartic acid, fadogia, tongkat ali, 5g ginger daily, and regular multivitamin. I also incorporated cold showers daily. After 5 months my TT came back at 550 middle of the range. Overall I feel great, fully recovered..strength/energy/sex drive/sleep is all there and normal. I can’t say that any of these helped me recover/bounce back quicker, but during those 4 months I didn’t experience any low T symptoms. Also consider icing your balls for 20min daily, I’ve come across fertility doctors who claim that improves sperm results…within 1 year you should be able to recover your test and fertility. Test #s aren’t everything, some people can function at a high level with low/medium levels. Sleeps/nutrition/recovery/stress management/quality of life play a huge role in how you feel.
I love your content and the honesty. I was covered in veins without gear, and I started off pudgy. From age 14 to early 20's I trained like the guys in the magazines, constantly fueled by a mix of rage and competition with older brothers. No gear, never even was offered it, never saw it, nothing. I overtrained but I grew, and the constant supersets and dropsets led to near zero rest time between sets unless I was going for big lifts. So I could go all out for nearly two hours pounding out sets. If I had been on gear I would have been a monster. Instead I topped out at 180 then dieted too hard and lost a lot of gains. Right before I finally burned out because of bad recreational habits and a shitty diet people thought I was on coke and steroids. I was not. I was on Pearl Jam, Guns and Roses, Caffeine and a head full of motivation from articles and old footage. Under the delusion that I could get the body of a pro on gear I fought for it. Yes the reality is that it is impossible, but I touched the upper limit. Yes, I burned out and would love to go back knowing what I know now at 51 and see what I really could have accomplished. At 165 I squatted 475 x 2. I could regularly do sets with dumbbells over 100 for chest and back. Never really got the leg development I wanted though and in the end I could never reach a high level competitively as a bodybuilder. And it crushed me. But, to say that vascularity is somehow a sign of gear gets in the way of those who are willing to push their natural potential. Geoffrey Verity Schofield is the only guy I see really pushing it. As an aside for anyone reading this, far as HIT goes, it packed on the muscle when I finally tried it, and I got a kind of thickness I always wanted. The downsides I found were too much time out of the gym as I hadn't developed a life that would keep me out of trouble, and I lost the momentum and regularity that I thrive under. The other issue was that by being short and strong the lifts just kept going up and became dangerous. I needed to go back to pre-exhausting and supersets. It's interesting now to get back into it and apply what I have learned to see what I can do at my slightly advanced age.
I look forward to this content. I haven't really considered gear yet, but with my goals that decision will come up eventually. I would like to see the after effects that you deal with. Thanks for doing this.
Won’t your myonuclei count remain super elevated (possibly forever) even though your off the PEDs?. Any thoughts on how that may affect your new “natty” long term potential?
In all honesty, I hope so! I wish I could have retained some benefit from all these years of training and competing. Anyways, I was throwing around the term 'natty' toungue in cheek. I have absolutely no desire to claim that status or compete in tested federations. I don't do powerlifting and strongman isn't tested anyways (99% of top competitors are on something)
Aye, I greatly appreciate you putting this out there and the openness about such! Going to have to follow more of your videos now! That's quite impressive that you were able to rebound, I'd figure after so many years that self-castration had occurred, so it's impressive your numbers still came back (even apparently before hoping on the clomid from your doctor for the test recovery). You are right in that testosterone doesn't always dictate strength or size... before I got back into strength training I was doing a lot of full body conditioning and got an amazing physique, meanwhile my test levels were only about 380 which I consider to be pretty low on the scale...
when i went off peds, at 33, being natty i was working out harder and using more pre-workout, i had some hear pain, did some medical research, nothing bad, after 2 year of being scared, started trt, using less and getting more, dont over strain, dont use pre-workouts but still look and feel great, trt is the best.
I took a test booster for 1week and it indeed allowed me to enter my shadow self. It was the 1st time I was walking around legit looking for trouble. 1st and last time on a test booster.
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Hey, did you make this comment yourself? I know it's yours but it looks way too much like those fake accounts you see so much nowadays. Just thought I'd say it maybe it helps
PEDs are for losers, way to ruin your health
Alex is such a chad. No bs, straight to the point. Just 71k subs for such a goldmine is criminal.
Too kind.
I don't agree. He's not mainstream and therefore has a low amount of subs. If anything it shows he's not selling out with bullshit generic content. A channel for the true fan of strength sports.
If I remember correctly one year ago he had 10k? So I'm glad his channel is becoming more and more popular
Stay natty bro
71K Plus 1 from this guy
This kind of honesty is truly rare. The world would be million times better if more people would act like this.
Larry wheels and noel were the first ppl on the social media platform that were honest with their use of ped and now suddenly everybody decides to come clean.
@@jdennis867 Pete Rubish was the first one. He started talking openly about peds already in 2014
@@goatbearman514 yea idk who tf that is and I'm pretty sure most ppl don't either.
@@jdennis867 Most people definitely know who Pete Rubish is lol. You gotta be kidding
Am I the only person that believes once you use PEDS you shouldn’t call yourself a natty even if you quit PEDS?
Im taking a seat right here next to ya. Agree
Agreed
Interested in your perspective. Why is that? (Btw, I have zero desire to wave the 'natural' flag or compete in tested divsions)
@@AlexanderBromley
I think he may be referencing the possibility that the myonuclei gained from PED use don't go away, so you may be more responsive to training or may maintain a higher LBM than you would naturally despite coming off gear. Now, I've never read or heard anything about how much this actually impacts gym progress realistically, and I'm not sure this is something that could even be studied reliably given how much variation there is from person to person.
@@DCJayhawk57 I was unaware of that. My gut tells me that the havoc that gets wreaked on your endocrine system and pscyhology more than outweighs that but that's just a guess; would be an interesting study to see if anyone could find a meanginful way to do it. Not that I have any way of substantiating it, but i legitimately believe I would be stronger right now if I never went on; less injuries, less swings in performance, less comebacks. But who knows, maybe I have a big upswing coming.
This is probably one of the most honest (fitness) videos that will ever be on youtube. hats off
hundred like this one
Thanks for sharing your journey! I've found Pete Rubish's "after sauce" content to be quite interesting as well.
Extremely interesting analysis
Alex, there’s so much value in this video. Thank you for the true transparency. The good the bad and the ugly. It shows a tremendous amount of acceptance and maturity on your end to be so transparent. It’s worth the praise.
This is really nice to hear. I am so over hearing TH-camrs that I have listened to for years say so often “work hard, eat right, rest” and leaving out the cold fact that their PED use is fundamental to their consistent muscle and strength gains. I’m not talking about the ones who lie about it, they are not worth listening too. I’m not even talking about the cool ones who are honest if vague about it. I’m talking about the dudes who just fail to mention that PEDs make it so that they are playing a very different game that those of us who don’t use.
So true man. Ppl have to be more honest with their viewers
Saaame
@@teedee1167 I'd argue people just need to be more honest in general xD
Where have you seen any of these athletes being natural doing strength events? They are always on peds. I always knew this guys was on peds. You seen any jacked person as they get older when you start to lose muscle due to ageing. Come on now
@@SouthpawJoe i’ll counter-argue that they’re not obligated to say if they previously used or currently on PEDs. It’s different if the outright lie and proclaim they’re lifetime natty when in fact they’ve been through cycles
I'm 31 and I've never been on gear before. I train and diet consistently but I was having issues. Back in November I got tested and my total testosterone was at 186 ng/dl and my free was at 11.1 pg/mL. I was put on 25mg of Clomid daily starting in January. When I got tested again at the end of April my total test was 893.
I feel way better and it resolved the issues I was having. Its been a life saver. I had a semen analysis done in April as well and everything came back great. I wish I had one before January so I could have compared results. I'm reasonably certain that my count would have been low prior to Clomid.
It made a huge difference for me, my training, and hopefully we can get pregnant soon!
Glad to hear that! Good luck
Are you just on clomid or other medication? It does have some side effects like eye issues which you should look out for.
what was the cause of that?
Any idea what caused your levels to tank? Mine dropped over 30% in the past couple years but the dr doesn't seem concerned since it's still "normal" at 460 ng. But I can see and feel the difference in my body
@@DaBrute I'm not sure, I had never had them checked before so I have nothing to compare it to. I'd been consistently training and dieting for 3 years which should have brought my levels up. I never thought I'd have low T. I found out my uncle also has low T so maybe is hereditary?
I vote going natty. Having a kid, I think re-approaching your health and fitness in a more well rounded standpoint for overall long-term sustainability and health will have the most positive impact on your presence in your child's life. Cardiovascular health, calisthenics, flexibility, in addition to the weights at the gym will ensure you are able to play and keep up with your child throughout their life in ways that other parents cannot, in addition to improving your long-term quality of life.
I'm 6'3, big framed and natty. While I've been training on and off for years, I can now red 100s for multiple reps. I can also do an hour of cardio no issues. Font think I'll ever hop on.
@@sleepyjo9340 Good on you. It means more. Seriously. Anyone can cheat to look impressive but it’s the day in day out “shnooks” (to quote Ray Liotta-at the end of Goodfellas 😁) that grind and put in the work for even the smallest gains and DON’T take the easy road that are the most impressive.
Sounds boring
@@tomomasta3254 It does
Or selling soul to the devil who will come for check when least wanted. For couple of pounds on the bar...
Cool story. I was tempted to use so many times back in High School and in my 20s. I was lucky and had a pretty good natural build and could lift fairly well. What got annoying was watching my friends who naturally I was far stronger than matching me and then surpassing me due to steroids. Still before this I did a large research project that was all about the dangers of steroids and I had interviewed many users that warned me it was not worth it. I am 47 now, I think I look a bit better than I did in my 20s and still have never used Peds. I will never be as strong as you are Alex, but I am ok with that. Hope all is well with you and your family.
Friendly word of advice. Keep off, at least until your first kid is born. IVF tends to fall far more often than not, and a lot of those pregnancies end up as late miscarriages. This has just been my experience, as well as the experience of many people in our support group.
This is without a doubt the best video on this topic.. Sir you've always delivered the most articulate and well thought out videos on training and fitness..Please keep it going..
I think you need to look at this also from the perspective of a father, which you already plan to be. Your longevity and health should be a part of the equation for what you do in the future regarding gear.
congrats man, I only started training again after my college years because I had my daughter and realized I wanted to be the best I can be, and I know that training brought that out of me. Having a kid will make you ID what's important and why, and I'm pretty sure that you'll figure out what your ideal training and PED use kind of stuff will be. for me I know it's just not worth it, but I'm not a competitor, and it's far from such a simple choice there.
I can tell you though that something actually meaningful ironically AlphaDestiny (yes really) said about bodybuilder deaths actually is that John Meadows, for example, was loved and respected not for his maintenance of his physique but because of who he was and the knowledge and care he brought to everyone. Basically, you don't have to be who you *were* to be valuable and important as you *are*. It's ok to change- frankly, it's the most important thing, and it's ok to recognize what really matters, and what doesn't. Whatever happens you'll kill it, for sure, and best of luck
Dude I found your channel recently and absolutely love it. You’re honest, accomplished, educated, and communicate very well.
I can’t do any form of gear because of my job and love seeing this honest analysis of your experiences both on and off gear and your lab numbers. Subscribed.
Once I hit my late 40's, I'm 57 now, I was tempted to start doing TRT etc but after research I just didn't want to get caught up in something I'd have to keep taking the rest of my life . I know enough about replacing something the body makes , and just finding ways to stimulate the body to make it on it's own. I think Western medicine is too quick to take the first route. Now I don't compete so just talking staying in shape and feeling good. And I'm doing great in both categories without any PED's. I have changed a lot of my diet and added things to my workouts that are advised to raise T levels and seem to. My energy is great, all the "plumbing" works same as always and I can put on muscle easy so life is good for me.
the drop off in T after 40 is very slow and minimal and probably due to lifestyle more than age its self
Recent subscriber, love your channel already. I think the most valuable thing we can learn from lifters like you is your mentality. It speaks volumes that you can go through the highs and lows of life and mentally stay in the pocket regardless of the struggles you face. I struggled with obesity in the past and yoyo-dieting and I remember the mental toll it took when I tore something in the gym and binged back a bunch of weight I had struggled to lose in depression.
It's really motivating and inspirational to see you set your goals and simply handle the problems that come up with stoicism and a can-do mentality. When we see champions online it's easy for people like me to say "Oh, this guy is just a specimen and I suck, I'll never achieve anything close to that so why bother?". Videos like this demonstrate real strength and holds people that aren't accomplishing what they want responsible to do better, because it humanizes people who achieve a lot in life. Regardless of what you go for I think your success in your endeavors is inevitable with your approach to life.
it is SO refreshing to finally here someone speak about this openly. thank you so much
Good luck with the family attempts Bromley, they can definitely shift your perspective on what’s important
When you realize you want to live past 40 for your kids and don’t like walking around huge and feeling sick all the time 😯
@@chrisvig123 my big goal was to be able to tie my shoes and breathe at the same time! Fed up of having to choose one or the other!!
I genuinely appreciate the brutal honesty when it came to the aggression/assertiveness. Not many guys would talk about it like that
One of the most straight-forward, no bs personal opinions on the topic I've seen. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for making yourself vulnerable, open & honest! Stand up dude in my book!
This is awesome information that I don't see being talked about. Thank you for putting this out there
Finally someone with the balls to be honest about the use. Years ago I used roids for a bit being deca and ganabol not at the same time and ended up hurting my shoulder even more than I actually had. Great video and cheers from Canada.
A very brave, informative video Alex. As someone who recently discovered your channel, I am truly glad to have found this great source of information. Keep up the good work and wish you and your family all the best!
Those in the know recognize this channel as gold. Dave Tate has name dropped him a few times in conversation. His base strength book should be required reading.
I respect your honesty and wish you all the best in your journey. Maybe others can learn from your mistakes.
What mistakes?? Let's call them choices and decisions. A mistake is getting a girl pregnant you didn't mean to get pregnant that's that's mistake, hitting a brick wall full tilt is a mistake, running from the cops is a mistake, marrying 4 times is a mistake shit getting married once is a mistake taking gear is a choice. I hate how people say taking gear is a mistake,,,,, it's not a mistake it's I suppose like everything else in life a choice.
I have considered peds many times, made research many times and there is only reason that I would not touch that: I would not now if the progress is me, my mind and body or just the chemistry. Going off and seeing your body to worst state that it was 4 years ago must be devastating. After that you have to be on because the gains and your personality was in fact the PEDs not you. Those are my thoughts. Good vid Alexander.
Glad to see your doing well Alex. I met you at your gym back in 2018. Love your content and I wish you the best. The gym you built is still going strong!
strong content. I'm more of an endurance athlete, training for a marathon und trying to keep some strength and this is the only strength/weightlifting related channel i regularly consume. Wish you all the best
I went from 130 total T to 811 with enclomiphene. Honestly i didn't notice a huge change in the gym. The biggest changes were in mood, sleep quality, and sex drive.
Appreciate your candor on a variety of topics that aren't easy to talk about. Love your content and what you're doing for the community!
Another great take. Not glamorizing it, but not pretending like it doesn’t have its advantages. Thanks for the perspective
This is the first post I have seen from you and it is good stuff. Thanks for putting your story out there and being so open. I really think with how influential these platforms are this kind of honesty needs to happen. I don't care who uses but they shouldn't pretend like they don't.
Thanks for the honesty! Hope the IVF turns out well and the channel grows -- you deserve it. Refreshing to hear about your journey. I stumbled onto your vids by accident but continue to return since the integrity is apparent. All the best.
Appreciate you sharing your personal experience, genuinely
I appreciate your candor Bromley. Glad you can use your platform to do some useful self-reflection
Thanks for the honesty. It’s refreshing to hear some actual information about PEDs
Buddy thank you as allways for your sharing and the honisty that is what this industry needs! Fitness, Bodybuilding, Strong Man, All of it!
Great video. Nice to hear your tought process about everything and being open about everything. Thank you. This can help people a lot.
PHENOMENAL VIDEO Alex. I really appreciate this video and I'm sure others do as well! Thanks!
Appreciate your honesty, and love the content. It feels like I am PR'ing every week on Bull Mastiff.
The topic also hits close to home. I've considered PEDs, but with the idea of starting a family soon, I've held off.
Cry more. Stay natty and insecure and continue have guys like me make you look tiny.
I can confirm from my own life experience that you can get strong without having a high test level. My test levels have been in the mid 300s on the few bloods tests I’ve had over the years. As a drug free lifter my personal best lifts in powerlifting 735 knee wrapped squat 405 bench and 710 deadlift. I always found this topic to be interesting and am glad to see you bring this up. As you stated higher levels of testosterone will most certainly be a big advantage but it’s not a death blow by any means if you want to get strong and not use steroids.
The question gets tricky once you hit your mid 30s though. Then it becomes difficult to just maintain muscle and strength much less build it
@Sharno Tam if you train optimally in your younger years there is no way to beat those results later on. If you keep developing for 8 years it means your training is absolute shite and you never push yourself or you also what often happens is your record keeping is shit. Humans are full of errors. I saw how my classmates performed in school ... and our school was way above average.
How do you test how high your testosterone is?
@@agnidas5816 This is factually false. It is NOT uncommon for top level powerlifters who have been competing since their early 20's to get better into their 30's or even 40's as long as they haven't completely destroyed their body with injuries. Go tell them about how they didn't "train optimally" when they were younger despite competing at the top level Mr Agnidas. You don't know what you are talking about, you just sound like a middle aged dude who probably stopped training and now wants to blame everything on age, the usual "I used to bench 405 in high school". My advice is if you haven't done thorough research into something, don't have an opinion and shut up.
This is a bs cope. My dad is SEVENTY years old and has 18 inch arms and a huge chest and delts. He has been lifting since he was 15 and never stopped. He's an animal. He's not making gains anymore obviously, he's maintaining. But he is still bigger than the vast majority of 20-30 yr Olds in the gym. He does have good genetics though.
Thanks for this video! Your honesty just got you a new subscriber and I'm hoping that it will get you a lot more 🙏🏽
Thanks for the info and great honesty.
Hey man I just want to say as a student who cannot afford to buy a programme your videos mean the world to me. Thank you❤️
I appreciate your story, hope everything works out awesomely for you, subscribed.
Accretion disk of carbs and cakes... I'm dying over here :)
Great video I absolutely respect your candor and your utmost honesty no lies no BS no dodging what you took props for being upfront and honest 💯👍👍💪
Much respect Alex!
Can’t wait to watch this new journey!
Much love and best of luck sir!
Dude this is awesome! Really cool to see how you’re getting on!
6:47 lifts going down might be psychological as well. I'm moving to endurance sports (while for decade doing both strength and endurance), which means that i have to get my weight down to be competitive. And there is clear swift in training focus. My deadlift went from reping 500 pounds to single 420. I've not been that weak in years, no matter how shitty i felt i could rep that weight. I lost few pounds of bodyweight, but my deadlift took a MASSIVE hit. I know i have to loose weight and big strong back is not desirable for me, so my mind made it easy for me: Anything over 360 and my head is going to explode.
Squat numbers are remaining more consistent as that is the one lift which i try to keep as high as possible.
Just to clarify: I've not used PEDs, so those do not explain why i lost strength in couple of months. It was pretty much just mental and neural.
Thank you for the honest talk, Alex. Censoring topics is venom for advancing knowledge and wisdom.
Fucking great video man. Really appreciate you putting this out there. I’m definitely someone on the naïve end of the spectrum around this stuff, but this was quite revelatory.
My own journey is natty, but this is a decent confidence boost. It eliminates some of my disappointment in my lack of progress 💪🏽.
Lastly, it should be mentioned, you’re very well spoken and a great communicator. This deserves high praise 💪🏽.
I did my first string man show a couple months ago, I placed 4th in a pretty stacked class of middleweights. I won all the static events (drug free) and to be honest it was fun.
Looking back I see that strongman is about all aspects of strength, not just static, but dynamic and endurance bases as well. You really have to be well rounded.
You can get super strong natty. You definitely don’t have insane recovery and aggression but as a natural you have to program for the long game. It’s a challenge but to truly see where we can get without drugs is more appealing to me. Good job man
I’ve never heard this honest of a conversation.
I always enjoy your channnel- very informative and professional! I respect your candor about your PED use!
Thanks for the honesty, good luck with your numbers
Content never disappoints
Great share bud. This was as honest as I have ever seen.
The BEST self-description of all time there Bromley. Lord I lol’d on that one 😂
I'd love to see you become "the guy" for natty strength sports.
All good. I waited to get on TRT until I was 51. After kids. After my test levels dropped to 200 total and 6.0 on the free. Competitive events aside, TRT was meant for guys over 50. My levels are now 1,015/45. I am a beast now in the gym, at work and in the bedroom.
What a great, honest analysis.
Fantastic video. Thanks for the openness and honesty.
As a 37 year old 6’3 270lb life time natty I’m stronger than 95% of the guys on gear at our powerlifting gym. Granted most of them spend half their year injured, are in their early 20s, or just get on gear thinking it’s a fix all for a shit diet and bad program / form
I don’t compete in anything outside of local meets and train high school athletes being on gear and training kids doesn’t sound right to me.
I understand the use if your final goal is to compete.
For me I mostly just liked pushing big weight
I’m happy with my current natty PRs of 455 bench , 585 squat and a 655 deadlift
This was incredibly articulate and honest punctuated with some hilarious casually dropped in lines. My favourites being "when you're under 6ft tall, ginger and built like a thumb, women tend not to throw themselves at you". And of course comparing his belly button to a black hole with an accretion disc made of carbs! Haha! Nice video man.
I don't strength train competitively, but I truly appreciate this information. To the point without the fluff. Thank you.
The thing is, steroids dont stabilize your spine...it helps, but you still have to train well. Great video! Dont go back to PEDs...many regret it.
Totally impressed with your openness. Thank you!
I'd stay natty. When you have kids, you might start thinking about how to optimize around supporting them for as long as possible. For your low T, check out the pituitary gonadal axis and how that's affected by exogenous hormones like PEDs. MPMD has some good content on that
I bet he will change his mind after having a kid, especially since he’s been wanting one for so long.
Most people change their priorities after becoming a parent, not only because they have to make sacrifices for them, but because they want to centre their lives around them.
I think he’d much rather workout with his kid like Eddie Hall does now and drive them places, instead of risking his health and devoting all of his energy into being a full time athlete again.
Love this. Thanks for sharing. I vote you stay natty and and be an inspiration for middle aged men like me. Good luck whatever you choose. And good luck with building your family.
"The Program" clip though😂😂😂
I freaking loved that shit when I was a kid!
"What were you doing, leading me on!!!????"
(Roid Rage) 😅
It's your life man, and I'm not you, but I think if you stay permanently off PEDs you'll be able to have more longevity and live to a ripe old age, be able to spend better quality time with your new family, and be in better health. I think about what happened to John Meadows, how his kid now has to grow up without a father, and maybe if he had decided to stop the PEDs earlier maybe that tragedy wouldn't have had to happen
thanks for this honest insight !
Be there before I personally got told I couldn't have kids. After years of abuse of steriods.. and it was abused when I look back at it now...
Went thru quite a few things you mentioned but I do have 4 daughter now..kids are worth it all... wish you luck in your adventure
excellent video. I appreciate how honest and open you are. Very informative. It would have been great to hear about your compounds and dosages but I understand why you may not have included those details.
Some honesty in an industry full of lies. It's appreciated.
I was on TRT for 2 years and ran a 12 weeks cycle with Tren/mast/anavar during that time. I got off everything 7 months ago. I’ve been using Roman testosterone support, boron, d aspartic acid, fadogia, tongkat ali, 5g ginger daily, and regular multivitamin. I also incorporated cold showers daily. After 5 months my TT came back at 550 middle of the range. Overall I feel great, fully recovered..strength/energy/sex drive/sleep is all there and normal. I can’t say that any of these helped me recover/bounce back quicker, but during those 4 months I didn’t experience any low T symptoms. Also consider icing your balls for 20min daily, I’ve come across fertility doctors who claim that improves sperm results…within 1 year you should be able to recover your test and fertility. Test #s aren’t everything, some people can function at a high level with low/medium levels. Sleeps/nutrition/recovery/stress management/quality of life play a huge role in how you feel.
554 is still near the bottom of the "normal" range, no? I guess it depends on age too. My level is 554 ng/dl but I still feel like shit sometimes
Did you feel any low sex drive at any point came off few months ago feeling low sex drive just now
This is an extremely valuable video on this topic!
7:58 thought my headphones unplugged and heard you coming from my speakers lmao
Super honest conversation, im new and I subsribed!
I love your content and the honesty. I was covered in veins without gear, and I started off pudgy. From age 14 to early 20's I trained like the guys in the magazines, constantly fueled by a mix of rage and competition with older brothers. No gear, never even was offered it, never saw it, nothing. I overtrained but I grew, and the constant supersets and dropsets led to near zero rest time between sets unless I was going for big lifts. So I could go all out for nearly two hours pounding out sets. If I had been on gear I would have been a monster. Instead I topped out at 180 then dieted too hard and lost a lot of gains.
Right before I finally burned out because of bad recreational habits and a shitty diet people thought I was on coke and steroids. I was not. I was on Pearl Jam, Guns and Roses, Caffeine and a head full of motivation from articles and old footage. Under the delusion that I could get the body of a pro on gear I fought for it. Yes the reality is that it is impossible, but I touched the upper limit. Yes, I burned out and would love to go back knowing what I know now at 51 and see what I really could have accomplished. At 165 I squatted 475 x 2. I could regularly do sets with dumbbells over 100 for chest and back. Never really got the leg development I wanted though and in the end I could never reach a high level competitively as a bodybuilder. And it crushed me. But, to say that vascularity is somehow a sign of gear gets in the way of those who are willing to push their natural potential. Geoffrey Verity Schofield is the only guy I see really pushing it. As an aside for anyone reading this, far as HIT goes, it packed on the muscle when I finally tried it, and I got a kind of thickness I always wanted. The downsides I found were too much time out of the gym as I hadn't developed a life that would keep me out of trouble, and I lost the momentum and regularity that I thrive under. The other issue was that by being short and strong the lifts just kept going up and became dangerous. I needed to go back to pre-exhausting and supersets. It's interesting now to get back into it and apply what I have learned to see what I can do at my slightly advanced age.
So cool to hear ppl talk about it.
I look forward to this content. I haven't really considered gear yet, but with my goals that decision will come up eventually. I would like to see the after effects that you deal with. Thanks for doing this.
Very inspiring! Thanks for the video! I’m now subscribed!
Love the honesty, hope all is well.
this is a banging video to have done. well done.
Great vid!
Appreciate the honesty!
Won’t your myonuclei count remain super elevated (possibly forever) even though your off the PEDs?. Any thoughts on how that may affect your new “natty” long term potential?
Yeah so I've read.
In all honesty, I hope so! I wish I could have retained some benefit from all these years of training and competing.
Anyways, I was throwing around the term 'natty' toungue in cheek. I have absolutely no desire to claim that status or compete in tested federations. I don't do powerlifting and strongman isn't tested anyways (99% of top competitors are on something)
This is fascinating. Excellent video
Appreciate the honesty bro. Wish you well man
Aye, I greatly appreciate you putting this out there and the openness about such! Going to have to follow more of your videos now!
That's quite impressive that you were able to rebound, I'd figure after so many years that self-castration had occurred, so it's impressive your numbers still came back (even apparently before hoping on the clomid from your doctor for the test recovery).
You are right in that testosterone doesn't always dictate strength or size... before I got back into strength training I was doing a lot of full body conditioning and got an amazing physique, meanwhile my test levels were only about 380 which I consider to be pretty low on the scale...
when i went off peds, at 33, being natty i was working out harder and using more pre-workout, i had some hear pain, did some medical research, nothing bad, after 2 year of being scared, started trt, using less and getting more, dont over strain, dont use pre-workouts but still look and feel great, trt is the best.
Nothing compares to having a family. Kudos for LIVING, Mr. Bromley.
Great video man!
I took a test booster for 1week and it indeed allowed me to enter my shadow self. It was the 1st time I was walking around legit looking for trouble. 1st and last time on a test booster.