What weekly test dose is your personal ceiling before the sides stop being worth the gains?
7 posts · started by TEXMEX · Apr 14, 2025
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TEXMEX
334 posts · joined May 2017
Apr 14, 2025 at 7:30 PM
#1
Been thinking about this a lot lately. Everyone talks about optimal dosing but where does your body actually start telling you enough is enough. I hit 1.2g test last off-season and the gains were real but the water and oily skin were genuinely uncomfortable. I looked worse at 1.2g with managed E2 than I did at 750mg on a cleaner diet. Where did y'all find your personal turning point where the sides started outrunning the gains?
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Beantown Rick
552 posts · joined Jun 2016
Apr 21, 2025 at 6:26 PM
#2
750mg is where I topped out. Above that the water and skin issues started outrunning the gains for me personally. At 1g I looked worse than at 750 on a cleaner diet because the non-E2 water retention that AI cannot touch was a real issue. Individual ceiling varies a lot but 750 is where the risk-reward math worked out for me.
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Chi Guy
669 posts · joined Apr 2015
Apr 21, 2025 at 9:13 PM
#3
My practical ceiling is around 800mg. Above that the oily skin gets severe enough to affect daily life and the gains past 750 are genuinely diminishing. The old-school guys who swear by 1.5g plus are chasing a number not an outcome. Most of them look worse than guys running half that dose with tighter diet and better compound selection.
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Jock
1,016 posts · joined Mar 2015
Apr 22, 2025 at 12:00 AM
#4
600mg. Done. Above that I look worse not better. High-dose test is a young man game or a competitive BB game. For the rest of us 500-750mg with proper diet will do everything you actually need.
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SydneyFit
113 posts · joined Mar 2020
Apr 28, 2025 at 8:46 AM
#5
Hit 700mg test last off-season and my skin was honestly embarrassing. Could not wear light coloured shirts. Dropped back to 500mg this cycle and the result has been better - leaner look, less water, skin under control. I reckon for most guys 500-600mg with the right diet beats 1g with poor diet every time. The number on paper does not mean much if the outcome looks worse.
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CaliBro
283 posts · joined Apr 2018
Apr 30, 2025 at 4:20 PM
#6
Found my ceiling at around 800mg. Above that I start holding too much water even with E2 dialled in. The non-E2 androgenic water retention is real and AI cannot fix it. Looks worse on stage than a tighter 600mg cycle with better diet and compound selection. Bigger dose number does not mean better outcome.
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AucklandA
122 posts · joined Aug 2019
Apr 30, 2025 at 7:06 PM
#7
My personal ceiling turned out to be 600mg. Tried 800mg one cycle and the water retention and skin issues were not worth what the extra 200mg added in terms of actual lean tissue. Dropped back and have stayed at 500-600mg ever since. Better conditioning, more manageable sides, and the gains are comparable when diet is on point.