u/GreedySpecialist4736

About me:

• 34F 5'7" 125lb after losing 30lb on tirz.
• throughout my entire life, I have never ever seen an improvement in pure strength via gym training. I can still bicep curl 20lbs, same as when I was 18yo.
• I am a rock climber/mountaineer. Not pro, but performance is important to me, and I'm starting to take my training more seriously but still not seeing results.
• I ran some tests to try to get to the bottom of this:
  • HGH: Above average, +1.6
  • B12, Iron, D: Normal
  • Free test: 0.4 pg/mL, very low end of normal range 0.3-4.2
• Perhaps relevant: I have nexplanon, research is mixed but my best guess is that its impact on test is negligible.

Now, the course of action that I'm considering is to supplement with test, but still within physiological levels. Perhaps aiming for ~1-2 pg/mL, which is 3-6x my current level but still in the middle of the normal range.

I've been doing some initial research about whether TRT could help me to start building strength for the first time in my life. The results are mixed.

• Most sources say that only superphysiological levels of test can help. For example, in this study, they that only a very high superphysiological dose resulted in increased strength (fig 4); but those women were not prescribed any training regimen. There is also a mechanistic hypothesis for this, something about the mTOR pathway getting activated in men but not women. (this is all AI research which i'm still in the process of understanding)
• But this study says that un-supplemented free T levels are correlated with muscle mass. and most anecdotal reports seem to say that TRT within physiological levels can help.

What are your thoughts, research outcomes, and experiences? Do you think that TRT to increase free testosterone level -- still well within normal range -- helps to build muscle? If yes, how strong is the effect qualitatively?