When you get older, you just need some help if you want to be a beast, not just regular. I'm over 40 and the last year has made me rethink a lot of shit I been lead to believe. My tendons haven't been able to keep up with my strength. If I didn't develop injuries, I'm sure I'd be stronger than I was in my prime. In weighted pullups and dips, I probably am. Only reason I ain't doing more on dips is my stand is only rated to support 500 pounds. I limit it to about 450 so it don't collapse on me.
Now I'm far from natural. I take a lot of HMB(my logs show I averaged 12 grams per day this last year), BCAA, and fish oil. In my view, if you ain't just living off food, you enhanced. For example, human body might naturally produce 1 gram of hmb a day. Need to eat 700 grams of protein to get 3 grams. I reasoned since HMB is shown to prevent muscle wasting and even the detractors admit it's anti-catabolic, that it could help an old man like myself. Muscle wasting is a serious problem with aging and is linked to death with certain diseases(they actually try to prevent muscle wasting to increase survival). I take enough to keep my blood levels basically peak 24/7. My energy is crazy. My body ain't eating itself like that.
If you told me I'd be doing this shit in my 40s without TRT, I'd have said you were batshit. But I am heavy as fuck on the supplements, so it is what it is. If you want to push big numbers in your 40s and look the part, you going to have to do something extra.
I just always thought it would be the big T or HGH.