The internet hivemind is a fascinating social phenomenon; Costco is a great indicator of trends, since they only offer products that are essentially guaranteed to sell.
Speaking of trends, I'm seeing a LOT more people rucking, or just walking with weight in general. Seems like that one finally took off, or maybe I'm just blind and it's been a thing for a long time. Has anyone else noticed this?
As a natural contrarian, I despise the fact that I'm a rucking, creatine-taking, pickle-ball playing American, but it's hard to argue with trends that get people moving and bring them together! Seems like a net positive to me! I'll just have to settle with my sardine lunches as my unique, defining feature now.
But also, I bought my sardines at Costco.
Yeah, I'm definitely a part of the hivemind. Figured that out as I wrote this. Thanks. Haha.
I'm not sure the age of the women in your life but there is a very strong perimenopause and menopause movement right now on social media bringing awareness to the issues that women are facing and how they may be tied to their diminishing homones when they enter into the post reproductive years. Dr Mary Claire Haver has a huge voice in the movement and is a strong proponent of walking with weighted vests for women. She isn't as strong regarding backpacks with weight- my guess is this is due to the fact that she is developing a weighted vest for women that fits a women's figure better in the chest area. That's actually something I'm surprised Goruck hasn't picked up on. There are various hiking backpack manufacturer's that sell backpacks with "shaped" shoulder straps which lay more comfortably around women's curves and they really do make a difference. I would but a new ruck from Goruck if they followed suit! Anyway, that's why you're seeing more weighted vests, especially on women. Its definitely trending!
That's pretty interesting! Thanks for the insight. Would be super cool if GR made a pack suited for women. My wife just got into rucking, and I would love to spoil her with a really solid pack if they ever made one. She uses an Osprey with a 20lb slab in the water bladder compartment right now, so it's a pretty decent setup, but I'd love to get something even more optimized for her at some point.
I started the same way, with a camelback backpack and weight in the bladder compartment. I think I rucked that way for nearly 2 years before buying myself a Goruck 4.0 for my birthday. The first think I noticed was that the chest strap was uncomfortable because of how thick and padded the shoulder straps were, but even so the Goruck still felt more balanced. I have since bought the waist belt and use that when I need to transfer wight vs the chest strap. I have a Gregory pack for hiking and the straps are curved on the ladies pack for comfort. It makes a difference!
Did you see the GoRuck email that went out saying that they have something special in the works "specifically designed for women?" I have a feeling they saw our thread. Haha.
I would love to see more "facts vs influencer bullshit"!! Sometimes I don't want to agree with what you say, but its hard not to when you back it up with pesky facts. I would swear that the YouTube influencers do the same, until you come a long and say they don't. Do I trust the person who doesn't get paid extra for views and clicks on videos? Or the people that use clickbaity headlines, talk fast, and don't include links to the "facts" and studies that they talk about? Dammit Michael, what will I do? As always, thanks for the actual investigative reports and reality checks. We need more of it.
I think it is worth mentioning that it can make the kidney function appear slightly worse on your blood tests. The primary measurement for kidney function is creatinine, it isn't the same thing, but it is similar. The creatinine is detected to be higher than it otherwise would be. Your kidneys get rid of creatinine, so having high creatinine is a sign of poor kidney function.
Usually the increase is mild, and it is NOT a sign of kidney damage. The kidney function would return to baseline when not on creatine. If you have had a recent increase in creatinine, let your doctor know you are taking creatine and consider repeating the test after being off creatine for a week or so.
Thanks Michael. Very interesting. There are so many "experts" out there one has to be very careful. Would be interesting, if you haven't already, to look into methylene blue. Been taking it for a year now and off all SSRI's. But I also decided to get clean, workout a lot and eat well. So who knows...
This article is a great breakdown of the role of creatine regarding health and wellness. Although creatine is very popular all across the media today, it is nice to see balanced perspectives about the supplement. Although I don't use creatine myself, I know many athletes that do and can advocate for all of its benefits for strength and recovery. Choosing high quality supplements and understanding personal needs is so important, thanks for this great insight!
FYI - on the substack app, you can't speed up the audio playback. You can on a desktop, not on the app. Having ended the other audio version updates, it would be great to have that fixed. Thanks for all the good content.
I’m known to sometimes do too much in different domains to determine my limits or pros/cons of said excessiveness. I’ve done 5mg a day for the past few years but tried increasing to 10mg and started experiencing those stomach issues. Like you said, many out there will report doubling, tripling, or quadrupling the standard dose but it only produced mud butt and cramping in my experience…
Hey, Kyle, I completely understand what you mean by saying it is easy to think "more is better" in a lot of aspects of life. Your experience with doubling dosing the amount of creatine you consume and experiencing stomach issues is a common thing. This discomfort proves in itself that more is not always better. By sticking to recommended amounts and focusing on consistency rather than dosage will benefits lots of other people, your experience will help guide others who are newer to their creatine journey.
Great article and summary. Seems to align with what I've seen from other science based YouTubers that focus on outcomes...not mechanisms .. like Dr. Layne Norton.
Thanks for the breakdown, Michael. I’m typically allergic to hype, but I finally started taking creatine a little over a month ago. I do think it makes a difference in my muscle growth and recovery, but it’s still early. We’ll see.
Have you found anything positive about supplemental collagen? I have my N1 experience, but it may be placebo (which, at this point, my joints and skin might be happy to pay for 😅).
I started taking momentous collagen 9 months or so ago, and didn’t really notice any changes.
I was growing my hair out at the time, but the next time I went to my usual barber, she immediately asked what I was taking because she noticed lots of new hair growth. She’s been telling all her male clients since, and I constantly get texts/calls asking specifically what I’m using.
So, if nothing else, it’s apparently good for my hair.
That’s wild, Eddie! Around the same time I started taking collagen, I also started washing my hair less. I noticed a big difference, and I was getting a lot of compliments on my “dirty” hair! Ha! Now, I wonder, it is less washing or more collagen?!
Speaking of creatine in oatmeal. Found you through your video on Huckberry. Is there an oatmeal that you recommend? I’m looking for something that’s easy to prepare. Currently enjoying “TheComfort Crisis.”
I took it over the winter, it’s hard to say if I noticed any real effects. I did gain weight but there were other factors involved (lifting more often and heavier weight, eating more…)
Also, you might be interested…Dylan Johnson (pro gravel cyclist) just did a video looking at this from primarily an endurance perspective (spoiler: he comes to the same conclusions as you).
Will admit I am a fan of creatine. My perception is it helps with being less sore after a heavy lift day. Like most I am not 100% compliant and don't stress if I miss a dose or two.
The internet hivemind is a fascinating social phenomenon; Costco is a great indicator of trends, since they only offer products that are essentially guaranteed to sell.
Speaking of trends, I'm seeing a LOT more people rucking, or just walking with weight in general. Seems like that one finally took off, or maybe I'm just blind and it's been a thing for a long time. Has anyone else noticed this?
As a natural contrarian, I despise the fact that I'm a rucking, creatine-taking, pickle-ball playing American, but it's hard to argue with trends that get people moving and bring them together! Seems like a net positive to me! I'll just have to settle with my sardine lunches as my unique, defining feature now.
But also, I bought my sardines at Costco.
Yeah, I'm definitely a part of the hivemind. Figured that out as I wrote this. Thanks. Haha.
I'm seeing a lot more people walking with loaded packs and vests in my neighborhood, too. It's a good thing!
Net positive, indeed. Enjoy those sardines!
Also seeing a sudden increase in weighted vests in our neighborhood, especially among women. It’s great to see.
I'm not sure the age of the women in your life but there is a very strong perimenopause and menopause movement right now on social media bringing awareness to the issues that women are facing and how they may be tied to their diminishing homones when they enter into the post reproductive years. Dr Mary Claire Haver has a huge voice in the movement and is a strong proponent of walking with weighted vests for women. She isn't as strong regarding backpacks with weight- my guess is this is due to the fact that she is developing a weighted vest for women that fits a women's figure better in the chest area. That's actually something I'm surprised Goruck hasn't picked up on. There are various hiking backpack manufacturer's that sell backpacks with "shaped" shoulder straps which lay more comfortably around women's curves and they really do make a difference. I would but a new ruck from Goruck if they followed suit! Anyway, that's why you're seeing more weighted vests, especially on women. Its definitely trending!
That's pretty interesting! Thanks for the insight. Would be super cool if GR made a pack suited for women. My wife just got into rucking, and I would love to spoil her with a really solid pack if they ever made one. She uses an Osprey with a 20lb slab in the water bladder compartment right now, so it's a pretty decent setup, but I'd love to get something even more optimized for her at some point.
Thanks again!
I started the same way, with a camelback backpack and weight in the bladder compartment. I think I rucked that way for nearly 2 years before buying myself a Goruck 4.0 for my birthday. The first think I noticed was that the chest strap was uncomfortable because of how thick and padded the shoulder straps were, but even so the Goruck still felt more balanced. I have since bought the waist belt and use that when I need to transfer wight vs the chest strap. I have a Gregory pack for hiking and the straps are curved on the ladies pack for comfort. It makes a difference!
Did you see the GoRuck email that went out saying that they have something special in the works "specifically designed for women?" I have a feeling they saw our thread. Haha.
Yes! That was very timely lol
I would love to see more "facts vs influencer bullshit"!! Sometimes I don't want to agree with what you say, but its hard not to when you back it up with pesky facts. I would swear that the YouTube influencers do the same, until you come a long and say they don't. Do I trust the person who doesn't get paid extra for views and clicks on videos? Or the people that use clickbaity headlines, talk fast, and don't include links to the "facts" and studies that they talk about? Dammit Michael, what will I do? As always, thanks for the actual investigative reports and reality checks. We need more of it.
I think it is worth mentioning that it can make the kidney function appear slightly worse on your blood tests. The primary measurement for kidney function is creatinine, it isn't the same thing, but it is similar. The creatinine is detected to be higher than it otherwise would be. Your kidneys get rid of creatinine, so having high creatinine is a sign of poor kidney function.
Usually the increase is mild, and it is NOT a sign of kidney damage. The kidney function would return to baseline when not on creatine. If you have had a recent increase in creatinine, let your doctor know you are taking creatine and consider repeating the test after being off creatine for a week or so.
Thanks Michael. Very interesting. There are so many "experts" out there one has to be very careful. Would be interesting, if you haven't already, to look into methylene blue. Been taking it for a year now and off all SSRI's. But I also decided to get clean, workout a lot and eat well. So who knows...
Does it matter when you take creatine? Should I take it 30 to 60 minutes before my workout or just sometime during the day?
This article is a great breakdown of the role of creatine regarding health and wellness. Although creatine is very popular all across the media today, it is nice to see balanced perspectives about the supplement. Although I don't use creatine myself, I know many athletes that do and can advocate for all of its benefits for strength and recovery. Choosing high quality supplements and understanding personal needs is so important, thanks for this great insight!
FYI - on the substack app, you can't speed up the audio playback. You can on a desktop, not on the app. Having ended the other audio version updates, it would be great to have that fixed. Thanks for all the good content.
I’m known to sometimes do too much in different domains to determine my limits or pros/cons of said excessiveness. I’ve done 5mg a day for the past few years but tried increasing to 10mg and started experiencing those stomach issues. Like you said, many out there will report doubling, tripling, or quadrupling the standard dose but it only produced mud butt and cramping in my experience…
Hey, Kyle, I completely understand what you mean by saying it is easy to think "more is better" in a lot of aspects of life. Your experience with doubling dosing the amount of creatine you consume and experiencing stomach issues is a common thing. This discomfort proves in itself that more is not always better. By sticking to recommended amounts and focusing on consistency rather than dosage will benefits lots of other people, your experience will help guide others who are newer to their creatine journey.
Appreciate it Meredith. I always enjoy sharing my wisdom post understandable idiocy haha.
"If you’re aging..."
Ahem...which, precisely, portions of the public does this include or not?
Not trying to be snarky...or maybe I am. 😁
Is 45 "aging"?
Great article and summary. Seems to align with what I've seen from other science based YouTubers that focus on outcomes...not mechanisms .. like Dr. Layne Norton.
Thanks for the breakdown, Michael. I’m typically allergic to hype, but I finally started taking creatine a little over a month ago. I do think it makes a difference in my muscle growth and recovery, but it’s still early. We’ll see.
Have you found anything positive about supplemental collagen? I have my N1 experience, but it may be placebo (which, at this point, my joints and skin might be happy to pay for 😅).
I started taking momentous collagen 9 months or so ago, and didn’t really notice any changes.
I was growing my hair out at the time, but the next time I went to my usual barber, she immediately asked what I was taking because she noticed lots of new hair growth. She’s been telling all her male clients since, and I constantly get texts/calls asking specifically what I’m using.
So, if nothing else, it’s apparently good for my hair.
That’s wild, Eddie! Around the same time I started taking collagen, I also started washing my hair less. I noticed a big difference, and I was getting a lot of compliments on my “dirty” hair! Ha! Now, I wonder, it is less washing or more collagen?!
I was buying creatine at CostCo in the 90s and ever since. Its not a new product for them.
Speaking of creatine in oatmeal. Found you through your video on Huckberry. Is there an oatmeal that you recommend? I’m looking for something that’s easy to prepare. Currently enjoying “TheComfort Crisis.”
I took it over the winter, it’s hard to say if I noticed any real effects. I did gain weight but there were other factors involved (lifting more often and heavier weight, eating more…)
Also, you might be interested…Dylan Johnson (pro gravel cyclist) just did a video looking at this from primarily an endurance perspective (spoiler: he comes to the same conclusions as you).
https://youtu.be/2_tYbWOnAY4
Will admit I am a fan of creatine. My perception is it helps with being less sore after a heavy lift day. Like most I am not 100% compliant and don't stress if I miss a dose or two.
I think that tracks with a lot of experiences. Thanks for sharing!