#71 - Cutting Through the Creatine Hype: Demystifying Monohydrate for Fitness Success

Ever feel bombarded by the endless stream of creatine ads, each one promising miraculous results? I'm Gus Holland, and in my latest laid-back episode, I'm cutting through the noise to bring you the facts, stripping away the fluff to reveal what really matters when it comes to this popular supplement. We're not just talking about any form of creatine; we're zeroing in on creatine monohydrate, the gold standard. Forget the flashy labels and the steep price tags; I'll guide you through the essential criteria for selecting a top-notch product that delivers without draining your wallet.

From debunking myths to providing a no-nonsense breakdown of the benefits and optimal usage of creatine monohydrate, this solo episode is packed with insights distilled from the clutter of the fitness industry. By the end of our session, you'll have a clear picture of how to incorporate this supplement into your daily routine for maximum effect. It's not about the shiny packaging or the celebrity endorsements—it's about purity, simplicity, and consistency. Tune in and take control of your fitness journey with wisdom that stands the test of time, and a little help from yours truly.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of Way of Life. I'm your host, gus Holland. Today I wanted to do kind of more of a freeform type of episode. I'm just going to be talking about some random stuff within the fitness community and kind of what's going on and everything like that. But lately I've been seeing a bunch of ads, especially on TikTok, for creatine different brands of creatine I'm not going to name the brand, but it has become excessive, at least within my algorithm. So most of these ads are creator made, so they're not really afraid to put out misinformation or incorrect math as far as it goes, because they're wanting you to click through and buy the product because they get a kickback. Nothing wrong with this. This is more of a problem with TikTok rather than the people, because people are obviously going to use the tools that they are given to their advantage and they should be able to do that. So nothing against people trying to do that and nothing against the brand, really, because it's working for them. But as far as creatine goes, there is I've covered it before but it really is important because it's one of the most popular supplements and it needs to be said over and over again throughout time, basically, so the new audience hears it and everything like that, or new listeners. And so there are different types of creatine and it truly doesn't Okay.

Speaker 1: 1:58

So you're going for creatine monohydrate. That is what you want. You want 100% pure creatine monohydrate. Where it says underneath it says other ingredients and nor it should say none. You're going to shoot for 5 grams per day and you're going to mix it in whatever beverage you want, because it should be unflavored and without dye or anything like that.

Speaker 1: 2:32

The other thing is that the price and the brand does not matter. As long as it's 100% pure. There's no other things added to it. That's it. So you should be able to. As long as you shop around and everything, you should be able to get about 105 grams servings for anywhere between $15 and $20. That is like the perfect price. You're most likely not going to find it cheaper, but that, when it comes down to it, will say you get it for $15 for 100 servings, 15 cents per serving. You take it once per day. You're spending 15 cents per day. That's excellent. That's one of the top, one of the most researched supplements, it's one of the longest in use and it is really for me and a lot of others up there in the top, two or three supplements or forms of supplements you would take. So that about covers it up.

Speaker 1: 3:49

So I mean, even before making this podcast, I'd not intentionally just another freaking cretin ad popped up on TikTok and they're like oh yeah, well, this brand on Amazon isn't as good and you're getting less for your money here, blah, blah, blah. But really the math Actually didn't add up, you know. So it's lots of times it's to trick you. Like they'll say, oh, it's, it's for $8 in the tiktok shop and you click and it's actually for 20. And they're like oh well, the sell ended there. There was never actually a Sale or whatever. You know, there's all types of different Stuff going on with that. But until that's better regulated, I figured it was a good idea to put that information back out again. It's kind of getting frustrated, frustrating.

Speaker 1: 4:41

The other thing is that, like I said, there's different types of cretin and it's hard to explain. But basically, though, I I think they called it Mike Micronized or Mike some, something like that it's they're like oh, this is a better, higher quality form of of creatine and it dissolves easier, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I've actually I've tried that. It dissolves like a tad bit easier. But is it worth paying double the price? No, is it. Is it absorbed in the body like it's they're? They're both fully absorbed, so it doesn't matter if it dissolves in the water or not all the way.

Speaker 1: 5:36

I mean what I do is I mix it in Some water or I'll put it with some water and like a scoop of. I have this like flavored amino supplement, bca, bcaa powder, branch chain amino acid, and that's mainly for flavor. I mean you are getting extra amino acids and stuff like that, but that's kind of like you, a lower priority if that makes sense. But so I use that to all flavor the water and I like it like super cold. I'll put it in a shaker cup, like I'll put like 12 ounces of water in a shaker cup with a big scoop of that BCAA powder, so it's technically like one and a half servings or something. And then then I'll do like a full scoop of the cretin and you shake it up.

Speaker 1: 6:32

I mean it takes like three shakes, four shakes or whatever it's, shook it up, drink half of it and like in one you know, a couple big swigs or whatever, and then, yeah, if for almost everything, including protein. If you let it sit there for a while, it settles at the bottom, shake it a couple more times, finish it off or as you sip, you know, sip it down or whatever. So it's truly not a big deal. If it's, it's not worth like I've seen people. I went to a GNC and they were selling some like Little bottle of micro, micro nays or whatever I forgot the term of it, but that form of cretin cretin and they're like oh, it blends better, it's better quality, blah, blah, blah. No, it's, it's not worth 50, 60 bucks for a little bitty jar of it like that's. It's ridiculous. So I guess that rant is over.

Speaker 1: 7:32

The other thing that I was gonna mention is, for the most part, the Community as a whole is super supportive, but I have noticed that, like overall, it is slightly, just just a tad bit just shifting toward Hater comments and I think I think not toward me, but just in general on videos that I see of people performing lifts and I think, maybe because the, the fitness industry has Grown quite a bit recently, especially with the newest, the youngest generation, it's become very popular, which is amazing. I love, I love to see that, but yeah, I think, just because it's grown so quick, so big, so quick that, yeah, that's kind of Lint itself to some undesirable traits, I believe. But I Don't know. I really like there are some influencers and creators out there that are putting a lot of really positive content out there, not only educational stuff, but really just like motivating people and Kind of trying to lead that younger generation in the in the right path or right direction as far as like attitude toward themselves and others in the gym. So I Really like seeing that and I think it's kind of me just thinking out loud I'm not a hundred percent sure, but like I I'm thinking about doing something on tiktok. As far as that goes, like maybe highlighting People's like lifts throughout the week or doing some some sort of video content, I Would really like to support not only the audience of this podcast but just People I see as I scroll through. I mean, you know I follow Over over 2,000 people on Instagram and they're pretty much all Fit, you know, within the fitness community whether they're strong men, strong women, power lefters, gym owners, like you name it. So I think it's really really cool To be putting more support out there.

Speaker 1: 9:58

Like I said, it doesn't always have to be educational or opinion or even opinion-based. It's just like a really good job on that lift, like Whatever you know, or as long as no one's hurting themselves or anything like that, especially like Like there is a woman that I saw she did like a really good job, especially for her, her body weight as far as, like she was doing a squat and she was showing her progress like, even though it wasn't, it wasn't perfect, she was showing like, basically, how she couldn't even lift the weight before and now she's like lifting it with Um, no, I wouldn't say correct form, but it, the form was better and the and she could manage the weight. So it's like she's showing improvement. She's obviously working on the form, she's working on the weight and she even said in the comments that she has a coach and and all this stuff like that. So I'm like what's the big deal? People are just like I Say about half the comments were just like negative toward something about the video and so I don't know. It's also another rant, I guess, but it kind of bothers me when people aren't as supportive as they could be, I guess.

Speaker 1: 11:26

Anyways, the final thing I wanted to touch on this Podcast. I'm gonna kind of try and keep it a little short today, but as far as like caffeine and supplementation goes, or caffeine consumption, yes, you can consume, like I, I think the Medical like maximum or whatever. I think they say five or six hundred milligrams per day might be wrong on that number, but whatever it's, it's up there and so, yes, you can consume that per day, should you? No, that is my personal opinion. I know a lot of people might argue with that, but I would argue that those people that are arguing are consuming that much or more per day.

Speaker 1: 12:16

And One thing from experience, like I've I've had issues with caffeine in the past, like large amounts. One thing about that is consumption of large quantities of caffeine on a daily basis, like repent, repetitively. Not only can you form an addiction to it, but you can also it it will like I don't care what anybody says, I haven't looked at any scientific studies or anything, but I've known several people that have abused caffeine, and Including myself, and it will, over time, change the like, your behavior toward yourself and others and your mental attitude, just the way you react to things and stuff like that, maybe whether it's making you more on edge or if it's dumping, you know, like making you dump your adrenaline Outside of the gym. You know it's there's different Things that it's going. It has potential to trigger within your body that aren't necessarily healthy or could affect Yourself and others. So just keep an eye out for that.

Speaker 1: 13:38

Other than that, I'm gonna keep this short today. I wanna thank everyone so much for the support. The podcast has continued to grow. I do have a sponsor coming up very soon my first ever sponsor and I'm, like beyond grateful and super excited to announce it to y'all. It is, although it's gonna technically, it's gonna add an ad spot on this podcast, it is going to help increase the quality of the podcast and reach more people, which is what I want it is. Also, the sponsor is a brand that, like I'm not gonna receive sponsorship from brands that I don't personally use, that aren't top notch, that don't take care of their people. You know, blah, blah, blah. Like these people are standup people and yeah, so I'm excited to announce that.

Speaker 1: 14:39

If you wanna support the podcast, I greatly appreciate it. Sharing an episode with a friend or a lot of friends is awesome, especially on Instagram to help grow, I don't know whatever, but sharing it and leaving a rating or review wherever you listen to the podcast is great. You can check out wayoflifepodcastcom that has everywhere you can listen to the podcast. It's got links to all that. It's got a blog where each of these episodes are blogged out, but it's in a different writing style and everything it's not word for word like the podcast. Also, trans the new episodes. I've said it before, but the new episodes are being transcribed, so that's great for people that need those services that are either maybe have a hearing disability or something like that. So very excited to finally have these episodes being transcribed. If y'all have any suggestions or comments concerns whatever, hit up Instagram. It's at wayoflifepodcast. So, yeah, anyways, thank y'all so much for the support and I will be talking to y'all later. Bye.