Soo should we all be taking creatine?

Hello cheeky friends!

In today’s episode, we do some mythbusting around creatine: overhyped gym bro fad or genuinely helpful performance booster for runners? We also check in on our 2025 goals now that we’re in March!

AND if you haven’t heard, we’re hosting another Cheeky run this Saturday in Sydney to celebrate International Women’s Day 🩷 we're proud to say that it will be sponsored by Ultra Violette (use the code cheeky15 for 15% off the UV range) and Nike.

LINKS: 

• Sign up for our Sydney Cheeky event here!
• AIS supplement framework
• The reverse pyramid image

 Click these links if you’d like to learn more about iron, protein, or carbohydrates.

Follow us wherever you get your podcasts + Instagram, TikTok, Substack, Phoebe's Strava + Anna's Strava, and join our Strava community 🩵

Music produced by Hugh Raper & logo design by Michael Cotellessa. Podcast edited by Kiara Martin.

Transcript

phoebe audio 0:00

Cheeky Run Club recognizes that every day we live, work, and run on Aboriginal land.

anna audio 0:08

Welcome to Cheeky Run Club, the social running podcast and community for your everyday amateur runner. Hello, Phoebe, and hello, listeners. I was trying really hard not to read the intro

phoebe audio 0:19

into your microphone.

anna audio 0:20

for once.

phoebe audio 0:20

that why you were making intense eye contact with me?

anna audio 0:25

Yeah, I'm coming up on today's show. We are tackling a question that's been popping up a little bit recently. Is creatine good for runners? We thought it was about time we did some research into whether it is beneficial for runners, when and how on earth you use it, and whether or not the myths about it only being for bodybuilders is in fact true.

phoebe audio 0:44

As promised in we then check back in on our intentions and goals we set out at the start of the year and how we're tracking with them.

anna audio 0:53

before we get into it, we have a very exciting update about our first ever Cheeky Run in Sydney, which is this weekend! Woohoo! are

phoebe audio 1:04

excited to see all of you there. Basically in terms of how the event's going to work, so it's on Saturday morning, it's 8am, and we have, with the help of our friends at Nike, managed to actually book out the Swans headquarters for the morning, which is pretty insane. You

anna audio 1:21

get player autographs,

phoebe audio 1:23

Yeah,

anna audio 1:23

no I'm just

phoebe audio 1:24

from

anna audio 1:24

that. It is genuinely

phoebe audio 1:27

it is genuinely a very cool space and Probably the coolest part of it is that it's literally right next to Centennial Park, which, in my mind, is possibly the best spot for running in the world.

anna audio 1:37

it's the best spot for running in the Is that a big goal or not really?

phoebe audio 1:59

animals of

anna audio 2:00

possums, there'll be pace groups of going at five minute pace, six minute pace, seven minute pace, eight minute pace. And also feel free to just come and walk or feel free to just come hang around and stay for the coffee. Literally everyone is invited.

phoebe audio 2:16

is exactly right. And when you get back, you'll be treated to breakfast and coffee. It's It's all free courtesy of Nike and Ultraviolet. There's also going to be a heap of freebies. you'll all walk away with something and some of you will walk away with quite a little bit more.

anna audio 2:31

more. Most importantly, we're just so excited to meet you all. So, please register. The link is in our show notes. And our bio on Instagram. just so we can gauge how many people are coming for the coffee and the food. But yes, come one, come all. Yes,

phoebe audio 2:47

experience the cheeky community in real life. They've honestly, I couldn't think of a nicer way to start a weekend. Like every run that we've done, and we haven't done one in Sydney yet. Every run that we've done, I have left being just like, What an amazing, like, fun group of people.

anna audio 3:03

Oh yeah. mess

phoebe audio 3:05

event page out really late. sorry about that. So, it, we only just put it up. It's currently Friday, and we put it up on Thursday. And, so it's, it's a tight window, to try and let everyone know. So, um, rock up and you'll make Anna's

anna audio 3:18

main panel today. Yes, woohoo! Um, so before we get into the main topic, let's kick it off with our best and worst runs of the week. Phoebe, give me your worst.

phoebe audio 3:27

give me your worst. Worst? Okay. No doubt my worst run was this morning. Mm hmm. So I, as listeners may remember, I was treated to Not the right word. I had a colonoscopy yesterday. I was

anna audio 3:41

I was treated to a pull up my bum. I was

phoebe audio 3:45

I was treated to a

anna audio 3:47

a stomach cleansing.

phoebe audio 3:50

So, um,

anna audio 3:51

reset. For

phoebe audio 3:52

for anyone who's not Anna and so hasn't had many colonoscopies before, it's basically where they have a look inside you. And for me, they're just making sure that because my iron levels were so low, they needed to make sure that I wasn't losing blood anywhere internally, even though, as the doctor said to me at the start. So, what I understand, you're a female runner who doesn't eat meat. Mmm, okay.

anna audio 4:16

That

phoebe audio 4:17

that might be your answer. What did you say after? At the end, she goes, Yep, you're all good, you just need to eat meat. I was like, okay,

anna audio 4:26

you, doctor.

phoebe audio 4:27

so much for letting me know. Yes, Miss. And you do go under general anaesthetic for that. I did that yesterday and then I just felt obviously really tired all day yesterday afterwards. You're pretty knocked around, I slept so much all afternoon, all night and I woke up and I was like, oh, I feel really weird. And I know I was showing you before, but my aura ring data was crazy. It was crazy. It's so

anna audio 4:52

was crazy, it's so new. My

phoebe audio 4:57

heart rate, average heart rate overnight was 73 beats per minute, which is just like 20 beats higher than it normally would be. And my heart rate variability was flat lining and my temperature was really high. Anyway, my body was clearly just under a lot of strain. I suppose from that anesthetic, but I haven't seen that before. And so I thought I won't do my session. I'll just do a little run. And it was a really nice run. I ran with a group of friends. Ant came, which is just always, you know, it's going to be a great run.

anna audio 5:25

jog. Yeah, any jog that Ant's on is a great jog. That's twice this week. Yeah,

phoebe audio 5:29

I know. and so it was nice, but I just felt, light headed. And, not even light headed, just was like, flat and heavy the whole time. You know what I felt like? I felt a little bit like when I was iron deficient for most of last year. I was like, this actually

anna audio 5:44

last year. So yeah,

phoebe audio 5:47

yes, that was, it was just a light run and I actually did feel a little bit better afterwards I would say, but, um, Oh, like 5k. Yeah. Yeah. And took it really

anna audio 5:56

Yeah, yeah.

phoebe audio 5:57

How about you?

anna audio 6:00

my worst run this week is actually a run that I did with your partner Sean. Oh, no! No!

phoebe audio 6:08

be so disappointed if he listened to the podcast.

anna audio 6:11

Like he doesn't, but he, we went for a run, which it wasn't anything to do with the company. It was actually really nice. Cause I, I mean, as you've said on the pod, it's not often that you get to run with one Sean Guinea these days. so that was really nice. We had a good chat, but he's quite a naturally fast runner. So he just, even if you're jogging, he just goes that. A little bit faster. And I think because I've just been doing shorter runs, super easy. The way I felt, I was explaining to you before we might've been running. Still a jogging pace, it felt so hard and it was I've been feeling a bit unfit obviously, cause I just haven't been doing much, but it really cemented the fact that I'm, I'm really unfit. The fitness is not there. It's well and truly gone, um, which is okay, but gosh, it's really made me appreciate that. Running is so hard.

phoebe audio 7:07

It's so

anna audio 7:08

so hard. And I don't think, I don't know, even when you're running a lot, even if you hadn't had a race in a while, I feel like it's just thrown the terms like, oh, I'm, I'm fit. It's just thrown around so candidly, but now there's like a whole nother meaning.

phoebe audio 7:25

you're like, this is,

anna audio 7:27

is, this is what

phoebe audio 7:29

it is so humbling

anna audio 7:32

It is really humbling. Yeah. Yeah. Especially,

phoebe audio 7:35

I mean, to come back to the comparison mindset that we spoke about, when you know what it can feel like to feel really good running and, at that pace, then all of a sudden you're looking at the pace and you're like. Oh my god, this should be jogging pace and yet I feel like I'm doing a

anna audio 7:50

be Jogging Base, and yet

phoebe audio 7:54

down.

anna audio 7:55

feel like I'm doing it right. My

phoebe audio 8:01

best was, for the first time in a very, very, very, very long time, was my long run.

anna audio 8:07

And I feel like the only weeks it hasn't been my

phoebe audio 8:13

And I feel like the only weeks it hasn't been my worst run is weeks when I've been like, I need to mix it

anna audio 8:18

a mix

phoebe audio 8:19

keep having my long

anna audio 8:20

can't keep

phoebe audio 8:20

I have not felt good in a long run in a year, I would say. Almost a year. Like, I can actually remember the last long run that I felt good. And it was almost a year ago. Yeah, I know. And this long run, I was not set up for success. we had a wedding on Friday night. Yes. which was a really late night and I only got a few hours sleep and then the next day we were staying at a friend's 30th down the coast bunk beds the whole shebang so much fun but again only a few hours sleep for this Sunday night and so we woke up on Sunday morning I reckon I'd have a total

anna audio 8:52

hour sleep

phoebe audio 8:52

across the two nights, and it was 28 degrees at 5 30 in the morning and windy down on the coast.

anna audio 9:01

sounds like the build up to your worst run. It sounds

phoebe audio 9:03

right. It sounds like

anna audio 9:04

the worst run ever. Anyway,

phoebe audio 9:05

Anyway, I was running with Edo because he was down staying down there as well. And I just started running and I was like, I feel

anna audio 9:13

Completely fine.

phoebe audio 9:14

fine. I did the whole run. I did over fuel. So ran for an hour 45 and I had three gels, but I just wanted to give myself every chance to feel good.

anna audio 9:26

And then also recover well.

phoebe audio 9:27

yeah, yeah. Recovered well. And yeah, we ran for Oh, a bit less than an hour. And then my brother, Joey came and met us for the second half. We just had Big chats the whole time. I never hit a wall. I didn't feel tired. I just, I actually felt more energized by the end of it. and it was so exciting. Oh,

anna audio 9:44

that's so good. Yay!

phoebe audio 9:45

To be like, the iron's up. I know, and then even special second mention on Wednesday, because I knew I had this colonoscopy and I was going to have a taper this weekend because I'm racing next week, I was like, I'll do my 90 minute run on Wednesday. And. I had the nicest run as a Claudia. I finished it the last, kilometre I was running home by myself and I couldn't stop smiling. I was like, I'm at the end of a 90 minute run mid week and I feel completely

anna audio 10:12

Yay!

phoebe audio 10:13

I know, so that was really, really,

anna audio 10:16

Um, if you, if this isn't, if you didn't

phoebe audio 10:20

if you didn't get your iron checked post our iron episode, then hopefully this is the boost you need. what about you? What was your best run?

anna audio 10:28

My best run is yet to come for the week.

phoebe audio 10:34

Wow. I let them

anna audio 10:36

thrown a few lemons at me this week and I have spoken to a couple of people and they said, you know what, just go for it.

phoebe audio 10:44

Medical professionals.

anna audio 10:45

professionals, I will say. Just go for a run. Don't worry about your, half hour limit. Just go for a run, enjoy yourself.

phoebe audio 10:52

Yeah, you've earned it,

anna audio 10:53

it. You've earned it, yeah. So, tomorrow, treat yourself. So tomorrow, I am going for what will be my longest run in, uh, oh my gosh, since July last year.

phoebe audio 11:08

I don't

anna audio 11:09

know how long it's going to

phoebe audio 11:10

long it's going

anna audio 11:11

Cause as I said from my worst run, I am quite unfit.

phoebe audio 11:13

my work, I

anna audio 11:15

But I'm excited.

phoebe audio 11:17

I am excited.

anna audio 11:18

I know. I know. I actually, I was speaking to my mum and dad before on the phone and I was talking to them about it. And dad made the comment and he was like, woohoo, treat yourself 20 kilometre run.

phoebe audio 11:33

a run! You're crazy! You know what, I was going to do my session tomorrow, but I think I might need to come with

anna audio 11:40

might need to come with

phoebe audio 11:45

Well, next week, next week we'll get the full

anna audio 11:48

get the full day break. We'll have the cheeky run.

phoebe audio 11:59

if Let's have a talk about creatine. Now before we get into it, I actually wanted to say two of the reasons why we were super keen to chat about creatine, apart from the fact that it does just seem to have been a topic of discussion online recently for runners. Number one is. some listeners may remember a while ago, Jess Ruthwell, dietitian and friend of the show came and talked to us about carbs and protein, and she also recommended that we check out the Australian Institute of Sport Supplement Framework. And of course, being the good little students that we are, we went away and read about it. And it's an amazing website. It

anna audio 12:36

It is really

phoebe audio 12:37

supplements. But one of the things that we found is this graph that basically maps out all sports supplements based on Evidence on one axis and then performance impact on the other axis. And largely it's what you'd expect, in the top corner, you've got sports drinks and sports bars and caffeine, but there was one little bubble right in the top corner that really made us raise our eyebrows because compared to things like protein supplements and so on that are around it. I hadn't really heard of anyone taking this and this was creatine.

anna audio 13:11

I ignorantly always just thought that it was a bit of a fad gym thing. And when I saw it so high on the graph, I was just like, sorry, what I genuinely thought it would be all the way down the bottom. for instance, at the other end of the spectrum, magnesium is so low. I

phoebe audio 13:33

Which

anna audio 13:35

we love. We love magnesium. So magnesium

phoebe audio 13:37

magnesium. So is on pretty much the lowest rung from an evidence perspective, which is crazy. I will say this is looking at performance goals. But it is basically saying that There is no evidence that it supports your performance goals, which is, was very, enlightening for us.

anna audio 13:54

It's more, there's more evidence that creatine supports you

phoebe audio 14:03

It's, it's more, there's more evidence that creating supports. You than protein and it's much, it's further to the right in terms of its impact on you. The only thing that is better for your performance than creatine, according to this is sports drinks, that is the one supplement that beats creatine. And that is genuinely mind blowing. I would not have expected that. I saw that and I was like. Right, and then the other thing was, I met with Jess Rothwell last week to look at my own diet, specifically talk about iron, but also to look at what else I might be missing out on, and creatine was one of the first things that she recommended, because as we'll find out, you generally get it through meat sources, that's how you get it through your diet, and obviously if you're not eating meat, then you're not really getting it much anyway, but also just because for a runner, as we're about to go through, there are a huge amount of benefits.

anna audio 14:54

huge number of benefits. Yeah, and I also thought this other graph is super interesting. And it makes it really simple. We might even put this link in the show notes just so if you're more of a visual learner, like we are, you can also

phoebe audio 15:06

Plus it'll be very painful to listen to us explain these graphs. Everyone's like, this axis, this axis. So, pretty

anna audio 15:13

pretty much it's saying that the sports nutrition pyramid, according to what many supplement companies want you to think starts with supplements, then goes to sports nutrition. And then, the last thing is everyday nutrition fundamentals. Whereas what the evidence and sports nutrition experts know is that you should actually start. with the Everyday Nutrition Fundamentals and choosing nutritious food and fluids that support optimal health, fueling and recovery by aligning energy intake and expenditure. Then after that, it goes through sports nutrition, so sports foods, gels, before and after exercise to promote optimal fueling, hydration and adaptation. And then the last thing that we should worry about is the supplements.

phoebe audio 15:54

I think it's actually really

anna audio 15:55

actually really important.

phoebe audio 15:56

we will talk about this as a supplement that can have performance enhancing benefits. But we're talking about the few percent is here and that's fine. It's fine to still care about these things and find them interesting, which they absolutely are. But it's important to say that it's only in the context of getting the basics right

anna audio 16:12

yeah. Because I guess these big commercial companies can't make money out of selling bananas.

phoebe audio 16:17

No,

anna audio 16:17

you are

phoebe audio 16:19

unless you are Australian

anna audio 16:20

reached out

phoebe audio 16:21

we have reached out to on Instagram for a partnership. Um, but yeah, I think that's, that's important to say is that there's no point focusing on this unless you're getting the fundamentals

anna audio 16:33

more like

phoebe audio 16:34

Or don't expect it to have a massive difference if you're not having

anna audio 16:36

that. Doing all the other stuff. Yeah.

phoebe audio 16:38

focus on that

anna audio 16:39

Yeah. So, what is creatine and how does it work?

phoebe audio 16:42

Yes. Okay. So creatine, it's a compound and it is naturally found in your muscle cells. So we all have it, but it's also ingested through the diet. So mostly through meat and fish is the main way that we get it. In fact, pretty much exclusively through animal sources unless you're taking a synthetic supplement.

anna audio 17:00

also works primarily as an energy source to support short maximal intensity exercise. which I found super interesting, which I guess is maybe why it's the name of it. You kind of associate with people lifting weights Cause it also, it obviously really does benefit that.

phoebe audio 17:17

that. So my, my understanding from reading about that is it's literally an energy source, like carbs or, except it just works differently in that it's. really short, it only works for 8 10 seconds of really intense energy, but it really helps your

anna audio 17:31

like, expend the main benefit is if you're doing like shorter bursts, more powerful bursts, while creatine is often associated with sports that require explosive strengths, it can also benefit runners, particularly during sprints and interval training. And it does that by helping you perform at the high level for a longer period. so even though it isn't necessarily Helping you in an endurance setting by supplementing it whilst you're training means that your muscles can build up strength better so that that means at the end of an endurance race, for instance, they're going to hold up better than like

phoebe audio 18:16

you know,

anna audio 18:16

weren't supplementing with it.

phoebe audio 18:18

The way I understood it is almost like there's the direct impact of that maximal exercise performance where like you're taking it and your muscles are able to perform that intense performance, better, which as we say is less relevant for endurance runners, that, that element of it. But then the kind of, indirect benefit is if you're taking it throughout your training. whether that's strength training, but also just general running training, then it actually, because it's so good for your muscles in that time. And we'll talk a little bit more about why it's so good, but because it's so good, it just means that you're able to gain muscle strength, gain muscle

anna audio 18:51

muscle strength,

phoebe audio 18:52

muscle size, which then as an endurance athlete, or as anyone who runs even, that's still going to have a really good impact on your running. Even if it's not that direct benefit from a 60 meter sprint

anna audio 19:02

from like, a 60m

phoebe audio 19:03

Well, so in terms of how it actually, I found this quite interesting on trying to understand what actually does in your muscles. So the main way that it benefits your muscles, and we'll talk about this through a few different lenses, including recovery and so on, is that it helps with your ATP production, which is adenosine triphosphate. I think that's basically what creatine turns into that you can then use as energy.

anna audio 19:27

as energy. So creatine

phoebe audio 19:29

gets

anna audio 19:29

like, turned into that which we then use for energy. Yes. Okay, great.

phoebe audio 19:41

that stores and provides energy for cells in all living Um, to create energy, which we need, but then outside of that, it increases muscle hydration. So something that people probably heard about when it comes to creatine is that you hold more water when you're taking creatine, it increases the water content in those muscle cells. So when cells are better hydrated, that, is thought to be linked to better performance because they function more efficiently. They reduce fatigue, and that sort of thing.

anna audio 20:12

So Creatine is also beneficial for muscle recovery due to several key mechanisms that help reduce muscle damage, enhance the repair process and speed up recovery after intense exercise. So as you just mentioned there's the improved ATP production, which means that the faster ATP replenishment can be especially beneficial after intense workouts, as it allows the muscles to recover and perform again with less delay, which makes sense. And then in turn, because of that, that means that there's a reduction of the muscle damage, because you've got the reduced muscle break breakdown because you are sort of like feeling. that cup up quicker. and then also because of that, there's less inflammation. So it has been shown to lower markers of inflammation, which is key to muscle repair and also that feeling of DOMS, like the delayed

phoebe audio 21:00

DOMS. Um, yeah. Well, so, yeah, I guess basically to summarize those two points, because it's so helpful for your muscles. It both from an endurance and strength perspective, but then also a recovery perspective that is obviously going to have benefits for a runner. The final benefit of taking creatine supplements is actually to do with your brain health, which is really interesting. I have friends at work that take it

anna audio 21:22

for

phoebe audio 21:22

for their brain, like for their cognition. So, we spoke about how ATP is this energy source in your cells. That's the same for your brain as well. It's Your brain's main energy source is ATP, so there is evidence that it helps you stay really sharp and focused during, mentally challenging tasks. It

anna audio 21:40

It does also, there is research to suggest that it protects the brain from oxidative stress, which is linked to conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

phoebe audio 21:50

Yeah. Keep brain

anna audio 21:52

keep brain cells healthier, which I thought was quite interesting. And also improvement of mood.

phoebe audio 21:56

Yep, mood, mental health, it's linked to, improving your mood and reducing symptoms of depression and stress, which is crazy. And brain recovery, so helping you bounce back from mental fatigue, which is crazy. Like these are amazing benefits.

anna audio 22:11

why are we not taking it? All the time! Well, that's actually

phoebe audio 22:17

are some side effects, side effects, but also some, I guess, some risks as with any of these things and, and as well. So one of the biggest known side effects is water retention.

anna audio 22:29

So it can cause your muscles to hold on to more water, which might make you feel a bit bloated and cause some weight gain. It isn't actually you putting on excess fat. It's literally just water in your muscles. this can be annoying for some people, especially if you're trying to stay lean or compete in a specific weight class. Obviously us as runners, we don't do

phoebe audio 22:49

you're not gonna notice it. It's

anna audio 22:50

Yeah, yeah. I feel like that's probably more applicable to, you know, in these bodybuilding contests, how they literally have to fit into a weight category. Like maybe for that, if they're holding like a kilogram of water weight, but I feel like for amateur runners, we don't need to

phoebe audio 23:08

No, I also, we're going to talk a little bit about how to take it, further down. But, a lot of people when they start taking creatine, they do something called loading where you take a lot in the first five days and that is quite optimal for strength training. However, that is the main thing that drives the significant amount of water retention. So, by the looks of it, if you take it for an endurance runner, you. You know, you may not need to worry about the loading side of things. I shouldn't even say insurance runner. For a

anna audio 23:37

For a runner, yeah.

phoebe audio 23:38

to worry about the loading side of things. So that, you may not even experience water retention in the first

anna audio 23:43

Yeah. it can also upset, upset, upset your stomach. for some people like cause cramps, nausea, or sometimes diarrhea, especially if they take too much at once. So I would sort of just get into it gradually and make sure you're taking smaller doses or mixing it with plenty of water to avoid that.

phoebe audio 24:03

of water to avoid that. on your kidneys if have healthy kidneys, then no stress. It's not going to be harmful to it. But if you do have kidney issues, then I would say check with the doctor before using it or any other major one is dehydration because what we spoke about before, it draws water into your muscles. You need to drink some more water. To actually stay hydrated, especially if you're working out. Yeah.

anna audio 24:28

more water to actually stay hydrated. Especially if you're working out. know, as you've just said, research shows that it doesn't actually harm healthy kidneys. It's only a concern if you have pre existing kidney issues. So, if you

phoebe audio 24:52

have a great renal function. You ahead and take that prescription. it definitely can benefit runners as we've just been through and also doesn't necessarily make you what kind of muscles you build depend on the training that you're doing, not the supplements that you're taking. So if you're, not doing training that is designed to build really bulky muscles, then, you're not going to all of a sudden wake up and be super buff when you weren't

anna audio 25:26

not going to all of a sudden wake up and be super bummed that you weren't looking. our bodies already make. it's also found in foods like meat and fish, as we said at the top. So supplementing it just gives you a boost for better performance. it's actually one of the safest and most well researched supplements around as well, which is pretty interesting.

phoebe audio 25:53

is crazy. It is, that is insane. So,

anna audio 25:57

how should we use it?

phoebe audio 26:05

is creatine monohydrate. That's basically, the creatine that all the research has been done around. that we know is really safe, is really effective. for example, there are other types. So creatine ethyl ester, creatine HCL, creatine nitrate. There's very limited evidence that these help. And they're actually more expensive. So These are often also in pill forms. So check that it's creatine monohydrate. Which is typically in a white powder. Although I have started to see it come out in

anna audio 26:33

Yeah, I've seen that. I've actually at the gym that I go to, go to, went to, still a paying member. they have these little vending machines and they were giving out free creatine gummies. So I just had a couple cause I was

phoebe audio 26:50

like, oh my god, I need

anna audio 26:52

And they were actually quite delicious. They genuinely just tasted like normal lollies.

phoebe audio 26:56

delicious. They tasted like normal lollies. the white powder that you mix with yogurt or water can be, uh,

anna audio 27:03

can be, uh, Um, and then

phoebe audio 27:06

check them out. Um, and then in terms of how you take it, you kind of have two options. One is what we said, which is you can do the loading. So loading is when over five days, you basically consume 20 grams a day. Yeah. Over four different doses. Mm. And that. essentially basically means you get the maximal benefit straight away and you load all your muscles with it and it prepares them really well, whereas otherwise you can just take, three to five grams a day.

anna audio 27:33

really well. Whereas otherwise, you can just

phoebe audio 27:37

Just skip the loading

anna audio 27:38

three to five grams a day. the loading phase. Yeah. Saturating your muscles faster, I guess.

phoebe audio 27:47

yeah, exactly.

anna audio 27:49

so when to use it? The best time is probably post workout. and that is because after you work out, as we know, our muscles are pretty hungry for nutrients and that's when they'll absorb stuff like protein, carbs and creatine the best. the carbs especially help with getting the creatine into your muscles more effectively. So if you mix your creatine with a protein shake or some food after workout, you'll kind of get the most outta your muscle recovery. So it's it's essentially just combining all three of them

phoebe audio 28:17

Yeah. Yeah. And the main thing I feel like it says is just, take it consistently. Yeah. and you don't need to cycle creatine. Some people do if they're loading, but most people, you can just take it every

anna audio 28:27

every day.

phoebe audio 28:28

Um, try and pick something that fits with your routine, stick with it, and it can just be part of

anna audio 28:34

just be part of gonna give

phoebe audio 28:36

Well, I'm, I'm gonna give it a go.

anna audio 28:38

gonna give it

phoebe audio 28:40

I'm gonna give it a go. I'm

anna audio 28:41

think I'm gonna

phoebe audio 28:42

I'm going to order some of the gummies because I think I'll be more likely to take it if that's the case. Yeah. And I will monitor the impact and I will report

anna audio 28:53

report back.

phoebe audio 28:54

I feel like because, A, because Jess recommended it, but B, for me reading through all this research, I feel like there's clear benefits. And I'm just curious. Yeah. I'm really curious. I mean, why not? Yeah.

anna audio 29:05

think I'm going to see how you go and then decide. Okay.

phoebe audio 29:09

That is very fair. I'll report back.

anna audio 29:12

Alright. So, as promised last week, we said that we would revisit our intentions and goals that we made for the year each month. Yeah. So, this is time for you guys to reflect as well. Yeah. Honestly. Yeah. So, Pheebs, your word of the year was respect. Are you embodying that and if so,

phoebe audio 29:34

how? My In a hundred words or less, Um, I'm embodying it. I think that I'm really proud that I went and got my eye in checked.

anna audio 29:46

And I acted

phoebe audio 29:47

I acted on the information really quickly. I've also, I went and saw a dietitian and I got my iron infusion and I've been putting in a lot more effort. The other thing I was thinking is, I know we like to joke on the show that I don't listen to my

anna audio 30:02

to my body.

phoebe audio 30:04

But I was thinking about last year and how I was, you know, anemic. But I was thinking I actually did run so much less on average per week. Last year in that time period than I have in previous years. I did kind of, cause I was forced to, cause I was so tired, but I really pulled back my running and I'm even proud that I've adjusted my goals to be more about shorter stuff.

anna audio 30:26

shorter stuff. So,

phoebe audio 30:27

And I've really,

anna audio 30:28

I really

phoebe audio 30:30

And I've really enjoyed that. So, by no means is it perfect, but I think that I have been respecting

anna audio 30:36

Yeah, I definitely think you have. I feel like there's been a big change, even this year. So yeah, I feel like be proud of yourself.

phoebe audio 30:44

What about your word of the year was resilience? I'm going to give you a gold star.

anna audio 30:51

Thank you. yes. I have had So, I said at the top of the episode, had a little bit of a challenging time. We'll maybe chat about it in the future. but, yeah, I feel like I'm trying.

phoebe audio 31:05

You're trying. I'm trying. Yeah, you're doing an amazing

anna audio 31:08

you. You are, and

phoebe audio 31:10

I feel like, as we spoke about, it's been very tough not being able to run

anna audio 31:14

Yeah, yeah,

phoebe audio 31:16

do all those things. But honestly, You've been, you show up to coffee, you do all the little things to try and keep yourself a really good headspace and I'm really proud of you. I think you're doing an amazing

anna audio 31:26

Yes, apart from, I, tomorrow when

phoebe audio 31:29

I Anna is going

anna audio 31:33

proud of

phoebe audio 31:34

Will it go on Strava? That's the question. Oh, 100%.

anna audio 31:38

it depends how far I get. Actually, I might only get to six Ks

phoebe audio 31:41

6K. Oh gosh, if I know you, you'll be pushing through. Nothing

anna audio 31:47

my second of a marathon

phoebe audio 31:48

Yeah, yeah. We finish the run and you just keep going. Bye! Um, okay, let's talk about We also identified within the Word of the Year some processes that we wanted to implement to try and achieve some outcome goals. Oh, so actually from an outcome goal perspective, one of my outcome goals was to get a 5k PB and I have a 5k race this week.

anna audio 32:06

Yeah. Actually, next time we record, you probably would've done it.

phoebe audio 32:11

I will have done it. Yeah,

anna audio 32:12

you, how are you feeling for it?

phoebe audio 32:14

I feel okay. I'm not actually, I'm not going to try and I'm not saying this is a race that I'll get a PB. I'm saying this is a tester and then I have another one in a few weeks that I think is going to be

anna audio 32:23

to just like get one on the

phoebe audio 32:24

I just want to get out there and have a run and feel good. I think my speed training has been really good. I'm so happy with it and I feel like I have gotten faster. I don't feel like my fitness is very strong compared to when I got my other PB. Like whenever I do a rep that's longer than 800 meters, I am

anna audio 32:43

gasp.

phoebe audio 32:43

Yeah. So I don't exactly know how that's going to translate, but I am really excited to like have a hit out on Thursday next week and just see how it goes and then set myself up to figure out what I need to do in a few

anna audio 32:54

For the next one, yeah. I mean, I think considering, obviously this year so far has been a bit up and down in the sense that you got your iron checked, you kind of haven't been feeling that well and then

phoebe audio 33:04

feeling rubbish for the first, like, six weeks. I feel

anna audio 33:06

I feel like it's almost, there's no expectations on

phoebe audio 33:09

No, no, no,

anna audio 33:10

which is quite freeing in a

phoebe audio 33:11

Yeah. I feel not, I don't even feel slightly nervous. Like I'm excited for it. And I want to really recommend people signing up for 5Ks. It has been so much fun training for

anna audio 33:21

fun training for like,

phoebe audio 33:23

not feeling so exhausted by my running load all the time. yes. And your outcome goal is the triathlon, which isn't for a little while still, but you've been getting it in good swims.

anna audio 33:31

Been getting some good swims. I am going to get my bike repaired this weekend. Okay. And start bike riding. A couple of our friends have really embraced the triathlon scene and have been doing a couple of tries and been doing some bike riding, so I'm being, I'm very keen to join them. Our word

phoebe audio 33:50

our word of the year, we had our outcome goals and then we also had our input or process

anna audio 33:54

outcome goals, and then we also had our input or process goals.

phoebe audio 34:03

ambitious for a gal like yourself. You said you wanted to sleep over.

anna audio 34:08

Yes. I just checked it.

phoebe audio 34:14

checked it.

anna audio 34:15

it's

phoebe audio 34:16

it's just off. What is it? It's 6 hours, 48 minutes.

anna audio 34:20

hours 48 minutes.

phoebe audio 34:23

I am quite happy with that I saw what last year's average was, which is 6 hours, 47 minutes. Oh! So, I've moved, I've moved up one minute.

anna audio 34:34

shocked by

phoebe audio 34:36

that. Yeah, there's still time. I am shocked by that. I checked it being like, I have been nailing this.

anna audio 34:42

year. I have been

phoebe audio 34:47

I have been having some earlier nights, so, but that's a good, that's, I'm really glad we did this check-in because I thought I was more on track.

anna audio 34:55

Yeah, you know what? You probably have been better consistently, but I know, you've been away a few weekends to, weddings and different kinds of stuff, and I know you said that you haven't, slept that well then, so maybe that breaks it down, like, by 12 minutes or so. Yeah,

phoebe audio 35:11

yeah, but I have been learning a lot more about some benefits to my sleep. I've been trying one morning a week to not run in the morning and just sleep in. And I'll always get eight hours sleep that night and it's been so

anna audio 35:24

Do you try to do that midweek?

phoebe audio 35:26

Yeah, Wednesday I've been doing it because you guys go

anna audio 35:28

Swimming. Yeah. It's actually funny you say that because I was speaking to Mel, one of our girlfriends on Wednesday morning and because we were both a bit sleepy, and we were saying it's hard, like I love the Wednesday morning swim, but it's hard going. Early Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then by the time you kind of get to Friday, you're like, oh my gosh,

phoebe audio 35:47

So tired, that's the thing, because we run so early

anna audio 35:50

on Tuesday, actually. It's just

phoebe audio 35:52

and Monday's usually, so by Wednesday I need a good

anna audio 35:55

sleep. Yeah. That's

phoebe audio 35:56

really helping overall, that's probably where the extra

anna audio 35:59

extra minute came from. One more we also said that we, uh, wanted to schedule in some daytime recovery

phoebe audio 36:07

We did!

anna audio 36:07

get some downtime.

phoebe audio 36:08

How do you feel like you've been going

anna audio 36:10

I actually think I've been doing pretty well. I reckon for a few hours on either day of the weekend, I sit down and just not really do anything or watch a movie. I feel like I have watched a couple of movies this year already and which is like kind of crazy and, or I've been, I don't know.

phoebe audio 36:30

That's what

anna audio 36:31

That's about it.

phoebe audio 36:32

gonna say.

anna audio 36:33

I mean, what? Actually, no, I'm sorry. we've watched a couple of TV series, which I don't think I, I don't know. I probably did, but like, I can't recall doing that much last year. and I know that we've checked in a couple of times with each other on the weekend being like, are you scheduling in some time? Yeah. Um,

phoebe audio 36:50

I've been maxing out on my sauna ice bath.

anna audio 36:54

which I'm going to join you on this

phoebe audio 36:55

Yes, oh my god, so good. and how's your strength twice a week been going? Really good. Oh, sorry, not twice a week, but my goal actually was minimum once, but I aim for twice. I have been every single week. I've been at least

anna audio 37:07

least once. Yeah,

phoebe audio 37:08

which has been really good and I would say half the weeks I've been twice. Sometimes the second session is Pilates, sometimes it's not. But also on the weeks, to come back to respect, on the weeks that I haven't been twice, it's when I've had the iron infusion or had this or whatever it is

anna audio 37:21

had

phoebe audio 37:22

I've been like, I actually really, I need to prioritize

anna audio 37:25

career. Yeah, yeah, definitely.

phoebe audio 37:27

But I think I've been, I'm doing my chin up

anna audio 37:30

process.

phoebe audio 37:31

practice. I've been also been filming it.

anna audio 37:34

I was gonna say, I'm really keen to see they

phoebe audio 37:36

are the most pathetic videos. They're so bad. But yeah, I've been doing chin up practice. Just been, I put the pin in so that it carries more than half my weight

anna audio 37:45

And

phoebe audio 37:45

and I'll try and do

anna audio 37:46

do three in a

phoebe audio 37:48

It's slow progress. Um, yeah, I can do three when it's taking literally 40 kilograms of weight. So it's pretty long way off. Um, I also have realized that once a week probably isn't going to get me

anna audio 37:59

going to get me there.

phoebe audio 38:02

home. Yeah, someone recommended that, but I was like, I'm not, I'm not about to put up a bar.

anna audio 38:06

Anyway. Um, very good. I'm keen to see, I reckon by the end of the year you're gonna have three chin up body weight

phoebe audio 38:14

No way, do you think so? Yeah, if

anna audio 38:16

If you keep doing

phoebe audio 38:17

it. I have been losing confidence because I haven't

anna audio 38:19

No.

phoebe audio 38:20

the slightest.

anna audio 38:21

No, I reckon you have because before you could barely just hang there. Whereas now that you, you were doing three

phoebe audio 38:26

That's true, but it takes so much of my weight.

anna audio 38:29

Mmm.

phoebe audio 38:31

I just think I need to start doing it twice a week. Yeah. We will, we will

anna audio 38:35

We will, we will see. We'll speak to you in March about it.

phoebe audio 38:38

And then our final thing that we wanted to do was more meal prep. How's this been going

anna audio 38:44

Well, I've kind of cheated.

phoebe audio 38:46

Have you?

anna audio 38:47

Yeah. So, a few of Dave, my husband's friends, were chatting about this program called Fair Feed. I don't know if you've ever heard of it. Anyway, so it's this store, and they Cook meals, like quite healthy, nutritious meals, and you can do like a hundred dollar, there's like a productivity pack, which is what we always opt for, and it's a hundred dollars, and then you go through and select, it'll give you a kilogram of a main dish. And then it will give you a few different protein items, then a few different pasta or salady or vegetable items. And then it always has another couple of things that you add on. And so whilst I haven't been meal prepping, I haven't been having to cook every night because

phoebe audio 39:31

That is amazing! It's so good. Wait, what's it called?

anna audio 39:34

called Fair Feed, and they have so, they have so many like, actually, not that you're a vegetarian.

phoebe audio 39:39

a vegetarian.

anna audio 39:40

They have so many veg o, glen free, vegan meals. I'm pretty sure it's only like specific to Melbourne. So you pick it, you can either pick it up, which is close by to my work, or we've been getting it delivered for 10.

phoebe audio 39:52

$10

anna audio 39:53

And out of the 100, it goes so far. Like we both, we both eat a lot, and it would easily cover five meals. So that's 10 a meal, which if I'm going to the supermarket and buying stuff for dinner, it's always over 20 a

phoebe audio 40:11

so do you still need to cook it? Like does it just send you like meat and vegetables or does it literally send

anna audio 40:15

it's all cooked. You need to heat it up.

phoebe audio 40:17

What's an example?

anna audio 40:18

so we had Lebanese chicken with rice and veggies. What I quite often do, I'll quite often just add a couple more veggies. so you can either get ones that are like pure, made up like that, or for instance, we've got a, a one kilogram thing of veggie curry. So you obviously need to make the rice have with it.

phoebe audio 40:34

That is amazing, and I can't believe you haven't told me

anna audio 40:38

it. I know, I've been gatekeeping it.

phoebe audio 40:40

You have been gatekeeping that knowledge.

anna audio 40:42

So, yes, that is my meal prep. I've outsmarted meal prep.

phoebe audio 40:47

You, you've outsourced it

anna audio 40:49

I know.

phoebe audio 40:50

Wow. I feel like a fool.

anna audio 40:52

fool. How's your meal prep been going? It's like pathetic. Oh no.

phoebe audio 40:57

oh no, it's okay. It's fine. It's just, how would I describe it? It's low energy. Um, it's not what brings me joy on a Sunday afternoon. But it has, I have been doing it most weeks. I have done some sort of meal prep. I'm not as motivated as I was when I first started doing it and I was meal prepping breakfast and

anna audio 41:16

As well, yeah.

phoebe audio 41:17

but that was just too much.

anna audio 41:18

much. Yeah. I find breakfast e I don't know if it helps. I find breakfast easier to do just

phoebe audio 41:23

night before or

anna audio 41:24

night before, yeah. And I'm almost kind of like a spoonful of yogurt for the Tupperware container, a spoonful of yogurt for myself.

phoebe audio 41:32

yogurt for myself. Okay. As you go.

anna audio 41:35

one for you. Ooh, a bit of peanut butter. Okay, I'll have a little

phoebe audio 41:38

whoopsies. Well yeah, I feel like maybe I could move that to being the night before. Yeah. But um, I did do things like my experimental banana muffin. Yes. Breakfast

anna audio 41:48

muffin. Yes.

phoebe audio 41:49

that's, I'm giving myself a gold star for

anna audio 41:52

gold star. Yeah, yeah, nice. Alright, I think that's all we've got time for today. I

phoebe audio 41:56

that's all we've got time for today. Yeah, yeah. And if you haven't quite got to them,

anna audio 42:10

and C. That you have a little reflect on your

phoebe audio 42:16

then. 10

anna audio 42:17

end. Plenty of

phoebe audio 42:19

to write that sleep average or Go hit the gym, whatever that looks like for

anna audio 42:25

Get that extra 12 minutes. Yes. Alright, bye! Bye! don't know.

phoebe audio 42:33

Got a door,

anna audio 42:33

Yeah. Is that the Simpsons? You got

phoebe audio 42:35

don't know, I thought you said it to me

anna audio 42:37

before. Yeah.