💪 The everyday athlete newsletter #132

👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #132 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.

Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (4 min read):

💊 Do I need to creatine "load"?

"Loading" creatine is the old school approach of taking 20g of creatine per day for a week before dropping down to a maintenance dose of 3-5g.

The short answer?

Nope. Not necessary.

The slightly longer answer:

"Loading" will get you to muscle saturation faster (about 7 days vs 28 days).

(muscle saturation is the point where your muscles have absorbed as much creatine as they physically can)

But the end result is exactly the same.

So unless you're competing next week, there's literally no advantage to loading.

Plus, loading comes with potential downsides:

• 💰 More expensive (you're using 4x as much product—maybe why supplement stores still recommend it)
• 😣 More likely to cause GI discomfort
• 💧 More likely to cause water retention initially

What matters far more than loading is consistency.

Taking 5g daily for months/years will give you all the benefits:

• 💪 Strength, power and muscle mass
• 🏃 High-intensity exercise performance
• 🧠 Brain function and protection
• 🔄 Faster recovery

Skip the loading phase. Save your cash. Get the same results.

🍇 Fresh vs frozen fruit & veg

Recent shift:

Our household’s been a little more time-poor of late. So we’ve been running more frozen veg in our dinners.

Purely for convenience.

But before we did, I looked into it…

It’s a myth that fresh is healthier than frozen/canned.

In fact, canned/frozen fruit and veg often have better nutrition profiles because they’re preserved at peak freshness.

Whereas, most "fresh" fruit in supermarkets has already spent days (sometimes weeks) traveling from farm to shelf — where nutrients start breaking down.

And can last for months instead of days.

Peak freshness baby.

🍲 66g protein for $3

And we've been running the frozen veg with one of the most bang-for-your-buck protein options no one talks about.

Tofu.

🤮 Yuck. I used to think. Then I learned what marinating means...

At least 15 mins in either:

• 🍯 Honey-soy (tsp honey, 2 tbsp tamari)
• 🫚 Ginger-garlic (2cm shredded ginger, 3 cloves crushed garlic, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2-5* tbsp apple cider vinegar)

*2-5 depends on who's cooking... 2 if I am. 5+ if my fiance is – she's addicted to ACV, this week put it in a spag bol 🧐

Anyway, now it's a weekly staple.

66g protein for $3.

That's it!

Have a great weekend 🤙

Matt

📬 Did someone forward this to you? I send an email like this every week. Join free here.

👇 If these emails aren't for you anymore you can unsubscribe below. No stress, they're not for everyone.

 Want more? Check out the Everday Athlete Toolbox and Elite Sleep Audit

The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service nor a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information shared in this email is general and written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.