Kettlebell Creatine, Strength and Protein

A while ago, I hurt my right ankle on an inflated dome balance ball. Then, later, I injured my left knee running. My right hip gives me a little twinge now and then — for reasons unspecified, but I still have to deal with the aftereffects. None of those “body tweaks” were related to Kettlebells, but they still affect the workouts I do today.

None of those injuries lasted very long, nothing terribly is terribly nagging, but as we age, and as we become more brittle, and fragile, we need to be more alert to the special needs of our decaying bodies. To get stronger, we must always remain vigilant against ourselves in feeding our bodies the right things we need to heal, restore, and grow.

That starts with making sure we get enough protein. You probably need between 0.7g and 1.0g of protein per pound per day if you are an average aged like me. So, if you weigh 165 points, you should be averaging between 115g-165g of protein a day. We need a minimum of 60g of protein per day, and 1200 calories per day, just to maintain basic health.

The best way to track your daily intake of protein is with an App. There are several on the market, and they make it really easy to find what you need to feed your fuel. If you are on a plant-based diet, you may need to supplement your diet with extra protein powder or drinks; and that’s fine, just make sure you are staying within your caloric limits, and you aren’t in a protein deficit.

Another interesting angle on gaining strength is through the use of a supplemental Creatine intake of 5g-8g a day — depending on your musculature. Creatine has always been a fascination for me on several levels. First, I always wondered if Creatine would mess with my heart and blood pressure, and my non-medical-expert analysis appears to suggest that Creatine supplements are not a problem for the heart.

Next, I wanted to try Creatine, but as a faithful Vegan for the past couple of decades or so, I was uncomfortable trying a non-plant based solution. Until, that is, I discovered Creapure:

Creapure is vegan and exclusively manufactured by chemical synthesis. Raw materials and intermediates are not derived from animal or herbal products resulting in no traces that may have originated from animal or herbal byproducts.

Creatine, which occurs naturally in the body, plays a crucial role in the body’s energy metabolism. If energy is needed, ATP (adenosine triphosphate = energy currency of the cell) is converted to ADP (adenosine diphosphate). Eventually, the body turns ADP back into ATP using energy derived from food, but this takes time, and muscle cells can store only enough ATP to allow a few seconds of high-intensity work. Therefore, creatine supplementation is substantial to ensure high levels of phosphocreatine.

I haven’t yet tried Creapure/Creatine, but when I do, I am interested to see the results, if there are any, over an extended period of training time; and then to see if I can find a way to quantify my leap of faith onto that particular continent. I’m not interested in muscle bulking, but if Creapure can help me have a stronger, and better, Kettlebell workout, then I’m all in on the effort. In my ongoing Creatine/Creapure research, I also found the following medical conclusions.

Creatine for the treatment of depression:

There is growing evidence from human neuroimaging, genetics, epidemiology, and animal studies that disruptions in brain energy production, storage, and utilization are implicated in the development and maintenance of depression. Creatine, a widely available nutritional supplement, has the potential to improve these disruptions in some patients, and early clinical trials indicate that it may have efficacy as an antidepressant agent.

…

… discovered that supplementation with 8 g of creatine per day for 5 days reduced mental fatigue on the UKT compared to placebo. Creatine has also been shown to improve cognitive performance in persons subjected to sleep deprivation.

Evidence presents Creatine may help diminish the effects of neurodegeneration:

Creatine, increasingly popular as a dietary and exercise supplement, has shown the ability to counteract laboratory models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease. A significant new study shows that it slows the pathological and behavioral effects of a transgenic model of Huntington's disease, an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder that has both motor and mental effects.

Creatine also helps aging muscle mass and bone:

From a healthy aging perspective, interventions which overcome sarcopenia are clinically relevant. Accumulating evidence suggests that exogenous creatine supplementation has the potential to increase aging muscle mass, muscle performance, and decrease the risk of falls and possibly attenuate inflammation and loss of bone mineral.

Pretty amazing stuff, eh? If you are old, depressed, with a neurological disease, and poor bone and muscle density, Creatine/Creapure might be just the single silver bullet you need to help you fight all those terrible resonances of living against dying at once, or even in between.

I have a Creapure jug of powder ordered, and on the way. I will be certain to update you on my progress as my Kettlebells workouts persist!

The ankle is a pivot of great strength!