Let’s talk about health and fitness…
In past emails, I’ve shared my love for fitness walking—mostly up north on the roads and trails near our little cabin.
Walking is often praised as the “ideal exercise” because it’s easy to start and only requires a good pair of walking shoes (or hiking boots) and, in my case, the AllTrails app to track speed and distance.
I used walking as a complement to my bodyweight exercises—push ups, pullups, squats, stretches, etc. I started with three-mile walks and gradually worked up to seven miles.
After each long hike, I felt great—blood fully oxygenated, cortisol levels dropped, and my stress melted away.
But then it all went sideways…
My goal was to lose weight, and I did, reaching about 155 lbs. But the weight loss wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for; I started losing muscle along with the pounds.
I liked the numbers on the scale, so I ignored the signs—until my friend Chris Thompson asked, “What happened to all your muscles?”
Ouch.
My wife had also been telling me to stand up straight and not look like an old man. But it wasn’t just appearance—I was genuinely weaker. In the past, I’d haul large water bottles from the car to the cabin, one in each hand. Now, lifting even one bottle onto the water cooler was a struggle.
I was facing something I hadn’t wanted to admit: sarcopenia. Age-related muscle loss is common in men, leading to thinner limbs, loss of strength, and a diminished quality of life. In my case, it was triggered by long walking sessions replacing my bodyweight exercises, and my muscles faded in response.
It got so bad that my wife half-joked, asking if I could still protect us in a dangerous situation. I reassured her that while my strength was shot like Samson’s, my British Jiu-Jitsu skills were still sharp (though my hair was long gone!).
Desperate to fix this, I turned to advice from my friend Deb, a triathlete in her 60s, who recommended I try creatine.
I filed her suggestion away… until Chris recommended it too, and sent me a link to buy creatine on Amazon. I finally ordered it, followed the directions, and got back into my Combat Conditioning workouts.
My weak muscles made it tough going, but I stuck with it.
And that was only two weeks ago! The results have been astounding. Within the first week, the soreness vanished, my energy skyrocketed, and I felt mentally sharper.
Yesterday marked the two-week milestone, and as promised on the label, I could see visible muscle growth in the mirror.
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Among other things, I did five kinds of push ups, and on my final set, I could barely manage twenty. Two days later, I surprised myself by cranking out thirty-six!
So why am I telling you all this?
Creatine used to be thought of as something only bodybuilders took. Now, researchers suggest it’s beneficial for everyone over sixty, regardless of gender.
Here at Mike Mandel Hypnosis, we share information on all aspects of personal development, both mental and physical. Creatine is safe, easy to take (just mix it with water or juice), and has wide-ranging benefits: faster recovery from exercise, higher energy, muscle growth, and better mental clarity.
Now, I’m not prescribing creatine to anyone here.
But I can tell you that, for me, the results have been nothing short of remarkable.
- Mike Mandel
