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I recently bought a walking pad, and – I'm going to hate myself for using this phrase – it's been a game-changer. I've had it for just under two weeks, and my average step count has more than doubled from ~5k/day to ~12k/day.

Over the last few years, I've noticed myself becoming increasingly sedentary outside of the gym. While weight training is great, it won't make up for an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. And there's a ton of data at this point showing an association between step count (i.e. movement) and a reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease, and ignoring that would be pretty silly.

You might be wondering, "Why not just walk outside?"

Well, for one thing, have you ever gone for a walk with a toddler? Because it’s not a walk. It’s a hostage negotiation, and the hostage is your sanity. If Amara's in the stroller, she's screaming, "OUT!" If you take her out of the stroller, what should have been a 30-minute walk becomes a three-hour toddler-led forensics session, where she'll stop every second to inspect every rock, stick, and speck of dirt. "Oh but isn't it just magical seeing the world through her eyes?" Shut up, Susan––it's a fucking stick, not the Northern Lights.

The walking pad also significantly reduces the friction of getting my steps in. I can jump on the walking pad for 20-30 minutes throughout the day, regardless of the weather or how busy I am.

I'm also curious to see how much of an impact doubling my step count will have on my energy expenditure. I'm about two weeks in and plan to run this experiment for about 30 days. I'll share the results in this newsletter at some point.

Overall, it's been a great purchase. I'm not saying you need to buy one, but it's worth considering if you struggle to get your steps in and have the space and funds.

If you have a question about the walking pad – reply to this email and ask. Now, let's get to this week's email.

Aadam Answers​
​Will alcohol ruin your gains?

Q- My trainer says that if you drink alcohol after a training session, or really anytime in the recovery/gains window after, you’re effectively completely wasting the session because alcohol interferes so much with muscle growth. I totally get that I should cut down on my drinking for a whole range of health reasons - but do I really have to be completely tee-total, and am I really wasting my training time if I have one whisky on the rocks after the gym?

Eh, probably not.

The study I've seen people use to support this claim gave the participants a metric shit-ton of alcohol––about 1.5g/kg or based on the body weight of the participants (~79 kg), this would equate to around 120g of alcohol. The equivalent of ~9 cans of beer, ~1.5 bottles of wine, or ~9 shots of whiskey. [PMID: 24533082]

But in studies where alcohol intake hasn't been this absurd, there doesn't seem to be a negative effect.

For example, researchers from Spain studied alcohol intake in both men and women (12-24g/day and 24-36/day, respectively) alongside a 10-week high-intensity interval training program. They found alcohol didn’t negatively impact body composition, aerobic fitness, or muscle strength. [PMID: 31018614] [PMID: 32460793]

Moreover, a 2019 review paper looked at the effects of alcohol intake on recovery after resistance training. When looking at the individual studies included in the review, the negative effects were more pronounced in studies where participants consumed 1 g/kg to 1.5 g/kg of alcohol. On the other hand, lower doses (around 0.6-0.8g/kg) didn't negatively affect most biological markers or muscle function. [PMID: 33467356]

So, low to moderate alcohol intake after a workout is unlikely to hamper muscle gain or recovery.

That said, alcohol is still shit. It does nothing for your health (quite the opposite) and has literally no benefit.

"Oh, but Aadam, it helps ease social interactions" – I'm sorry (I'm not actually sorry), but if you require alcohol to socialise, you either need to work on your social skills or, you know, get new friends.

Now that I've probably pissed off half of you––let's keep it moving.

Got a question? I have answers, probably 👇

FIT Bites​
​How much muscle can you build with creatine?

There are like a gazillion supplements on the market, all making wild claims and promises. Yet, I can count on one hand the supplements that actually work. Creatine is one of them. Among its many benefits, it can help you build muscle by allowing you to push harder in your workouts. But how much muscle could you gain if you took creatine? That's what a recent study looked at. [PMID: 39042054]

The what: This study was a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) looking at the effects of creatine supplementation on body composition. It also investigated whether dosage, type of exercise, alternative forms of creatine, age, and sex influenced the results.

The final analysis included 143 studies spanning a decade, with ~3,600 participants. 21 studies included females, 81 studies included males, and the remaining included both men and women. The quality of the included studies looking at body composition was rated as high.

What did they find? Creatine supplementation increased body weight by 0.86 kg (~1.9 lbs) compared to a placebo and muscle mass by 0.82 kg (~1.8 lbs).

Creatine supplementation also led to a slight reduction in body fat percentage (-0.28%), though there weren't any significant changes in body fat. This suggests that a decrease in body fat percentage is likely due to increases in muscle mass rather than reductions in body fat.

In other words, if someone increases their body weight by gaining muscle but their body fat stays the same, the proportion of fat mass relative to body weight decreases. For example:

• Before Creatine Supplementation:
  • Body weight: 70 kg
  • Body fat: 14 kg
  • Fat-free mass: 56 kg
  • Body fat % = (14 kg / 70 kg) x 100 = 20%
• After Creatine Supplementation:
  • Body weight: 72 kg (due to a 2 kg increase in FFM)
  • Body fat: 14 kg (remains the same)
  • Fat-free mass: 58 kg (increased by 2 kg)
  • BF% = (14 kg / 72 kg) x 100 = ~19%

What type of creatine is best? Significant increases in muscle mass were only evident with creatine monohydrate when combined with resistance training or cardio and resistance training. While other forms of creatine showed similar effects to monohydrate, there isn’t enough evidence on newer forms to draw strong conclusions.

How much should you take? 5 grams of creatine/day is sufficient to significantly increase muscle mass. You can see this in the image below. While the positive trend suggests higher doses of creatine might be more effective for increasing FFM, the variability at higher doses indicates that further research is needed for doses higher than 5g/day.

Bottom line: Creatine is still the MVP of (legal) performance supplements. It can help you build muscle and strength faster than if you weren't using it. It's also safe, even in high amounts (>30g/day), taken over several years (>5 years). [PMID: 12701815] If you want to supplement with creatine, take 5g of creatine monohydrate daily. And keep taking it until you die.

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–Aa

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