Performance, Muscle & Training
Building muscle, testosterone, protein, training, recovery and key supplements. 12 evidence-based guides, each written in plain English with UK context and real citations.
Ashwagandha: the evidence for stress, sleep and testosterone
Ashwagandha for stress, sleep and testosterone: the real RCT evidence on cortisol and anxiety, the modest sleep and hormone effects, doses and safety risks.
Read guide → Performance & MuscleBody Recomposition: Can You Lose Fat and Build Muscle at the Same Time?
Body recomposition is possible for beginners, returning lifters, people with higher body fat or low protein. The levers, realistic rates and the evidence.
Read guide → Performance & MuscleCaffeine for training and focus: timing, dose, tolerance and sleep
Caffeine for training: effective doses (3 to 6 mg/kg), timing, why afternoon caffeine wrecks deep sleep, tolerance, and CYP1A2 fast vs slow metabolisers shown.
Read guide → Performance & MuscleCollagen, tendons and connective tissue: training the structure
Collagen peptides with vitamin C taken before loading can boost tendon collagen synthesis. The honest evidence on dosing, joints, skin and why it is not whey.
Read guide → Performance & MuscleCreatine monohydrate: the evidence for muscle, and beyond
Creatine monohydrate explained: how it works, the strong evidence for strength, simple 3 to 5 g daily dosing, the kidney myth, and the uses beyond muscle.
Read guide → Performance & MuscleGrowth Hormone, IGF-1 and How Muscle Actually Grows
GH and IGF-1 explained honestly: why muscle grows from mechanical tension and protein, not hormone spikes, plus the real risks of injected growth hormone.
Read guide → Performance & MuscleNatural testosterone optimisation: what actually moves the needle
What actually raises testosterone in men: sleep, losing fat, training and adequate fat intake. Why boosters fail, when to test in the UK, and the truth on TRT.
Read guide → Performance & MuscleProtein: how much, when, and the leucine threshold
For muscle, aim for 1.6 g/kg protein daily (up to 2.2 in a deficit) and 0.4 g/kg per meal to clear the leucine threshold. Quality, ageing and the kidney myth.
Read guide → Performance & MuscleSleep and muscle recovery: why sleep is the real anabolic
Sleep is the real anabolic: how deep sleep drives growth hormone, muscle protein synthesis and recovery, and what cutting it does to testosterone and fat loss.
Read guide → Performance & MuscleTaurine: the overlooked amino acid, and what the evidence really says
Taurine supports bile, heart, muscle and nerves. The 2023 mouse-longevity hype outran human evidence: the real signals, trial doses and safety, honestly.
Read guide → Performance & MuscleTendinopathy: why tendons hurt, and how they actually heal
Why tendinitis is usually the wrong word, why rest fails, and how progressive loading (eccentrics, heavy slow resistance, isometrics) heals tendons.
Read guide → Performance & MuscleZone 2 cardio and VO2 max: the base of longevity and performance
Zone 2 cardio and VO2 max explained: find the intensity by talk test or heart rate, why it builds mitochondria, and how cardio fitness predicts your lifespan.
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