I will soon be age 69. Never had an exercise program in my life, but have always been active with walking, cycling, gardening, house maintenance, volunteer food delivery, etc.
Noticed that my physical strength was on a slow decline. Considered muscle building protein powder as commonly sold in stores like Walmart. Did some google research and found the two ingredients: Creatine protein from milk; and HMB were commonly reported as the premium supplements for muscle building. Creatine because it stays in the body longer, and HMB because it helps muscles retain water which is good. And no negative side effects from either ingredient, So decided to give it a try.
I take one scoop (supplied in container) at breakfast and one scoop at dinner. I dissolve the powder in pineapple or orange juice so that there is no bad taste going down. I did not increase my activity or exercise, even though exercise would be a good complement to the supplement.
I honestly did not expect to see any observable change, but after 2 months a couple of things happened that I was not expecting but indicate that I am stronger.
1. We have a picnic table in the back yard that I move occasionally so that the grass underneath does not die. I lift one side of the table and drag it. Every year this has been getting a little harder for me to do on my own. I position my self like a weight lifter, tighten my core, and do the lift. Well this time I did the lift and it did not feel difficult at all. What a wonderful surprise. Tried again a few weeks later and got at the same easy lift.
2. I get a professional massage one a week for the last 10 years from the same RMT, so they know my body. The RMT said that my muscles are responding better to massage - releasing easier. RMT attributed this to the HMB causing water retention in muscles. RMT also feels muscles have grown.
I realize this is a subjective analysis, with a sample size of one, but I am convinced it works for me, and I plan to continue.
