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Science, Effort And Building Muscle At 90

August 16, 2025 3 min read 12 Comments

Science, Effort And Building Muscle At 90

Phil Shipp, 90, won the pole vault at the USATF Masters Outdoors Championships. Read below just three minutes how Phil built muscle mass at 90 on his way to six gold medals. Photos by Dave Shipp.

By Ray Glier

It was not a full-grown rebellion against age. It was a mystery poke, a curiousness.

What if Phil Shipp, 90, spiked his pre-workout drink with five grams of creatine?

It was the third week in June and Shipp, who has been doing Masters track & field for about 20 years, was looking for some more strength before the USATF Masters Outdoors Championships in Huntsville, Ala. What about creatine? It is perfectly legal, but it has some stigma because of alarmists and over-use and a general lack of understanding.

For a span of about 28-29 days, whenever he hit the weights, Phil mixed into his pre-workout drink five grams of the endogenous amino acid derivative (creatine).

Early the week of the USATF nationals (July 17-20), he sat on his machine bench press where you push forward with your arms to lift weights on a pulley system. Shipp did 12 repetitions at 90 pounds as a warm-up. He went to 115 pounds eight times and then 130 four times. 

He finished with a one rep of his max, 145 pounds.

That week in July, Phil did 145 once. He felt something good. There was something left. He did a second rep at 145, and a third, then a fourth.

“It was like ‘wow’,” he said.

“I had built muscle mass at 90 years old.”

Shipp put it to good use. In Huntsville later that week, he set the American record in the shot put (33' 5¾) and won six gold medals at the meet (high jump, pole vault, long jump, discus, javelin, and shot). He did not quite reach the world record in the shot put (34’, 4”), but Phil figures he might have two more sanctioned meets this outdoor season to break it.

The week after he returned home to Arizona, and still using creatine, Shipp kept building muscle. It’s been a month now and he is up to 175 pounds.

“There are no immediate side effects, that's for sure,” Shipp said of using creatine. “There is some caution needed about how it affects your kidney filtration and my doctor told me to keep an eye out. Once you ingest it, it does its job, but then it turns into another chemical. And that's been known to cause problems if you have too much of that in your system, that it might interfere with your kidney filtration ability.”

Two things:

1) What is the big whoop here? Creatine did its job. Yes, but it doesn't work by itself. It needs a dutiful partner.

2) I have been doing Geezer Jock stories four years and only once before has another Masters athlete told me they regularly use creatine. It happened to be that same weekend in Huntsville when sprinter Craig Wood, 56, told me he uses it.

Craig, who is ranked No. 1 in the world in the 200, told me almost all the sprinters he knows use creatine for its explosive qualities.

A veteran thrower told me he does not use it because he has had cancer and has a fear of recurrence with a muscle enhancer.

“But if I was 90, I’d use it,” he said.

I came to the conclusion that me, who covered stick and ball sports for 50 years and very little track & field, was just naive about creatine. I don’t know enough. I can tell you anabolic steroids are illegal fertilizer (without a therapeutic exemption) in sports. That’s about it.

But…back to Mr. Shipp.

Phil is standstill thrower in the shot put because age has taken away the necessary balance for the glide technique. That, in turn, took away some distance. He can do the glide, but nine out of 10 throws are not acceptable, he said.

What was more noteworthy to Geezer Jock was that Shipp, who still owns the American record in the decathlon (M70), was doing six events in the Alabama swelter. The rest of us might have the impression of someone in their ninth decade on the planet being a husk of their previous self.

Not this guy. Phil has lost some muscle tautness, sure, but the man is sturdy. Just look at the pictures that go with this story.

I first did a story on Shipp in 2021, which was five years after he nearly died from Polyarteritis Nodosa (PAN). Here is a link to the story. You need to read this please and see even deeper inside the fortitude of this man.

Creatine is last on the list of what makes him special.



12 Responses

Charles Myers
Charles Myers

August 20, 2025

Great article. I used creatine 30!yrs ago and definitely noticed obvious results. If I could I’d be using it again.

Jeffrey Doman
Jeffrey Doman

August 20, 2025

Thank you for sharing the incredible track and field accomplishments of Phil Shipp, 90 years young. He is an inspiration to myself and many others who are attempting recoveries and athletic comebacks following severe health setbacks from life-threatening diseases, such as my amyloidosis. Phil Shipp is truly the “gold standard” for athletic achievement at any age and he has the national competition gold medals to prove it. Go Phil! Rock On!

Craig Swagerty
Craig Swagerty

August 17, 2025

Good read, Ray. Very informative for a trendy topic which deserves close scrutiny. Thank you.

Dave Shipp
Dave Shipp

August 17, 2025

Great article. This is my dad. I accompanied Phil to Alabama and was very proud of him! This is awesome to see this. Thank you!

Dave Shipp
Dave Shipp

August 17, 2025

Great article. This is my dad. I accompanied Phil to Alabama and was very proud of him! This is awesome to see this. Thank you!

Rosie
Rosie

August 17, 2025

Creatine? It would be interesting to see some studies on creatine and older (senior) athletes.
Thanks for writing Roy!

Ken Stone
Ken Stone

August 17, 2025

Creatine gave me severe leg cramps about 15 years ago, so I dropped it. Take care out there.

Pam Peeke MD
Pam Peeke MD

August 17, 2025

Creatine is the most studied and verified of all supplements. It facilitates muscle development and it also enhances cognitive performance. Basically a brain-muscle double bonus. Dr. Richard Kreider from Texas A&M is a world class expert on creatine and has published widely on this topic. Here is a great updated summary, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/390474782_Creatine_supplementation_is_safe_beneficial_throughout_the_lifespan_and_should_not_be_restricted As a physician, I highly recommend using creatine to preserve and build muscle at any age, and at the same time, improve cognition. A contraindication is if someone has kidney disease. Always check with your medical provider before including a supplement with your regimen.

Michelle
Michelle

August 17, 2025

🚴 Benefits of Creatine

1. Improved Muscle Strength & Power
• Creatine increases the availability of ATP (your body’s quick energy source), which helps muscles contract more efficiently.
• This means more explosive energy for sprints, hill climbs, and weight training.

2. Better Endurance & Recovery
• While it’s best known for short-burst power, creatine also helps buffer energy reserves during longer workouts.
• It can reduce muscle fatigue and support quicker recovery between sessions.

3. Brain Health & Cognitive Support
• The brain also uses ATP for energy. Creatine has been shown to improve mental performance in tasks requiring quick thinking and memory.
• Studies suggest creatine may help protect brain function as we age.

4. Hydration & Muscle Volume
• Creatine helps draw water into muscle cells, which improves hydration and creates a fuller, stronger muscle appearance.
• This “cell volumization” effect may also trigger signals for muscle growth.

5. Healthy Aging & Protection
• Research shows creatine can help older adults maintain strength, bone health, and independence.
• It may also reduce muscle loss (sarcopenia) that comes with aging.

Joe Hoover
Joe Hoover

August 17, 2025

Great story! Saw Phil do the decathlon in 2021. Very impressive athlete! And will try the creatine in the small daily dose. I’d love to bench 175 at 79!

Patty
Patty

August 17, 2025

Great story, but the kicker really made it. Well done.

Sarah
Sarah

August 17, 2025

Dang, Phil moves more fluidly than a lot of people in their 30s. I’m not an expert on supplements, but have heard that creatine is one of the only ones backed by research for gaining strength/muscle. Still, talk to your doctor and look for peer-reviewed research before starting any supplements. The supplement industry is big money, and they aren’t regulated by the FDA. Look for supplements with a USP symbol, or that has been analyzed by Consumer Lab (you have to pay a subscription for Consumer Lab).

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