Beyond Beauty: Why We Bet on Marine Collagen for Athletic Performance
We’ve all been there. You’re hitting a PR in your squat, or maybe you’re just getting out of bed on a Tuesday, and you hear it—that ominous click in your knee. Or maybe it’s the nagging shoulder pain that flares up every time you try to bench press heavy.
For years, the fitness industry has been obsessed with one thing: Muscle.
The protein push is getting silly, with what feels everything having a big sticker claiming "high protein". Take a walk around your local supermarket and you'll feel a little stalked by PROTEIN. That's the power of marketing - did I notice "Protein water" recently. As I said it is getting silly, I have even used the word too often in this paragraph..
But... even though it is everywhere we shouldn't completely ignore the importance of protein. We pound Whey protein shakes, along with our balanced diet, to build bigger biceps and quads, but thanks to the marketing we assume all proteins are the same and therefore we often ignore the very things that hold those muscles together: the tendons, ligaments, and joints. This is where marine collagen comes in and below is our story of how we at OOST stopped looking at collagen as a beauty fad and started seeing it as the missing link in athletic performance.
The Skepticism (And the "Bulls**t" Radar)
Our journey didn't start in a lab; it started in a warehouse.
Our founder, Andrew, was already in the food industry, selling raw food ingredients like vitamins, amino acids, magnesiums and yes, collagens in massive bulk loads to big-name brands and manufacturers. Business was booming. The raw material of collagen was flying out the door.
"Is this just another hype train? Is this actually doing anything, or is it just an overhyped load of bulls**t?"
The sales didn't slow down, like most trends and overhyped ingredients, they just kept growing. He wasn't interested in selling snake oil so had to have a closer look to see if there really was any substance to this. So, he consulted with dieticians, sport nutritionists and food scientists, the "science folk", to get their take on it.
The Science said Yes, but also proposed something else from collagen
It turned out, the science was solid. The studies showed genuine efficacy. But there was a disconnect.
At the time, collagen was almost exclusively marketed as a beauty from within supplement. It was all about glowing skin, shiny hair, and erasing wrinkles. It was sitting on the beauty shelf, far away from the sports nutrition aisle.
So we asked the big question: If this protein is rebuilding skin (which is just connective tissue on the outside), can it do the same for the connective tissue on the inside?
We realised that while the beauty industry was focused on looking younger, they were accidentally stumbling onto the secret of staying stronger.
The Protein Problem: Whey vs. Collagen
Here is where most athletes get confused. You might think, "I already take protein powder, why do I need this?"
The answer lies in the Amino Acid Profile.
Think of your body like a house:
- Whey Protein is rich in BCAAs (Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine). This is the material used to build the bricks (your muscles).
- Collagen Protein is totally different. It is rich in a specific "Triad" of amino acids that your body uses to build the mortar and steel cables (your tendons and ligaments).
If you only take Whey, you are building a house with heavy bricks but weak mortar. Eventually, the walls crack. That’s your injury.
The "Big 3": The Secret Weapon for Recovery
When we looked deep into the amino acid profile of Marine Collagen, we found three specific amino acids that appear in massive quantities—far higher than in Whey or beef.
These are the "Big 3" that dictate whether you bounce back from a heavy session or spend the week on the couch with an ice pack.
The Power transmission and Injury-Proofing Triad
- 1. Glycine: The "Anti-Snap" Factor
- Think of this as the shock absorber. Glycine is small enough to pack tightly into your collagen fibers, giving your tendons the tensile strength to handle explosive loads without snapping.
- 2. Proline: The Structural Architect
- Proline is rigid. It forces the protein chain to twist into a tight helix. This is what gives your joints that "springy" feeling, allowing you to generate power and bounce back.
- 3. Hydroxyproline: The Superglue
- This is the dealbreaker. It acts as the biological glue that locks the collagen strands together. Without it, the structure unravels under stress.
Why This Matters for Your Training
Training breaks your body down. High-impact movements put massive stress on your connective tissue. If you aren't feeding your body the specific materials it needs to repair that tissue (The Big 3), your recovery slows down. Your joints start to ache. Your risk of injury skyrockets.
We bet on Marine Collagen because it is the most bioavailable source of these specific amino acids. It’s not about looking less wrinkly (although that's possibly an added plus); it’s about ensuring your body can handle the work you’re putting it through.
We stopped asking if collagen was "real" and started asking why athletes weren't using it sooner.
References (The Science Behind the Decision)
For those who want to double-check the homework like we did, here are just some of the papers that back it up:
- Shaw, G., et al. (2017). Vitamin C-enriched gelatin supplementation before intermittent activity augments collagen synthesis. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
- Clark, K. L., et al. (2008). 24-Week study on the use of collagen hydrolysate as a dietary supplement in athletes with activity-related joint pain. Current Medical Research and Opinion.
- Zdzieblik, D., et al. (2021). Collagen peptide supplementation in combination with resistance training improves body composition. British Journal of Nutrition.
