Creatine dose
From our Rhonda Patrick profile
Patrick takes 10 g a day herself; Layne Norton recommends 3–5 g a day for maintenance.
Compare experts › Rhonda Patrick vs Layne Norton
Rhonda Patrick vs Layne Norton
Rhonda Patrick (biomedical scientist) and Layne Norton (nutrition scientist, powerlifter) side by side: how they train, eat, supplement and sleep, how strong the evidence is, and how to build a plan from either or both.
Words explained (12)
- Zone 2
- Steady cardio at a pace where you can still talk in full sentences, but not sing.
- VO2 max
- The most oxygen your body can use in hard exercise. A good measure of fitness; higher is better.
- Intervals
- Short hard efforts with easy recovery in between, such as 30 seconds fast, 90 seconds slow.
- 4 × 4
- Four rounds of 4 minutes hard with 3 minutes easy in between. Also called Norwegian intervals.
- Hypertrophy
- Muscle growth.
- Mobility
- Moving your joints freely through their full range.
- Leucine
- A building block of protein that helps switch on muscle building. Meat, fish, eggs, dairy and soy are rich in it.
- Creatine
- A well-studied supplement that supports strength and muscle.
- Omega-3 (EPA, DHA)
- Healthy fats found mostly in oily fish such as salmon, herring and sardines.
- Fibre
- The part of plant foods you don't digest. It feeds healthy gut bacteria and keeps you full.
- Time-restricted eating
- Eating all your meals within a set window of the day, for example 8am to 6pm.
- Mitochondria
- The parts of your cells that turn food and oxygen into energy.
At a glance
| Measure | Rhonda Patrick | Layne Norton |
|---|---|---|
| Background | Biomedical scientist | Nutrition scientist, powerlifter |
| Training split | 30% strength · 40% aerobic · 30% intervals · 0% mobility | 65% strength · 25% aerobic · 10% intervals · 0% mobility |
| Signature habit | Sauna 4–7 × a week | Tiered supplements |
| Protein | ~1.6 g/kg | 1.6–2.2 g/kg |
| Training style | Interval-heavy | Numbers-first |
| Overall evidence | Strong | Strong |
| Following | Instagram 1.2M · YouTube 731K | Instagram 1.2M · YouTube 439K |
Training splits are our estimates from each expert’s published routine. Following checked October 2026.
The key differences
- Norton puts more of the week into strength: about 65% against 30%.
- Patrick puts more of the week into aerobic base (zone 2): about 40% against 25%.
- Patrick puts more of the week into intervals: about 30% against 10%.
- In plans in their style, Patrick's hard sessions are 4-minute intervals (Norwegian 4 × 4); Norton's are 1-minute intervals.
- We rate the overall evidence behind both protocols as strong.
- Supplements that go into a plan: Patrick, omega-3, vitamin d with k2; Norton, creatine monohydrate, whey protein, caffeine before training. Prescription items and personal stacks stay out of every plan.
- Only Patrick has a mobility or movement routine of their own.
Where they disagree
Creatine dose
From our Layne Norton profile
Norton recommends 3–5 g a day; Rhonda Patrick takes 10 g a day herself.
Protocols side by side
Each line is rated for the evidence behind it. “Doctor only” items never go into a plan.
Training
Rhonda Patrick
- At least 10 minutes of vigorous exercise a day; she suggests this should replace the 10,000-step goalSome evidence
- Norwegian 4 × 4: four 4-minute intervals, hard but not all-out (the original protocol uses about 85–95% of max heart rate), with 3-minute recoveries, 1–2 times a week; build up graduallySome evidence
- Keep daily walking too: step benefits level off around 6,000–8,000 steps a day for older adultsStrong evidence
- Strength training at the start of most sessions, supported by enough proteinStrong evidence
- Short 'exercise snacks' (e.g. 1 minute of squats or burpees) spread through the daySome evidence
Layne Norton
- Lift weights consistently, year after year, and take sets close to failureSome evidence
- Exercise improves health markers even when it does not change your weightStrong evidence
- Track daily steps while dieting: everyday movement tends to drop as calories fallSome evidence
- His PHAT programme: 5 days a week, two heavy 'power' days plus three higher-rep hypertrophy daysPersonal habit
Eating
Rhonda Patrick
- Protein about 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day to support resistance trainingStrong evidence
- Whole-food meals built on vegetables, berries and a protein source (eggs, fish, poultry, red meat)Personal habit
Layne Norton
- Track calories and protein; food labels can be ~20% off, but consistent tracking still shows your true intake over timeSome evidence
- Weigh yourself each morning and compare weekly averages, not single daysSome evidence
- Protein about 1.6 g/kg a day; up to ~2.2 g/kg when dieting or very leanStrong evidence
- Choose a diet style you can sustain; low-carb and low-fat work equally well with calories and protein matchedStrong evidence
- Fibre about 15 g per 1,000 kcalSome evidence
- Seed oils are fine: replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat lowers LDL and heart riskSome evidence
Supplements
Rhonda Patrick
- Omega-3 (EPA + DHA) about 2 g a day as a starting point; aim for an Omega-3 Index of 8% or more and retest after about 4 monthsSome evidence
- Take omega-3 with a meal that contains fat; higher doses need care (bleeding risk, atrial fibrillation, medicines)Doctor only
- Vitamin D with vitamin K2 in the eveningSome evidence
- Creatine 10 g a day (her own dose, above the usual 3–5 g)Personal habit
- Multivitamin, magnesium, nicotinamide riboside and PQQ as part of her personal stackPersonal habit
Layne Norton
- Tier 1 – creatine monohydrate 3–5 g a day; loading is optional; timing does not matterStrong evidence
- Tier 1 – whey protein 20–40 g per serving (about 2–3 g leucine) to help reach daily proteinStrong evidence
- Tier 1 – caffeine 3–6 mg/kg about 45–60 min before training; lower doses still help alertnessStrong evidence
Sleep & recovery
Rhonda Patrick
- Sauna 4–7 times a week, around 20 minutes at roughly 79 °C, based on Finnish cohort dataSome evidence
- Schedule heat sessions a couple of hours before bedPersonal habit
- After short sleep, vigorous exercise such as intervals or weights can help blood-sugar controlSome evidence
- Cold exposure mainly in summer; she does not keep it up in winterPersonal habit
Layne Norton
- Avoid caffeine late in the day; it can harm sleep even if you fall asleep normallyStrong evidence
- Carb timing matters little on average; if carb-heavy meals make you sleepy, move themNote
- Poor sleep and unmanaged stress are bigger problems than small nutrition detailsNote
Brain health
Rhonda Patrick
- Push hard enough to raise lactate: hard exercise raises BDNF, a growth factor linked to learning and mood (human evidence still early)Some evidence
- Frequent sauna use is linked with lower dementia risk in Finnish men (observational)Some evidence
- Keep omega-3 status up; she links it to brain health and ageing markersSome evidence
Layne Norton
No specific guidance in what we reviewed.
Weak spots to know
Rhonda Patrick
- The sauna benefits she highlights come mainly from one observational cohort of middle-aged men in eastern Finland. It shows an association, not proof that sauna causes the benefit; women were not included, and commentators noted the reason for the link is unclear (heat, relaxation, lifestyle or social contact).
- An epidemiology newsletter (The Edge of Epidemiology, 2025) argued that some of her headline numbers, such as vitamin D cutting dementia risk by about 40%, rest on observational studies and overstate what is known; genetic and trial evidence is mixed.
- She often builds a case from biological mechanisms (e.g. lactate and BDNF, nutrients and serotonin). Several of these ideas are supported mostly by animal or small short-term human studies, as her own episodes acknowledge.
Layne Norton
- Commercial ties: he co-founded Outwork Nutrition, which sells whey protein and products containing creatine — overlapping with his Tier 1 list — and co-founded the paid Carbon Diet Coach app and the BioLayne coaching business. He has also disclosed past research funding from the National Dairy Council, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the Egg Board.
- Reverse dieting, which he helped develop and popularise, had no published controlled trials supporting it as of 2021; its use rests mainly on coaching experience.
- His relaxed view of seed oils is contested by others in the health space. On The Drive (2026), Peter Attia presented the strongest case against seed oils for a debate after the booked guest declined, while saying his own view is close to Norton's; debate continues over older trials and LDL oxidation.
Build a plan from Patrick, Norton or both
Your free plan shows a week of gym sessions, cardio, a day of eating, supplements and mobility, fitted to your age, time and health.
Questions
What is the main difference between Rhonda Patrick and Layne Norton?
Their training split differs most in strength: Patrick about 30%, Norton about 65% (our estimate from their published routines). Patrick's signature habit is Sauna 4–7 × a week; Norton's is Tiered supplements.
How much protein do Patrick and Norton recommend?
Patrick: ~1.6 g/kg. Norton: 1.6–2.2 g/kg.
Whose advice has stronger evidence?
We rate the overall evidence behind both protocols as strong.
Do Patrick and Norton disagree?
Yes, on creatine dose. See "Where they disagree" on this page.
Can I combine Patrick and Norton?
Yes. In Build my mix you choose one expert per area, for example one for strength and another for eating. Your free plan shows the result straight away.
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Full sources are on each profile: Rhonda Patrick · Layne Norton. Reviewed October 2026.