RMS Nutrition
Fascia Fuel
Grass-Fed Hydrolyzed Collagen Peptides
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Grass-fed hydrolyzed collagen peptides
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Supports fascia, tendons & ligaments
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Engineered for explosive sprint athletes
Performance Report
The Fear That Follows Every Sprint Career — And the Connective Tissue Protocol That Was Never Built for Athletes Until Now
The collagen supplement industry is enormous and built almost entirely for skin health. If you are a sprinter dealing with hamstring tightness, Achilles niggles, or chronic connective tissue issues, this category was never built for you. Until now.
By Finn Reiser, Team USA Sprinter & Founder, RMS Nutrition | 8 min read
You know the moment. You are at full speed — 80 meters in, flying — and somewhere in the back of your left hamstring, there is a sensation. A small one. Maybe just tightness.
You do not slow down. But you notice it.
And for the rest of the race, a small part of your brain is wondering: is this the one?
"Every sprinter knows the fear. You're at 80 meters, full speed. And you feel it. That grabbing sensation in your hamstring. The Achilles that's been tight for three weeks." Sprint community, universal experience
The most powerful emotion in sprint communities is not pain. It is fear. Fear of re-injury. Fear of the six months on the sideline. Fear that the career you have been building since you were 14 might end on any given race.
95% of athletes report "insecurity" when performing movements on a previously injured limb. Fear of re-injury, not pain itself, is what keeps sprinters from running at full speed even after they have healed.
38%
Hamstring strain re-injury rate for sprinters within the first year (sports medicine literature)
The supplement industry had one response to this: beauty collagen. Pastel packaging. "Skin elasticity." "Beauty from within." Anti-aging messaging for 50-year-olds.
Nobody built a collagen product for the 20-year-old sprinter whose connective tissue production is already declining and whose training loads are at their career peak.
Why You Start Losing Collagen at 20 — Right When It Matters Most
Collagen synthesis begins declining around age 20. Your doctor will not tell you this because they do not think about it in the context of sport. The supplement industry will not tell you this because they are selling collagen to middle-aged women worried about wrinkles.
For a sprinter, this timeline is devastating: collagen production peaks and begins declining at exactly the moment training volume peaks, competition pressure is highest, and connective tissue injuries accelerate in sprint careers.
Tendons, fascia, and intramuscular connective tissue are implicated in the majority of hamstring injuries. Tendons are 65 to 80% collagen by dry weight. When collagen synthesis cannot keep pace with connective tissue turnover under sprint training loads, the structural integrity of the tissue degrades over time.
This is not about pain management. This is about building connective tissue that is structurally capable of handling what you ask it to do at 21 miles per hour.
Why "Just Eat Chicken" Is Wrong for Connective Tissue
The most common objection to collagen supplementation: "It is just expensive protein. Just eat chicken."
Here is the amino acid profile that makes this wrong.
Whey protein: approximately 6% proline, 2% glycine. Collagen peptides: approximately 10% proline, 33% glycine, plus hydroxyproline — an amino acid that barely exists in any other dietary protein. Your tendons are not made of whey.
A 2023 metabolic analysis showed humans have a daily glycine deficit of 10 to 12 grams — meaning dietary protein alone cannot meet connective tissue demand under sprint training loads. The specific amino acid profile of hydrolyzed collagen peptides is what makes it a connective tissue supplement rather than simply a protein supplement.
And crucially: the specific form matters. Beauty collagen products use whole collagen or gelatin. Fascia Fuel uses hydrolyzed collagen peptides under 3kDa — small enough to be absorbed as intact bioactive dipeptides (particularly Pro-Hyp) that act as signaling molecules for fibroblasts. These dipeptides tell your body to build connective tissue. Bone broth and whole collagen cannot do this because they do not survive digestion intact.
The Research Behind the Baar Protocol
Dr. Keith Baar at the University of California, Davis developed the protocol that changed how sports medicine views collagen supplementation. His work established the specific conditions under which collagen supplementation supports connective tissue synthesis.
Shaw 2017
Keith Baar (UC Davis): 15g vitamin C-enriched collagen consumed 1 hour before exercise doubled PINP levels — blood markers of collagen synthesis — at 4, 24, 48, and 72 hours post-exercise. The pre-exercise timing is critical: the amino acid spike needs to coincide with the training stimulus.
Lis 2022
50 male athletes aged 18-25. Three weeks of 20g hydrolyzed collagen + vitamin C versus placebo. The collagen group recovered maximal rate of force development (RFD) to baseline while placebo remained depressed (p=0.036). RFD directly underpins block starts and acceleration — it is the explosive quality that produces first-step quickness.
Nulty 2023
18% greater patellar tendon stiffness in the collagen group versus 8% in placebo in elite athletes. Stiffer tendons mean more efficient force transfer through the stretch-shortening cycle — directly relevant to sprint mechanics.
Jerger 2022
Achilles tendon hypertrophy with hydrolyzed collagen supplementation. Structural tendon adaptation, not just symptom management.
18%
Greater patellar tendon stiffness vs 8% placebo (Nulty et al., 2023)
What Has Not Worked — And Why
Rest
Rest alone: Most tendons that show collagen breakdown do not respond to rest. Tendons require mechanical loading as a stimulus for collagen synthesis. Complete rest without nutritional support does not rebuild connective tissue structure.
NSAIDs
Ibuprofen / NSAIDs: NSAIDs reduce collagen mass at injury repair sites and research suggests they may increase re-injury risk. Anti-inflammatories suppress the inflammatory cascade that is part of the repair process.
Glucosamine
Glucosamine: The American College of Rheumatology no longer recommends glucosamine based on current evidence. It was designed for cartilage, not tendon and fascia repair in young athletes.
Bone Broth
Bone broth: Significantly lower amino acid concentrations than a targeted 20g collagen supplement. Inconsistent gelatin content. Does not provide the bioactive dipeptides that research uses.
Fascia Fuel
Fascia Fuel: Grass-fed hydrolyzed collagen peptides under 3kDa with vitamin C included. The Baar protocol built into every serving. 15g, 30-60 minutes before training, minimum 8-12 weeks.
What Fascia Fuel Delivers
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Finn Reiser — Team USA Sprinter, RMS Nutrition Founder
I built Fascia Fuel because the question "am I about to blow my hamstring?" should not be a thought that crosses your mind at 80 meters. No collagen brand built this for the sprint athlete. The product categories that existed were beauty and joint pain for aging adults. Neither was the problem I was trying to solve.
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Hydrolyzed for Absorption
Peptides under 3kDa absorbed as bioactive dipeptides (Pro-Hyp) — signaling molecules for fibroblasts. Bone broth and whole collagen cannot do this. This is the mechanistic difference that makes the Baar protocol work.
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Vitamin C Included
Every serving contains vitamin C because the Baar protocol requires it. Without vitamin C, collagen synthesis is compromised. Most collagen products leave this out and do not tell you.
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Rate of Force Development
Lis et al. (2022) showed 20g hydrolyzed collagen + vitamin C preserved RFD in male athletes aged 18-25. RFD directly predicts block start performance and first-step explosiveness.
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Honest Timeline
The protocol is 8-12 weeks minimum. Structural collagen changes take time. The label tells you this so you do not quit at week 3 before the benefits appear.
The Protocol
Fascia Fuel Training Protocol
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Dose: 15g (1 serving), 30-60 minutes before your hardest training sessions.
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Timing is critical: The pre-exercise window allows plasma amino acid levels to peak during the training stimulus — which signals fibroblasts to build connective tissue. Taking it post-workout misses the mechanism.
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Vitamin C included: Fascia Fuel includes vitamin C. No need to add extra supplementation.
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Minimum 8-12 weeks: Structural collagen improvements take time. Week 1-3 you will not notice dramatic changes. Week 4-6: reduced soreness, less tightness. Week 8-12: structural data improvements appear.
Questions Sprinters Ask
I am 19. Why would I need collagen?
Collagen synthesis begins declining around age 20 — right when sprint training loads peak. The time to build connective tissue resilience is before injuries accumulate, not after. The 38% re-injury rate for sprinters with hamstring strains represents athletes who did not have adequate connective tissue support during their most demanding training years.
Is this the same as the collagen my mom takes for her skin?
No. Beauty collagen is typically whole collagen or gelatin marketed for skin elasticity. Fascia Fuel uses grass-fed hydrolyzed collagen peptides under 3kDa — the specific molecular size that allows absorption as bioactive dipeptides (Pro-Hyp) which signal fibroblasts to build connective tissue. The amino acid profile (33% glycine, 10% proline, plus hydroxyproline) is what your tendons need. Beauty products use this same material but frame it for a completely different problem.
Will this prevent injuries?
This product is not intended to prevent or treat injuries, and we do not claim that. What the research shows is that hydrolyzed collagen supplementation supports the structural integrity of connective tissue, maintains rate of force development under training load, and improves tendon stiffness — all of which are relevant to the biomechanical demands of sprinting. Individual results vary.
Athlete Reviews
What Sprinters Are Saying
★★★★★
"I pulled my hamstring twice in two seasons. Since Fascia Fuel, I've trained harder and had zero soft tissue issues. My physio said my connective tissue feels more resilient. I'm not arguing."
— Keisha T. | Pro Sprinter, 100m/200m
★★★★★
"The Achilles tightness I'd wake up with every morning is basically gone three months in. I didn't expect something this specific to exist for sprinters — most collagen is for aging adults, not explosive athletes."
— Derek N. | NCAA 100m, OH
★★★★★
"I've started recommending Fascia Fuel to my entire sprint squad. The injury reduction we've seen since we began the collagen protocol is significant. We had zero soft tissue tears last indoor season."
— Coach Adriana M. | D1 Track & Field, NC
Fascia Fuel by RMS Nutrition
Bulletproof Your Connective Tissue
The first collagen supplement engineered for sprinters. Grass-fed hydrolyzed peptides. Vitamin C included. The Baar protocol built into every serving. No beauty marketing.
$49.99
30 servings — Free shipping on orders over $50
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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Fascia Fuel is a dietary supplement. Results described are supported by cited research but individual results may vary. Minimum 8-12 weeks recommended before evaluating structural benefits. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before use. RMS Nutrition / AVS Inc., Fort Collins, CO.
