Creatine

[RC Vikings]

Over on CG I mention how I would like my youngest son (17 years old) to find some motivation and get passionate about something. Well I think he found it, weightlifting. I think this is a direct correlation to his increased interest in girls but whatever it takes. I'm about ready to find the cutest girl in that school and give her forty dollars to tell him that she thinks that guys with good grades is hot. Any way back to the subject, he's about 6" 2" and weighs in at a mean 145 so he could stand to gain some weight. What are the downsides to creatine and has anybody here used it.

[Surfah]

Over on CG I mention how I would like my youngest son (17 years old) to find some motivation and get passionate about something. Well I think he found it, weightlifting. I think their is a direct correlation to his increased interest in girls but whatever it takes. I'm about ready to find the cutest girl in that school and give her forty dollars to tell him that she thinks that guys with good grades is hot. Any way back to the subject, he's about 6" 2" and weighs in at a mean 145 so he could stand to gain some weight. What are the downsides to creatine and has anybody here used it.

Downsides? Long term, nobody really knows for sure. But studies thus far don't show any.

Upsides? More energy is the biggest one as it helps the ATP cycle. Stimulates muscle growth. Can aid in recovery from some tests.

I haven't used it in awhile but I did a few cycles of it. Most encourage you to pre-load. To be honest I have done the pre-load thing and also skipped the loading phase completely. If there were results from loading then they were negligible as I never noticed any marked gains. Skipping this will also help you save a little coin. In my opinion you need to take creatine with some sugary juice. The juice helps as a glucose or rather insulin transport to get the creatine into your system. I really liked Cell Tech creatine. It's a powder mix with your kool-aid like mix already in there. The fruit punch tastes like fruit punch too. Creatine really has no taste. Just stir well and drink. Make sure he drinks lots of water. Creatine draws water into the cells.

Glad he found something to be passionate about. If he wants to gain mass though and if he's 6'2, 145lbs he needs to eat. Lots of protein. At minimum one gram of protein for every pound he weighs.

[woot]

I used to take creatine. Unless they've improved the technology one of the main downsides is that it forces water into muscle cells making you look really bloated and also making less water available for other functions. Make sure he drinks lots of water.

I found it to be reasonably effective, but not enough for me to be sure it wasn't placebo effect.

[ERCougar]

Downsides? Long term, nobody really knows for sure. But studies thus far don't show any.

Actually, there is a major potential downside--kidney failure. If you take it in normal doses and with plenty of liquid, I don't think anyone's had a problem. But there have been reports of renal failure when taking megadoses--something invincible teenagers who really want to put on the muscle mass have been known to do.

It actually is one of the few supplements that have a proven benefit. Ironically, Mark Agwire (sp?) got in trouble for andro, which has never been proven to do anything, while every other athlete is taking this.

[Surfah]

Actually, there is a major potential downside--kidney failure. If you take it in normal doses and with plenty of liquid, I don't think anyone's had a problem. But there have been reports of renal failure when taking megadoses--something invincible teenagers who really want to put on the muscle mass have been known to do.

It actually is one of the few supplements that have a proven benefit. Ironically, Mark Agwire (sp?) got in trouble for andro, which has never been proven to do anything, while every other athlete is taking this.

Of course. In excess anything can have a downside. Drinking too much water can kill you too. Follow the recommended doses. Usually 5mg is all that is required during the maintenance phase. Most loading phases suggest 10-20mg. There are calculators out there to help with this.

Creatine won't build mass.

[ERCougar]

Of course. In excess anything can have a downside. Drinking too much water can kill you too. Follow the recommended doses. Usually 5mg is all that is required during the maintenance phase. Most loading phases suggest 10-20mg. There are calculators out there to help with this.

Creatine won't build mass.

"Creatine research shows generally positive results. A short-term, double-blind, placebo-controlled study7 examined the effects of 28 days of creatine supplementation on 25 football players. Diet and exercise were tightly controlled, and strength and body composition were measured. Body weight, dual-energy radiograph absorptiometry-scanned body mass, fat-free and bone-free mass, and bench-press strength all increased in the athletes taking creatine. Overall lifting volume (sum of all lifts) was increased by 41 percent in this group. A five-week study8 of 42 football players also showed gains in strength and mass. Another report9 of 19 women who took supplements for 10 weeks also described increases in strength and mass. Some researchers10,11 have seen strength gains with as little as five to seven days of supplementation." - American Family Physician, 3/1/01

There are a lot more studies--it's been pretty well-documented. Now, whether it builds mass because of decreased recovery time between workouts (thus allowing more efficient/strenuous workouts) is certainly possible.

Oh, and doses are in grams, not milligrams. Maybe that's why it doesn't build mass...

[Surfah]

"Creatine research shows generally positive results. A short-term, double-blind, placebo-controlled study7 examined the effects of 28 days of creatine supplementation on 25 football players. Diet and exercise were tightly controlled, and strength and body composition were measured. Body weight, dual-energy radiograph absorptiometry-scanned body mass, fat-free and bone-free mass, and bench-press strength all increased in the athletes taking creatine. Overall lifting volume (sum of all lifts) was increased by 41 percent in this group. A five-week study8 of 42 football players also showed gains in strength and mass. Another report9 of 19 women who took supplements for 10 weeks also described increases in strength and mass. Some researchers10,11 have seen strength gains with as little as five to seven days of supplementation." - American Family Physician, 3/1/01

There are a lot more studies--it's been pretty well-documented. Now, whether it builds mass because of decreased recovery time between workouts (thus allowing more efficient/strenuous workouts) is certainly possible.

Oh, and doses are in grams, not milligrams. Maybe that's why it doesn't build mass...

My bad on the mG. Good catch.

I think most of the mass though is from the water retention. I think the biggest benefit comes from being able to exercise harder with less recovery time. But if you want to gain weight and add mass, creatine alone won't do it which is what I should have said.

[RobinFinderson]

I went through one of my brief weightlifting periods (it happens every couple of years), and I wanted to 'cheat' and get a head start. I walked into a GNC and asked the sole teenage worker, "Which of your products are going to get me laid three times a day." He suggested the most expensive stuff on the shelf: NO2 and CE2 (I'm looking at the half-full bottles right now).

Here is what I noticed from using these products.

1. They made me nauseous. I took them as recommended, and without failure, halfway through the cardio portion of a workout, I would get a bit light-headed and nauseous. On only ONE occasion the nausea was bad enough that I puked.

2. The products REALLY work. What I noticed is that I could work my fool ass off, way harder than I should have for starting off, and I would NOT BE SORE the next day. It was like magic.

3. I got good results using half of the recommended dosage, which I did because I am cheap, and these products are extremely expensive.

4. The extra-hard workouts yielded amazing results very fast.

5. Even after the nausea, I would feel a little bit of pressure in my head, behind my eyes... sort of like a pre-migraine feel, if anyone else knows what that is like. It never turned into a migraine, but the feeling would linger for a few hours after ingesting the pills.

[cougjunkie]

Creatine is nice.

Andro is good.

NO2 is unbelievable.

Another one that I have had success using is called The Beast. Its a spray.

[TripletDaddy]

I just use flaxseed oil. I have put on about 40 pounds of lean muscle mass that way.

[pelagius]

I just use flaxseed oil. I have put on about 40 pounds of lean muscle mass that way.

Be careful ... you really need to make sure you cycle when it comes to something that potent. I recommend: 3 weeks of flaxseed oil (20 grams per day), one week off, 3 weeks of fish oil (20 grams per day), one week off.

[TripletDaddy]

Be careful ... you really need to make sure you cycle when it comes to something that potent. I recommend: 3 weeks of flaxseed oil (20 grams per day), one week off, 3 weeks of fish oil (20 grams per day), one week off.

Or I can do the "photoshop" workout, like some people I know.....

[pelagius]

Or I can do the "photoshop" workout, like some people I know.....

No need for photoshop when you know Arnold's secret supplement:

[Mr Incredible]

Over on CG I mention how I would like my youngest son (17 years old) to find some motivation and get passionate about something. Well I think he found it, weightlifting. I think this is a direct correlation to his increased interest in girls but whatever it takes. I'm about ready to find the cutest girl in that school and give her forty dollars to tell him that she thinks that guys with good grades is hot. Any way back to the subject, he's about 6" 2" and weighs in at a mean 145 so he could stand to gain some weight. What are the downsides to creatine and has anybody here used it.

The biggest downside for me is that I pee more after taking it. Some days I can barely make the drive from home to the office. I drive mostly rural roads to work so I figure it's not really a big deal if I have to get out an pee on the way. I'm thinking of rigging a tube so that I pee while I drive and have it run out on the road. It rains a lot here so I figure nobody will notice.

[TripletDaddy]

Bumping this thread from last December.

A guy in my ward takes kre-alkalyn, which he says is a more efficient form of creatine. I kind of zoned out while he was talking about the science behind it. He encouraged me to go buy some for my workouts. I told him to screw off and then I punched him in the nose for trying to sell me drugs. But then at home I started wondering if he was right.

Has anyone here tried kre-alkalyn? Is it similar to creatine in that much of your bulking up is water retention and bloat?