do you guys take creatine?

[QueBert]

good suggestion on CVS, they have Sixstar, I know their protein's suppose to be god awful tasting, but this Creatine they have is flavored and gets fairly decent reviews from the few I've seen. A plus is since it's flavored it's got sugar & carbs so I wouldn't have to get something like Grape or Apple juice to mix it with.

Some of the reviews are something else though, one guy claimed after taking the Six Star X3 Creatine for a month he had put on 20lb of muscle. I checked GNC.com and the store up the street has Optimum Nutrition Creatine for not too bad of a price. About 1/2 of what I expected it to be, so I might just run there. I wanna put on 20lb of muscle in a month lol.

 

[Pantlegz]

I wouldn't touch the sixstar 'creatine' - it's got a 8.1g with 3 different varities of creatine with other preworkout supplements it probably has 1-2g on monohydrate if that per serving. Along with 43g of carbs, probably mostly simple sugars. The Optimum Nutrition Creatine on the other hand is just monohydrate, don't follow their serving suggestions though. There is no need to take 20g a day for a week to load but 5g a day throughout is fine.

There is no way you're going to put on 20lbs of muscle in a month, even with one hell of an anabolic cycle.

 

[QueBert]

I wouldn't touch the sixstar 'creatine' - it's got a 8.1g with 3 different varities of creatine with other preworkout supplements it probably has 1-2g on monohydrate if that per serving. Along with 43g of carbs, probably mostly simple sugars. The Optimum Nutrition Creatine on the other hand is just monohydrate, don't follow their serving suggestions though. There is no need to take 20g a day for a week to load but 5g a day throughout is fine.

There is no way you're going to put on 20lbs of muscle in a month, even with one hell of an anabolic cycle.

LOL I know that reviewer was full of sh*t, I'll be happy to just feel stronger and not look a big bigger after a month of taking it I bought some Dymatize Micronized Creatine at Nutrishop.

 

[Deeko]

I've tried it a couple of times, never made a noticeable difference, so I figured I'd save the money. Everyone's body produces (and can use) different amounts of creatine, I must already be maxing out what I can use through my diet.

 

[marmasatt]

I've tried it a couple of times, never made a noticeable difference, so I figured I'd save the money. Everyone's body produces (and can use) different amounts of creatine, I must already be maxing out what I can use through my diet.

Unless I'm wrong with my creatine is creatine philosophy (like aspirin) and you just got some bad creatine, lol...

 

[Deeko]

I've used different kinds and brands. I doubt I got "bad creatine", if such a thing were to exist.

 

[marmasatt]

Since this thread is still going...

I've admittedly been out of the game for awhile (10yrs or so) from lifting alot and trying to get as big and strong as possible, etc. Now that I'm 40 it's all about fitness. Trying to be as fit as possible so I can compete with the young guys in various sports I still play. But I digress.

I always thought creatine was creatine. Is that an ignorant statement? This dude working in GNC today told me there are now like 7 different kinds/compounds of creatine which really took me by surprise. I guess they are just various compounds? Like monohydrate, phosphate, HCL, etc. Someone give me an education. Do some work faster or have different purposes? He also told me loading was a thing of the past. I was in there because Jacked doesn't really hardly have any (2 gms a serving) so I was going to supplement with a little extra monohydrate. He actually told me you could, but probably not to bother as you won't use it in your workout anyway....Which kind of caught me off guard too. Like the various kinds have different purposes as in size, vs power/performance, vs quick assimilation, etc? He was sort of sounding like smarmy snake oil guy at that point so whether or not he knew his stuff I tuned him out.....

 

[marmasatt]

I've used different kinds and brands. I doubt I got "bad creatine", if such a thing were to exist.

Yeah, I know. I said that tongue in cheek. I've not heard of it not working for people very often though...

 

[smoka]

Just go to http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/creatine.html, it has all the information you need on different kinds of creatine. In general, it allows water retention for mass gain, so it will make your muscles look more full/pumped than with whey alone.

If you want to gain muscle size/strength, I recommend getting some casein as part of your diet. This is a slow-releasing protein and most people have it at night before bed while having whey before/after workout.

You can also get something like the ON HydroBuilder, which contains whey, casein, and creatine in one. However, I find it more effective and cheaper to buy them seperately so you can control the proportions you take of each supplement based on your needs.

 

[Pantlegz]

Yeah, I know. I said that tongue in cheek. I've not heard of it not working for people very often though...

Really? I respond well and I know of others that don't respond as well but very very few that don't respond at all. If you're expecting a huge increase in power you're going to be sorely disappointed but if you're realistic and expect 2-3% increase over what you would get otherwise over the course of a few months and possibly faster recovery you'd probably get it. It similar with different stimulants, everyone responds differently to different stims, some people feel like 1,3 Dime is like meth and others can't tell a difference but something with caffeine will give them a huge boost. People just don't always react the same to supplements and sometimes they have their expectation set way too high or aren't training hard enough to see an increase in adding supplements to their routine.

And yes there are many different types of creatine, even more if you're talking about blends but the only one that's proven to work is monohydrate, I've heard that beta-alanine stacked with creatine can help with people that don't respond well to just monohydrate but I haven't read, or bothered looking for any research to back it up since I respond well to straight monohydrate.

 

[QueBert]

Since this thread is still going...

I've admittedly been out of the game for awhile (10yrs or so) from lifting alot and trying to get as big and strong as possible, etc. Now that I'm 40 it's all about fitness. Trying to be as fit as possible so I can compete with the young guys in various sports I still play. But I digress.

I always thought creatine was creatine. Is that an ignorant statement? This dude working in GNC today told me there are now like 7 different kinds/compounds of creatine which really took me by surprise. I guess they are just various compounds? Like monohydrate, phosphate, HCL, etc. Someone give me an education. Do some work faster or have different purposes? He also told me loading was a thing of the past. I was in there because Jacked doesn't really hardly have any (2 gms a serving) so I was going to supplement with a little extra monohydrate. He actually told me you could, but probably not to bother as you won't use it in your workout anyway....Which kind of caught me off guard too. Like the various kinds have different purposes as in size, vs power/performance, vs quick assimilation, etc? He was sort of sounding like smarmy snake oil guy at that point so whether or not he knew his stuff I tuned him out.....

His opinion is the opinion of a lot of people, while from everything I've read Monohydrate is the only proven type. Muscle Pharm's Creatine has 5 different types it in, and there are a good number of people who swear by it and will say it gives them better results than regular Monohydrate. This is the label

(Creatine Monohydrate, Creatine AAB, DiCreatineMalate,Creatine MagnaPower (Creatine-Magnesium Chelate), Con-Cret Creatine HCl (100% Concentrated Creatine), Cinnulin PF)

I've liked every MP product I've tried, haven't touched this one yet. But I'm probably going to order it when the stuff I got yesterday's gone. It's not too much more expensive than the regular Micronized stuff. MP has an in house lab where they do a ton of testing when formulating their products.

 

[Pantlegz]

Just go to http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/creatine.html, it has all the information you need on different kinds of creatine. In general, it allows water retention for mass gain, so it will make your muscles look more full/pumped than with whey alone.

If you want to gain muscle size/strength, I recommend getting some casein as part of your diet. This is a slow-releasing protein and most people have it at night before bed while having whey before/after workout.

You can also get something like the ON HydroBuilder, which contains whey, casein, and creatine in one. However, I find it more effective and cheaper to buy them seperately so you can control the proportions you take of each supplement based on your needs.

No offense but I'm not sure you know what you're talking about. Creatine allows quicker recovery and slightly increased performance with regards to volume which in turn lead to more mass the added water weight isn't want most people talk about when they talk about adding mass with creatine. Whey is simply protein is has no magical effects that affect the size of your muscles, no different than any other protein anyway.

As far as casein goes I might be able to understand why a bodybuilder might want it while they're cutting but in reality if you're at the point that you're worried about that you wouldn't be asking questions about creatine. And even then, it takes a while before your body goes catabolic at least to the point that a few grams of protein before bed is going to make a difference. See lean gains and the research Martin Berkhans has used to create his IF 'system'.

In general, eat enough and get enough protein in your diet from anywhere, lift heavy and get plenty of rest and you'll get bigger.

 

[Pantlegz]

Since this thread is still going...

Like the various kinds have different purposes as in size, vs power/performance, vs quick assimilation, etc? He was sort of sounding like smarmy snake oil guy at that point so whether or not he knew his stuff I tuned him out.....

Since I'm on a roll I'll keep going

He was trying to selling you bullshit, I haven't seen any research that would back up what he was claiming. The only creatine that is proven to work is monohydrate. The 'Quick assimilation' creatine was probably kre-alkalyn creatine which is junk. He was right in saying that loading wasn't necessary but that's about it.

And I was just reading up on Jack3d, actually 1,3 Dimethylamylamine, and it turns out it may hinder performance because geranium stem(aka 1,3 Dimethylamylamine) is a vasoconstrictor and can restrict blood flow to muscles - it's something I hadn't heard before and I'm actively looking for some research on it:

looking at http://books.google.com/books?id=6F...&q=geranium stem is a vasoconstrictor&f=false is appears to be true but that's just one source I looked at briefly.

 

[marmasatt]

Thanks for the responses. I guess people "reacting" and not reacting to various supplements makes sense. I have just not heard of it with creatine too much. But hell, I'm one of the guys who is taking Jacked and I really can't tell you what all the hubub is about. I mean it's ok, but it's not even as good as an ECA stack back in the day. On the other hand, as I've said before I'm one of the guys who (when loading) puts on like 5-7 lbs that first 2 weeks. (Proves its alot of water weight, but hey..)

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

you're supposed to cycle stims. And with jacked you can use more scoops. I think the original product had a larger scoop but they split it up so you'd have to use 3 of the current scoops to match 1 original serving size.

 

[Pantlegz]

creatine isn't a stim

 

[surfsatwerk]

This thread is comedy gold.

Edit: What's a good PCT to use after a 2 month creatine cycle?

 

[Pantlegz]

I don't think anyone ITT is riding a bicycle... I sure hope not at least.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

My pre workout is Jack3d. I love the stuff. As for creatine, I started taking it back in October. I only used it for a few months. I didnt like the weight that I put on and I didnt seem to get any other results but I plan on trying it again this summer.

I've read into supplements a bit. Most "energy boosters" or "pre-workout supplements" use "propriettary blends".

What is best is to read about what those active ingredients are. And learn what the proper amounts of intake are. Buy the raw ingrediants and consume.

Why do I say this? Because most of those "proprietary blends" have much less of the active ingredient than studies show to be optimal. In fact, most of them just load you up with caffeine .... that's why your body gets warm.

Having said this, I did find through my radign that Jack3D is one of the better "proprietary blends. But it is still pretty sad.

I take nothing. I did try L-arginine but have no idea if it worked or if there was a placebo effect. I felt liek I had more energy but there is no way for me to quantify it.

 

[tedrodai]

Guys, there's obviously some people here that understand what creatine is and what it does. But there's very oviously some folks discussing it here who don't have a freakin clue what it is, what it does, and what to expect from supplementing it.

Your body gets creatine natually in 2 ways: about 1/2 by ingesting it in certain foods (mostly meat) and the other 1/2 by creating it from amino acids. Vegetarians will likely have much lower natural stores of creatine in their muscles, frankly because they don't eat meat...and they will likely see more results from a supplement than a non-vegatarian.

Your body has other ways to synthesize ATP (the body's primary molecule of energy transfer, among other things) as well, but when your muscles experience increased energy demands, they can use creatine to turn ADP into ATP. Therefore, the primary reason to supplement with creatine is to ensure your muscles have access to as much energy as your body can provide to them when performing a strenuous exercise--hopefully increasing the amount of effort you can put into it-- and to help them recover faster.

Now, you won't experience some magical effect wherein without creatine you can only do 5 reps of 1 exercise and with it you can do 6; or where you're only going to need 1 day of rest when you're used to 2. If you DO notice something like that, it is called the placebo effect . Studies have shown very marginal effects, as Pantlegz said, but over time marginal effects become noticeable.


P.S. all the super duper blends sold in stores are there because of the science called marketing. Creatine has become a buzzword in the world of strength training and bodybuilding, so companies take advantage of that.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

I was talking about jack3d. That's one of the gripes with jacked. They don't list out what's in their blend.

 

[Zivic]

Now, you won't experience some magical effect wherein without creatine you can only do 5 reps of 1 exercise and with it you can do 6; or where you're only going to need 1 day of rest when you're used to 2. If you DO notice something like that, it is called the placebo effect . Studies have shown very marginal effects, as Pantlegz said, but over time marginal effects become noticeable.


.

call it placebo if you want to, but I have lifted for 18 yrs now, been taking creatine since the late 90's.... I can pull 1 more rep with creatine vs not taking it. heck, sometimes 2. The thing that is most noticeable to me is the sustained energy. I don't get a sudden drop off of energy after a couple sets like I do when I am not on it.

It isn't a miracle supplement, but it works.

 

[QueBert]

Even if it's only going to have a slight impact overall, Creatine's one of the cheapest supplements out there. I got a 100 serving container at a B&M store for $15. The PWO I take's well over $1 a serving, the multi I take exactly $1 a serving, my BCAA drank's like $25 shipped for 30 servings. If I use this Creatine right, I should be able to see 5% better results. For 15 cents a serving I'm all for it. I've talked to too many people who took it for a month and had better gains than before they were working out without it.

 

[Lamont Burns]

I don't think anyone ITT is riding a bicycle... I sure hope not at least.

2 months is not riding a bicycle.. unless the bike is broken.

 

[Lamont Burns]

I've read into supplements a bit. Most "energy boosters" or "pre-workout supplements" use "propriettary blends".

What is best is to read about what those active ingredients are. And learn what the proper amounts of intake are. Buy the raw ingrediants and consume.

Why do I say this? Because most of those "proprietary blends" have much less of the active ingredient than studies show to be optimal. In fact, most of them just load you up with caffeine .... that's why your body gets warm.

Having said this, I did find through my radign that Jack3D is one of the better "proprietary blends. But it is still pretty sad.

I take nothing. I did try L-arginine but have no idea if it worked or if there was a placebo effect. I felt liek I had more energy but there is no way for me to quantify it.

They use caffeine b/c it works, the rest is just cool words to sell you. Well, that and that 1, 3 they put into many these days. Look for that to be long gone in the future.