Information wanted on taking creatine

[Kippa]

What are the realistic performance advantages with taking creatine in real terms? I am thinking of starting taking it and want some basic info.

 

[Ogrinz]

Google it, tons of research. Im my experience the actual real world noticed difference is slim to none. Eat clean and healthy will provide much more noticeable difference.

 

[utahraptor]

I got some and I take it 3-4 times a week. I can't tell if it does anything or not, but the wiki seems to indicate there is some value:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatine_supplements#Creatine_and_athletic_performance

 

[QueBert]

Eating right and exercising + taking Creatine every day will benefit you a lot. It's cheap, it's safe and the only side effect some people have is a bit of water retention. There is absolutely no downside and no reason to not take it. If you're not picky get the cheap unflavored kind and shovel a heaping tablespoon into your mouth and wash it down with some apple or grape juice. If you want tasty Beast is awesome, I have the citrus flavor and it's DELICIOUS

 

[z1ggy]

I second the above, almost word for word. I buy 120 servings of unflavored ON creatine monohydrate for like $16. Lasts about 4 months and is pretty much taseless. Mix it in with my post lift shake.

If anything, for $4 a month, why would you not take it?

 

[SP33Demon]

I take it but if not taken with enough water, I'll get kidney pains. Make sure you're drinking a shitload of water after ingesting it.

 

[brad310]

Like mentioned, drink a shit ton of water, and expect to gain water weight. And know that it is true water weight, depending on your size maybe as much as 10 lbs.

What it is for really is an aid in strength training. You wont get much if anything out of it doing endurance work. You will do more weight in your lifts, or more reps. IIR its more about pure strength and explosiveness.

So you can use it for a while to gain some strength. Then when you're off of it for a week, see how much of the gains you retain. Do your research first. Ive used it on and off since the early 90s. I prefer now not to use it but thats just bc im old.

 

[z1ggy]

Like mentioned, drink a shit ton of water, and expect to gain water weight. And know that it is true water weight, depending on your size maybe as much as 10 lbs.

What it is for really is an aid in strength training. You wont get much if anything out of it doing endurance work. You will do more weight in your lifts, or more reps. IIR its more about pure strength and explosiveness.

So you can use it for a while to gain some strength. Then when you're off of it for a week, see how much of the gains you retain. Do your research first. Ive used it on and off since the early 90s. I prefer now not to use it but thats just bc im old.

How do you figure 10 pounds? You should retain a bit of water, but I don't see 10 pounds worth honestly. I don't know how many H20 molecules are needed to bind to a creatine monohydrate (the name suggests just 1 water molecule per creatine molecule). I would assume you'd only gain as much water weight as creatine you ingest, which should not be more than 2.5-5g per day.

Additionally, being off creatine for 1 week shouldn't do anything to do if you've been on it for more than one month. Creatine works by saturation of your cells. Therefore, it takes a while to actually work, and a while to stop working. You won't see the full results of creatine use until 30 days of constant use (taking 5 or so grams a day).

Lastly, creatine may still help with endurance. The entire point of creatine is turning ADP back into ATP so you can have more energy. This energy can take the form of lifting slightly more weight or lifting the same amount of weight, but a few more times.

As far as I know, creatine is safe to take daily, around a level of 2.5-5g per day. Loading phases are not needed and are probably not a great idea.

 

[Zivic]

What are the realistic performance advantages with taking creatine in real terms? I am thinking of starting taking it and want some basic info.

just take 15-20 grams on the days you train.

 

[surfsatwerk]

just take 15-20 grams on the days you train.

Curious about your reasoning for this recommendation. Most information I have come across says 5g a day. For clarity this is genuine interest, I'm not trying to argue.

 

[Zivic]

Curious about your reasoning for this recommendation. Most information I have come across says 5g a day. For clarity this is genuine interest, I'm not trying to argue.

I have taken it a bunch of different ways. Including loading, the 5 grams you have stated, 5 before, 5 after a workout....

I have read that the amount to saturate is higher than previously thought. So I would say 15-20 up to 200 lbs... 20-25+ as you go beyond 200. I don't find it helps me recover on days off, and think I have read studies that say the same thing.

The water weight comments are kind of a joke.... What do you think muscle is for the most part. I don't take crreatine for size, I take it for a better workout. If I hold more water in my muscles that's a plus

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Curious about your reasoning for this recommendation. Most information I have come across says 5g a day. For clarity this is genuine interest, I'm not trying to argue.

I've read that studies testing up to 20g a day showed no negative health problems.

If you haven't taken it in a while, you can do more than 5g for a few days to build up the amount "in your system". Actually, that might make no sense ... but I swear I read it.

Anyway, my understanding is that it takes a week of daily 5g doses to start to get benefit. And if you want to, you can do 20g for the first few days to get the benefit sooner.

This is one of the few supplements that I have read about that actually are proven to do anything for you.

I've noticed that it seems to help me with running longer distances.

To my knowledge, no studies have tested over 20g a day. So I personally wouldn't go beyond that till I found a study showing that it is safe.

 

[z1ggy]

I took 10g a day for 3 months straight, found no negative impacts that were immediately present. Cut back down to 5g a day now as creatine has definitely saturated in my system by now. I'll probably read up about different studies regarding the amount to take, but Im guessing 5-10g a day is plenty.

 

[norseamd]

I take it but if not taken with enough water, I'll get kidney pains. Make sure you're drinking a shitload of water after ingesting it.

This. When you drink as much as you need it is safe but otherwise you can have kidney problems.

 

[solsa]

Supplements of any kind benefit you only after you do everything else right. You eat well, sleep well, lift correctly, not dehydrated, not indulging in alcohol... If you do all these and just want more, take the creatine.

 

[alkemyst]

While there are some that Creatine doesn't work for, this is very rare. Those that say it didn't make a difference sadly are probably not lifting hard enough.

It's the one supplement that I definitely can tell when I am not taking it.

Loading and all that stuff are old school and not needed really. Your body will eventually hit saturation within a couple weeks.

 

[alkemyst]

Supplements of any kind benefit you only after you do everything else right. You eat well, sleep well, lift correctly, not dehydrated, not indulging in alcohol... If you do all these and just want more, take the creatine.

I drink even when lifting (well not literally while lifting ). My last major weight loss was drinking almost daily...Mich Ultra.

It may not work for everyone, but it works for me.

I am 43 BTW, not a spring chicken anymore

 

[norseamd]

Well I hope you started drinking some good beer. Drinking alcohol in moderation is not going to do you any harm. Drinking lots of booze is going to fuck with you far more than just lifting so I think it is up to everyone to decide how much they are going to drink alcohol.

 

[alkemyst]

Well I hope you started drinking some good beer. Drinking alcohol in moderation is not going to do you any harm. Drinking lots of booze is going to fuck with you far more than just lifting so I think it is up to everyone to decide how much they are going to drink alcohol.

Mich Ultra Baby!

However; I admit I drink far too much. As a kid I drank far too much soda (6 Liters of Coke per day on average), at 43 the only cavity I have in a permanent tooth is simply a soft spot and never broke a bone other than finger/toes even after being thrown from a 2nd story window and landing on a pool ladder. I couldn't walk to great for a few months, but nothing broke

 

[norseamd]

Yah I broke my first bone only a few years ago when I was drunk as shit and was attempting pull-ups on those rock climbling hand holds that you can drop from the rafters in a garage. There was lots of shit under the hand holds that I had climbed up on to get to them and when I was stepping down I slipped and hit my hand on a rollable tool cabinet. Broke the third metacarpal in my right hand. Also despite not brushing my teeth that much in school I only got cavities in my wisdom teeth at like 18 years old. And I still have my wisdom teeth and am intending to keep them since they fit perfectly. I have perfect teeth and hair. My grandma did not get any gray hairs until after she turned 70 years old. Also never been stung by a bee although I have stepped on one.