Monday, May 23, 2011

Creatine

Now throughout high school I constantly heard about the hype of creatine and adults preaching about how it is super unhealthy for you and it will kill your kidneys.  I did alot of research during my senior year and saw that none of the myths i had heard about or the negative side effects of this supplement to be true, mostly through research done in AP Bio, because creatine is found naturally in the body and helps with the production of ATP by acting as an enzyme and increasing the speed ATP (natural energy) is created at.  This helps with things like recovery.
So after compiling all my research and some of others research this is what was created:

What should of creatine should I buy?
Creatine monohydrate. Plain and simple. No need for any fancy designer creatines. It is proven to work. It is cheap. The typical 200 serving tub will last for will last for at least 3 months.
ALTHOUGH:
I use this along with a creatine called Concrete This stuff has shown much greater benefits than any other I have taken and it works best for me, I recommend it to others to at least try out.

What exactly does creatine do?
*Provides extra energy for your muscles
*Causes volumization of muscles (just increases the size)
*Reduces lactic acid build up
*Increases protein synthesis

What are the side effects of taking creatine?
There is a possibility of bloating. This, however is temporary and you don't need to worry about it. There have also been anecdotal stories of muscle cramping and dehydration. If you are worried about this, drink an extra litre of water or so, on top of the 4 litres + you should be drinking.

Will I lose my gains when I stop taking creatine?
Creatine generally leads to two types of gains. You can build more muscle due to the added strength creatine can provide and you can retain more water in the muscles. The muscle which you gain as a result of increased strength is the same as all other muscle. It is as permanent as muscle you gain when you don't use creatine. This will not be lost when you stop taking creatine. However, the water retained in the muscle is temporary. This will most likely be lost when you stop taking creatine.

How much creatine should I take each day?
3g - 5g.

What is loading / the loading phase?
Loading is the period of time where you increase your daily dose of creatine to increase the level of creatine in your muscles so that it is available for use. It usually lasts for one week.

How much creatine should I take during the loading phase?
20g - 25g a day, 1 week - 10 days. This amount should be divided into 4 daily servings.

Do I need to load?
No. Loading is probably not needed. However, creatine is cheap. If you want to load to gain any possible benefits of loading then it is fine to do so. Make sure to increase your water intake if you are concerned about dehydration etc.What is the maintenance phase?

What is the maintenance phase?
This is the rest of the time you spend using creatine. Once you have completed a loading phase, you must keep maintain the levels of creatine in your muscles. This is usually done by taking 3g - 5g a day.

Should I cycle creatine?
It is not known whether it is beneficial or not to cycle long term. Once again I would do so if you are concerned. I'd advise for every month you use creatine, take 2 weeks off, minimum.

What time of the day should I take creatine?
Any time of the day will do. You don't need to take it pre-workout, post-workout, pre-bed or any other important time. All that matters with creatine is that you take it regularly over a long period of time (4 - 12 weeks approx.).

Some people like to take their creatine with their post-workout meal as many people include sugars in this meal which may aid absorption and distribution of creatine.

Will it cause testicle shrinkage?
No.

I am considering using CEE (creatine ethyl ester) or krealkalyn. Do they work?
Read this: http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/fo...037-post1.html

Useful link: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=100831

Can protein supplements be taken with creatine supplements?
Yes. The two supplements are unrelated. Just be aware that some protein supplements contain creatine already (such as Nitrotech and some weight gainers) and extra creatine may not be required.

Quick note:
In my experience, I have never experienced any side effects from creatine supplementation. None of the people who use it who I know have either.

Only consider using creatine when you have a proper diet. You must eat enough calories, protein, carbs and fat a day to gain muscle. If you don't, your body will have nothing to build muscle with. Supplements aid the process but if the process is not happening, they aid nothing and are wasted. GET A DIET.

34 comments:

  1. i heard creatine was pretty bad for you and that alot of the weight you put on in water weight

    ReplyDelete
  2. Creatine has no negative side effects on the body, and you do attain a little water weight but not a significant amount and that is only because it volumizes your muscles until they produce enough tissue to take over where the water is

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm going to start using this supplement in my shakes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for all the info. I don't know if I'm ready to use this stuff though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. nice info. definitely doing us a service here. thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I didn't know much about creatine before this, so thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  7. 1 diet 2 diet 3 workout 4 diet

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very informative and well written. It's amazing how many myths there are our there passed along in ignorance without people doing their own research.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Man that was a very informative post, you really did your research. Before this post I didn't even know what creatine was lol.

    ReplyDelete
  10. So you take creatine monohydrate with Concrete "concentrated creatine"? Two creatines with your shakes? I only use the the monhydrate, I don't know about Concrete.

    Can you post a blog with all your supplements? I'm curious

    ReplyDelete
  11. hydrochloric acid & sodium chloride are both found naturally in the human body. I wouldn't suggest ingesting them though...

    ReplyDelete
  12. wow you really put your time into this research

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you for the info, I didn't know anything about creatine before.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good research my two recommendations are this:

    1. Be prepared to sweat a lot, even when doing nothing.
    2. You are gonna be very hungry all the time, so keep food on hand

    ReplyDelete
  15. even though I've heard good things about Creatine I'm still nervous about taking it D: that whole "I r gurl I no want huge muscles"

    ReplyDelete
  16. Creatine sounds a lot like Ovaltine, I'm in.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hey dude, a lot of great info here. I applaud your dedication. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  18. So how do you mix it with another supplements?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Very good article excellent will definately save for future reference.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Always thought it had side effects, I'll have look into getting some now. Thanks for the info =)

    ReplyDelete
  21. I have heard about creating, my cousin is using it a lot. I should try to start training again too

    ReplyDelete
  22. i used creatine its actually really good.

    ReplyDelete
  23. thanks for sharing, very informative!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great write up. I have been looking to add something and this looks like it might be what I need.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Good to know, worse come to worse I will look into supplements

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thanks for the tips. I was wondering about this for awhile now.

    ReplyDelete
  27. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I have never used creatine because for me proper diet was enough.

    ReplyDelete
  29. "Will it cause testicle shrinkage?"

    ReplyDelete