creatine

[yours truly]

hi guys, i was wondering what your opinions on creatine are?

is it safe to use all year round? which is the best brand and what sort of creatine gives you the best performance boost, ie monohydrate or ethyl ester etc?

thanks

 

[KoolDrew]

It's safe, just make sure you're getting enough water. As for which creatine to use, just get pure creatine monohydrate.

 

[purbeast0]

i've tried about 4 different brands of creatine.

the only one that actually helped me and I actually saw any difference with is Muscletech's Celltech.

many people don't like muscletech because their stuff is overpriced for what you get, but i'm on my 3rd tub now and i've been using it since I started bulking up back in the beginning of august. i've put on a good 25lbs since I've started bulking up, and I even went about a month of not using this stuff after my first tub ran out. when i started using it again I noticed it was helping me with some gains once again.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Isn't it the general consensus that you should use creatine in intervals since the body actually gets stores of it in the muscles?

 

[onlyCOpunk]

I was under the impression that it's a bit addicting and once you stop using it you lose what you gain? Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the average person going the gym not need Creatine? I thought I was just for professional athletes and stuff.

 

[Ktulu]

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
I was under the impression that it's a bit addicting and once you stop using it you lose what you gain? Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the average person going the gym not need Creatine? I thought I was just for professional athletes and stuff.

I'm not to sure, but from what I understand when you stop taking it you lose all the water your body has been retaining not your actual muscle gains.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

I also thought the retained water was what gave you muscles the bulk that creatine gives, hence why I thought that only professionals used it to give a quick boost to definition and appearance.

 

[spamsk8r]

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
I also thought the retained water was what gave you muscles the bulk that creatine gives, hence why I thought that only professionals used it to give a quick boost to definition and appearance.

People don't use it for the bulk it provides (which is quite minimal, IMO). Creatine allows the muscles to more efficiently make us of ATP stores, so when you get fatigued you can bang out an extra rep or two. This puts more stress on the muscle, allowing it to grow and for you to get stronger. When you stop a creatine cycle, you will drop the water weight, but any muscle/strength gained will be retained, but your work capacity might be slightly reduced.

That being said, I don't think creatine can benefit the novice lifter to any appreciable degree. They simply do not work the muscles hard enough to warrant it. But use it if you like, it won't hurt you.

 

[spamsk8r]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Isn't it the general consensus that you should use creatine in intervals since the body actually gets stores of it in the muscles?

Yes, the general consensus is to cycle creatine. 8 weeks on, 2 weeks off.

 

[jaedaliu]

Originally posted by: spamsk8r

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
I also thought the retained water was what gave you muscles the bulk that creatine gives, hence why I thought that only professionals used it to give a quick boost to definition and appearance.

People don't use it for the bulk it provides (which is quite minimal, IMO). Creatine allows the muscles to more efficiently make us of ATP stores, so when you get fatigued you can bang out an extra rep or two. This puts more stress on the muscle, allowing it to grow and for you to get stronger. When you stop a creatine cycle, you will drop the water weight, but any muscle/strength gained will be retained, but your work capacity might be slightly reduced.

That being said, I don't think creatine can benefit the novice lifter to any appreciable degree. They simply do not work the muscles hard enough to warrant it. But use it if you like, it won't hurt you.

Yes. Creatine is normally in the form of Creatine Phosphate, which is an intermediate energy stage. When you're loaded up on dietary creatine, your muscles will have extra amounts of creatine phosphate. That's why there's that extra rep or 2.

As for the proper loading cycle. I don't know what people do, but scientific literature is pretty clear. High loading for a couple weeks to increase amounts in muscle, then only lower levels are required to maintain the increased muscle creatine.