tell me some things about creatine

[stev0]

please?

thanks

 

[acidvoodoo]

it's good, NOT a steroid like some idiots think

 

[zbalat]

Info

 

[brxndxn]

Drink 4 times the amount of water - even if you're not thirsty. That stuff has the tendancy to dehydrate you so extremely. A guy on my soccer team had to go to the hospital because he was not taking in enough water while he was on Creatine.

However, I have taken it and not noticed any bad side effects. It does allow you to work maybe 15% harder at the gym without getting totally fatigued. But, the next day, you will be a lot more sore.

If you take it, don't follow the 'loading' directions. They just want you to go through it fast so you have to buy more. Your body can only absorb so much - so just take one shake/drink per day.

The cheap Creatine, if you compare with actual ingredients (make sure they match), is just as good as the expensive Creatine. You can get Creatine for $15 a month or $200 a month. It's really the same stuff.

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: zbalat
Info

well that really didn't help all that much.

i was wondering if it really had the bad side effects that i have heard from other people that don't use it.

 

[Zugzwang152]

As was said before, your two main concerns with creatine are dehydration, and muscle fatigue. since it allows you to work harder without feeling it for a while, your chances of injuring yourself increase. do not take creatine if you dont drink lots of water, or if you cant drink lots of water because you need to lose weight or something (like in wrestling).

 

[zCypher]

As I understand it, not all that much is known about creatine (in terms of possible side-effects/long-term effects). There are mixed opinions on the subject. If you really want to find out, try it for yourself in small doses and see how it works out for you.

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: brxndxn

The cheap Creatine, if you compare with actual ingredients (make sure they match), is just as good as the expensive Creatine. You can get Creatine for $15 a month or $200 a month. It's really the same stuff.

Text <- i was thinking about that stuff, maily it's because i can get a discount through work there.

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: stev0

Originally posted by: zbalat
Info

well that really didn't help all that much.

i was wondering if it really had the bad side effects that i have heard from other people that don't use it.

I've taken it in the past and never had a single side effect from it. I did notice it's benefits as well.

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: zCypher
As I understand it, not all that much is known about creatine (in terms of possible side-effects/long-term effects). There are mixed opinions on the subject. If you really want to find out, try it for yourself in small doses and see how it works out for you.

i was talking about this to a friend who i go to the gym with. he said pretty much what you said, and when he first started to take it he took half doses to start out with, then made up his mind when to the full does daily.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: zCypher
As I understand it, not all that much is known about creatine (in terms of possible side-effects/long-term effects). There are mixed opinions on the subject. If you really want to find out, try it for yourself in small doses and see how it works out for you.

There's over 10 years of research on Creatine, and it's definitely one of the safest supplements out there. And don't start out with small doses, you're not going to see sh1t. Infact, some people out there believe that you should do a loading phase for a couple of weeks (in which the dosage is double or even quadruple), then go on the maintenance amount.

I see people do things halfassed all the time, then they whine that the stuff doesn't work. If you're afraid, then don't take it. But if you're going to do it, do it properly.

 

[theNEOone]

Originally posted by: zbalat
Info

Don't mix creatine with citrus juice. Orange, grapefruit, cranberry, in fact, most fruit juices have been most recently found to neutralize the activity of creatine monohydrate. The reason is the waste product creatinine develops. A lot of you put creatine on your tongue and drink it down with grapefruit juice. If you have taken creatine this way in the past, stop it now! You are not getting creatine, you're getting waste product.



damnit, that's exactly how i take creatine. it's funny though because i do feel as if i've had significant gains using it, despite the fact that i dump the creatine in my mouth and chase it w/ white grape juice. maybe on my next on-cycle i'll just drink it w/ water.


thx for the info!!!

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: theNEOone

Originally posted by: zbalat
Info

Don't mix creatine with citrus juice. Orange, grapefruit, cranberry, in fact, most fruit juices have been most recently found to neutralize the activity of creatine monohydrate. The reason is the waste product creatinine develops. A lot of you put creatine on your tongue and drink it down with grapefruit juice. If you have taken creatine this way in the past, stop it now! You are not getting creatine, you're getting waste product.



damnit, that's exactly how i take creatine. it's funny though because i do feel as if i've had significant gains using it, despite the fact that i dump the creatine in my mouth and chase it w/ white grape juice. maybe on my next on-cycle i'll just drink it w/ water.


thx for the info!!!

Hmm that's how i've always done it too when i was using creatine, and i could definitely see the effects. That's odd, because since the very beginning, creatine has always been paired up with fruitjuices, especially grape juice, and people have always seen gains... why else would it become so popular.

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: Moralpanic

Originally posted by: theNEOone

Originally posted by: zbalat
Info

Don't mix creatine with citrus juice. Orange, grapefruit, cranberry, in fact, most fruit juices have been most recently found to neutralize the activity of creatine monohydrate. The reason is the waste product creatinine develops. A lot of you put creatine on your tongue and drink it down with grapefruit juice. If you have taken creatine this way in the past, stop it now! You are not getting creatine, you're getting waste product.



damnit, that's exactly how i take creatine. it's funny though because i do feel as if i've had significant gains using it, despite the fact that i dump the creatine in my mouth and chase it w/ white grape juice. maybe on my next on-cycle i'll just drink it w/ water.


thx for the info!!!

Hmm that's how i've always done it too when i was using creatine, and i could definitely see the effects. That's odd, because since the very beginning, creatine has always been paired up with fruitjuices, especially grape juice, and people have always seen gains... why else would it become so popular.

you seem fairly knowledgable on this subject... have you tried it yourself?

 

[Vegito]

i took it for about 3 weeks, my bench weight went up 40 pounds in 1 month.. pretty nice.. from 170 to 210. I'm 5'11 and 185lbs. Work out about 5 times a week for about 45 min, no running just weights. But im not super buff, i just can lift a lot more. Its fricken amazing to me !

 

[Zrom999]

Heres what I heard from a bunch of losers that sat behind me in class when I was in college:

"Creatine?! If you take that [stuff] you'll be [using the toilet] all week."

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: stev0

Originally posted by: Moralpanic

Originally posted by: theNEOone

Originally posted by: zbalat
Info

Don't mix creatine with citrus juice. Orange, grapefruit, cranberry, in fact, most fruit juices have been most recently found to neutralize the activity of creatine monohydrate. The reason is the waste product creatinine develops. A lot of you put creatine on your tongue and drink it down with grapefruit juice. If you have taken creatine this way in the past, stop it now! You are not getting creatine, you're getting waste product.



damnit, that's exactly how i take creatine. it's funny though because i do feel as if i've had significant gains using it, despite the fact that i dump the creatine in my mouth and chase it w/ white grape juice. maybe on my next on-cycle i'll just drink it w/ water.


thx for the info!!!

Hmm that's how i've always done it too when i was using creatine, and i could definitely see the effects. That's odd, because since the very beginning, creatine has always been paired up with fruitjuices, especially grape juice, and people have always seen gains... why else would it become so popular.

you seem fairly knowledgable on this subject... have you tried it yourself?

For about 5 years... i even 'OD'ed one time. I was in a loading phase, and for Creatine, i always take more than the recommended amount anyways (at least back then)... so i was loading at twice the normal loading phase amount... and i didn't realize my protein powder also had creatine, which i was taking 4 times a day. One day i went to the gym, and worked out like a maniac, but i couldn't cool down. Went and took a shower that was completely cold, and i still couldn't cool down... then i noticed i had a rash developing on my chest/neck/shoulders... so went to the Urgent Care clinic. They told me it was an allergic reaction to something, so told me to take a couple of anti-histamine, and the rash and itching went away an hour later when i woke up.

I stopped taking creatine years ago though, but it does work if you want to increase your strength and a little size (mostly water retention, though it still looks good).

 

[theNEOone]

For about 5 years... i even 'OD'ed one time. I was in a loading phase, and for Creatine, i always take more than the recommended amount anyways (at least back then)... so i was loading at twice the normal loading phase amount... and i didn't realize my protein powder also had creatine, which i was taking 4 times a day. One day i went to the gym, and worked out like a maniac, but i couldn't cool down. Went and took a shower that was completely cold, and i still couldn't cool down... then i noticed i had a rash developing on my chest/neck/shoulders... so went to the Urgent Care clinic. They told me it was an allergic reaction to something, so told me to take a couple of anti-histamine, and the rash and itching went away an hour later when i woke up.

I stopped taking creatine years ago though, but it does work if you want to increase your strength and a little size (mostly water retention, though it still looks good).

lol, no way. that happened to me too! about 2 years ago i started creatine, and i saw gains immediately. so a month later i just started taking about 5-6 times the average dose. a day or so later i broke out in a rash on my forehead. it was pretty nasty. i figured it was the creatine, so i just toned down the dosage, and i returned back to my non-rash self.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: theNEOone

For about 5 years... i even 'OD'ed one time. I was in a loading phase, and for Creatine, i always take more than the recommended amount anyways (at least back then)... so i was loading at twice the normal loading phase amount... and i didn't realize my protein powder also had creatine, which i was taking 4 times a day. One day i went to the gym, and worked out like a maniac, but i couldn't cool down. Went and took a shower that was completely cold, and i still couldn't cool down... then i noticed i had a rash developing on my chest/neck/shoulders... so went to the Urgent Care clinic. They told me it was an allergic reaction to something, so told me to take a couple of anti-histamine, and the rash and itching went away an hour later when i woke up.

I stopped taking creatine years ago though, but it does work if you want to increase your strength and a little size (mostly water retention, though it still looks good).

lol, no way. that happened to me too! about 2 years ago i started creatine, and i saw gains immediately. so a month later i just started taking about 5-6 times the average dose. a day or so later i broke out in a rash on my forehead. it was pretty nasty. i figured it was the creatine, so i just toned down the dosage, and i returned back to my non-rash self.

Well now you know what to take if you get that again... they just gave me a couple of benedryl i think and i went to sleep almost immediately... woke up and it was gone.

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: Moralpanic

Originally posted by: stev0

Originally posted by: Moralpanic

Originally posted by: theNEOone

Originally posted by: zbalat
Info

Don't mix creatine with citrus juice. Orange, grapefruit, cranberry, in fact, most fruit juices have been most recently found to neutralize the activity of creatine monohydrate. The reason is the waste product creatinine develops. A lot of you put creatine on your tongue and drink it down with grapefruit juice. If you have taken creatine this way in the past, stop it now! You are not getting creatine, you're getting waste product.



damnit, that's exactly how i take creatine. it's funny though because i do feel as if i've had significant gains using it, despite the fact that i dump the creatine in my mouth and chase it w/ white grape juice. maybe on my next on-cycle i'll just drink it w/ water.


thx for the info!!!

Hmm that's how i've always done it too when i was using creatine, and i could definitely see the effects. That's odd, because since the very beginning, creatine has always been paired up with fruitjuices, especially grape juice, and people have always seen gains... why else would it become so popular.

you seem fairly knowledgable on this subject... have you tried it yourself?

For about 5 years... i even 'OD'ed one time. I was in a loading phase, and for Creatine, i always take more than the recommended amount anyways (at least back then)... so i was loading at twice the normal loading phase amount... and i didn't realize my protein powder also had creatine, which i was taking 4 times a day. One day i went to the gym, and worked out like a maniac, but i couldn't cool down. Went and took a shower that was completely cold, and i still couldn't cool down... then i noticed i had a rash developing on my chest/neck/shoulders... so went to the Urgent Care clinic. They told me it was an allergic reaction to something, so told me to take a couple of anti-histamine, and the rash and itching went away an hour later when i woke up.

I stopped taking creatine years ago though, but it does work if you want to increase your strength and a little size (mostly water retention, though it still looks good).

so after you stopped using it, did you end up loosing muscle mass? (from the people that were telling me that i shouldn't take it, they say as soon as you stop taking it daily, you start to loose mass right away)

 

[Looney]

You lose the water retention you had from Creatine... which on me looked better, because i looked more ripped.

 

[StageLeft]

For all intents and purposes creatine has no known side effects. Some complain of cramping and things like that but I think that's overblown. I have some new magazine (fitness rx for men I think) and it said that still there are no negative side effects from creatine. Long term studies (like 20 years!) haven't happened, but people have been taking the stuff for years.

I've taken it three times. The first time my gains were awesome - way better than without creatine. The next two times they were very limited, but I think much of that is because I'd not waited too long between those times and the first (I think 6 months or so in between). I've not taken it in several years though and am thinking about it again.

Problem with creatine though I have found, and others will agree, is that some of the gains you make will go away once your body cleans out the excess creatine. It's good then to pump you up for a summer but unless you want to take it forever you will likely lose some of your gains once you stop it.

 

[StageLeft]

In regards to loading some study I read about mentioned that although loading does jack your levels up quickly ultimately you'll have the same creatine levels whether you load or don't. However given how damn cheap thsi stuff is now (good 1000 grams for $26 for instance), I'd just load it to be on the safe side.

The gains I had the first time at a starting bodyweight of about 184 and having been working out for a couple of years at the time...
- I gained about 1 pound of weight a day for 12 days. 12 days later I was a crazy 12 pounds heavier (I know it's not muscle!)
- I put 40 pounds on my bench press in 40 days

I took the stuff for about 6 weeks the first time. I know those numbers seem convenient but I really did put on about 12 pounds in 12 days and then my weight stayed the same. Then my bench press kept flying up for a total of around 40 days and I took my max from a little over 200 to 40 pounds more. My weight training program at the time consisted of splitting my body into 3 and each body part was worked every 5 days (2 on, 1 off, 1 on, 1 off). I was eating like a silly fool with a whack of protein all the time and a big weight gainer after each workout. Plus I was getting about 10 hours sleep and the biggest stressor in my life was whether it was sunny enough outside to tan. It was summer after first year university so working out was all I did. Worked out and rested. Still I am confident that I could not have made those gains without creatine.

I had basically an awesome diet along with a good workout plan and a crapload of rest so combining that with creatine made me blow up (at least for my body type). When I went back to university some girl told her friend she thought I was on steroids. I was no monster, but still that was a really nice compliment (though she thought it was an insult!).

 

[jteef]

Originally posted by: Zrom999
Heres what I heard from a bunch of losers that sat behind me in class when I was in college:

"Creatine?! If you take that [stuff] you'll be [using the toilet] all week."

That happened with me for about the first week while I was using it. It seemed every 30 or 45 minutes I was taking a leak.

 

[Spamela]

i've taken it on & off for a few years.

some people get muscle cramps, others get indigestion/bloating/terminal flatulence. you might be able to alleviate the intestinal problems by taking less.

it had the most notable impact on my situps - i zoomed from 2 to 4 sets of 60 reps on a decline board in no time. now the impact is much less, but i still take it.