Ok, I am out of high school now and I am finding it increasingly difficult to find time to exercise. I used to be in XC and wrestling so I was very fit. However, I have noticed a loss in my muscle tone and I want to try and build it back up. I've been doing some upper body work in my dorm room. I've been going at it for about a month and I've noticed that I've built my chest areas back up a little, but everything else is still progressing very slowly. I was wondering if anyone out there has tried creatine. I've heard that it works pretty good and quickly. The only thing I'm worried about is the weight gain thing. A friend told me he gained 15lbs while he was on it. I have a very small frame and I'm worried about that. Anyways does anyone have any personal results from it that they could share?
Thinking about taking Creatine: Anyone out there have any experience with it?
- Thread starter Mears
- Start date
it dehtdrates you like no tomorrow. You will cramp up severely too, I tired it out for a month and it screwed me up, don't try it. But that is my opinion, and this is about your well-being
I tried this supplement (loading phase + about 6 months everyday use) to build some upper body strenghth because I was running almost exclusively. I am also over 40, so this might not be applicable to you.
I found that reported weight gain is mostly retention of water. And you will need to drink alot of water to keep from cramping. It seemed like I was making strength gains faster than normal weight training, but that could have been the psychogical effect of supplementing.
Cutting to the chase, my overall conclusion is that any gains are negligible, but it will puff up the muscle while you take it (if you are looking for the vanity effect). Almost all of the strenght gain will be lost after you stop the supplement. I found no side effects at all, except for the minor cramping from dehydration (my fault).
I am speaking of Creatine Monohydrate, not Androstenedione or any of the other questionable supplements taken by athletes.
I found that reported weight gain is mostly retention of water. And you will need to drink alot of water to keep from cramping. It seemed like I was making strength gains faster than normal weight training, but that could have been the psychogical effect of supplementing.
Cutting to the chase, my overall conclusion is that any gains are negligible, but it will puff up the muscle while you take it (if you are looking for the vanity effect). Almost all of the strenght gain will be lost after you stop the supplement. I found no side effects at all, except for the minor cramping from dehydration (my fault).
I am speaking of Creatine Monohydrate, not Androstenedione or any of the other questionable supplements taken by athletes.
There are no long term studies of the efficacy and safety of creatine. Furthermore, the FDA does not regulate creatine. You have no way of knowing if what you get is pure creatine, or bleached dog sh*t.
Since creatine sucks H2O into the muscle cells, proper hydration is paramount. Many of the incidents in the literature are related to failure to drink enough fluids and combining creatine with ephedrine, ma huang, and other stimulants in excessive amounts. Body builders, wrestlers, and football players are the biggest abusers. Often they will ingest 4 to 8 times the recommended dosage, which itself is suspect. (There is no known safe dosage.)
The incidents cited by FettsBabe may or may not actually be related to creatine. Often no certain diagnosis can be made because the athlete will usually not tell the doctor the truth. "Uh, no doc, I didn't take any steroids, or ma haung, just that creatine," when in fact the guy has a 55 inch chest, 20 inch arms, and is 5' 6" tall. Jocks will do almost anything to be stronger, faster, or look better. Stacks, like ephedrine, caffeine, and creatine, for instance, are very popular. They all dehydrate you. I know a lot of swimmers and quite a few of them take creatine, but quite a few of them end up with bad cramps towards the end of workouts because they forget to hydrate. Nice way to blow out a kidney, or have a stroke or heart attack.
If you want to be fit, do situps, pushups, pullups, and run 30 minutes a day. Get to the weights when you can. Join an intramural soccer team, or some similar sport. Focusing on HOW you look is a big mistake, in my not so humble opinion. Focus on how well your body WORKS. Adding creatine to your diet MIGHT make you stronger and buffer, but so what? It MIGHT also make you very sick. Why take the chance? Unless you are a competitive athlete who is heavily focused on winning at almost any cost, why bother?
As an anecdotal aside, my son who is 6'5" tall and about 250 lbs took creatine while lifting weights for about a year. He was and still is pretty strong, but he got awefully strong two years ago. Buoyed by his buff bod he decided to take on a competitive body builder who is about 300 lbs. in an arm wrestling match. He had almost pinned the guy's arm when his arm snapped, giving him a spiral break of the radius. Very painful and expensive to fix. He now has a steel plate in his right arm. Fortunately, he's left handed. Unfortunately, he may not pass the Marine Corps Flight School physical because of it. All because he over did it.
If you decide to take creatine, do it after you've lifted and stopped making gains. Then take small amounts and not with any stimulants. You'll make a few more gains and should be happy with your "look". German creatine is the best. Write to the companies and ask for their assay sheets. The German stuff is very good because the Germans take a lot of pride in producing safe products and they would really get their corporate hides nailed if the product were defective. You'll pay more for German creatine, but it's worth it. (I buy German wine for the same reason.) Some of the Chinese and American stuff is very unreliable. By the way, my information is about 1 year old, so you might want to do a web search to find out what today's creatine issues are.
Anyway, most girls don't like the "froggy" look in men. Having a great sense of humor and a brain will do more for your love life. Just my farthing's worth.
Since creatine sucks H2O into the muscle cells, proper hydration is paramount. Many of the incidents in the literature are related to failure to drink enough fluids and combining creatine with ephedrine, ma huang, and other stimulants in excessive amounts. Body builders, wrestlers, and football players are the biggest abusers. Often they will ingest 4 to 8 times the recommended dosage, which itself is suspect. (There is no known safe dosage.)
The incidents cited by FettsBabe may or may not actually be related to creatine. Often no certain diagnosis can be made because the athlete will usually not tell the doctor the truth. "Uh, no doc, I didn't take any steroids, or ma haung, just that creatine," when in fact the guy has a 55 inch chest, 20 inch arms, and is 5' 6" tall. Jocks will do almost anything to be stronger, faster, or look better. Stacks, like ephedrine, caffeine, and creatine, for instance, are very popular. They all dehydrate you. I know a lot of swimmers and quite a few of them take creatine, but quite a few of them end up with bad cramps towards the end of workouts because they forget to hydrate. Nice way to blow out a kidney, or have a stroke or heart attack.
If you want to be fit, do situps, pushups, pullups, and run 30 minutes a day. Get to the weights when you can. Join an intramural soccer team, or some similar sport. Focusing on HOW you look is a big mistake, in my not so humble opinion. Focus on how well your body WORKS. Adding creatine to your diet MIGHT make you stronger and buffer, but so what? It MIGHT also make you very sick. Why take the chance? Unless you are a competitive athlete who is heavily focused on winning at almost any cost, why bother?
As an anecdotal aside, my son who is 6'5" tall and about 250 lbs took creatine while lifting weights for about a year. He was and still is pretty strong, but he got awefully strong two years ago. Buoyed by his buff bod he decided to take on a competitive body builder who is about 300 lbs. in an arm wrestling match. He had almost pinned the guy's arm when his arm snapped, giving him a spiral break of the radius. Very painful and expensive to fix. He now has a steel plate in his right arm. Fortunately, he's left handed. Unfortunately, he may not pass the Marine Corps Flight School physical because of it. All because he over did it.
If you decide to take creatine, do it after you've lifted and stopped making gains. Then take small amounts and not with any stimulants. You'll make a few more gains and should be happy with your "look". German creatine is the best. Write to the companies and ask for their assay sheets. The German stuff is very good because the Germans take a lot of pride in producing safe products and they would really get their corporate hides nailed if the product were defective. You'll pay more for German creatine, but it's worth it. (I buy German wine for the same reason.) Some of the Chinese and American stuff is very unreliable. By the way, my information is about 1 year old, so you might want to do a web search to find out what today's creatine issues are.
Anyway, most girls don't like the "froggy" look in men. Having a great sense of humor and a brain will do more for your love life. Just my farthing's worth.
Something else. You mentioned XC. When I was in college, during my sport's off season I would train with the XC team. I just went out two to three days a week and ran in the back. I found it a lot of fun, particularly on their easy days. You could do the same. Perhaps the coach wouldn't mind. You might also find your competitive spirit is not buried as deeply as you thought. Maybe you are the next Kip Kieno.
In this day and age, everyone wants something from nothing.
All you hear is commercials with people saying you can lose weight WITHOUT working out. People gobble that up. It just means there's more time to sit on the couch, watch tv, and eat potato chips. And hey, you can just gobble down Olestra even though it'll seep right back out your a$$.
There are 2 keys to being fit. Good diet and exercise. The good diet part isn't even THAT important if you're active. You can look and feel decent by exercise and eat crap. However, you can't eat completely healthy and sit around and expect the same.
Creatine might work for you, it might not. It might mess you up, it might not. Fact of the matter is you still have to put forth some effort to get results. Work hard and eventually it'll be a cake walk just to be in shape. It's not the easiest way. Sitting down and getting fat is very easy, however
All you hear is commercials with people saying you can lose weight WITHOUT working out. People gobble that up. It just means there's more time to sit on the couch, watch tv, and eat potato chips. And hey, you can just gobble down Olestra even though it'll seep right back out your a$$.
There are 2 keys to being fit. Good diet and exercise. The good diet part isn't even THAT important if you're active. You can look and feel decent by exercise and eat crap. However, you can't eat completely healthy and sit around and expect the same.
Creatine might work for you, it might not. It might mess you up, it might not. Fact of the matter is you still have to put forth some effort to get results. Work hard and eventually it'll be a cake walk just to be in shape. It's not the easiest way. Sitting down and getting fat is very easy, however
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