What are your thoughts on creatine?

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: hungfarover
The only thing I didn't like about it when I was training regularly was the bloat factor. It seemed to really help combat exactly the problem you're having: rather than crap out on the 3rd heavy set I could power through it.

Drink tons of water.

When you say 'the bloat factor', are you referring to the additional water retained in muscles, or do you feel and look bloated/gassy?

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: Spamela
it doesn't increase your strength - it basically allows you to do more reps
which in turn leads to strength increases.

I'm sorry, that's what I meant to say.
You build strength by being able to lift for longer duration.

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: Safeway

Originally posted by: hungfarover
The only thing I didn't like about it when I was training regularly was the bloat factor. It seemed to really help combat exactly the problem you're having: rather than crap out on the 3rd heavy set I could power through it.

Drink tons of water.

When you say 'the bloat factor', are you referring to the additional water retained in muscles, or do you feel and look bloated/gassy?

Please answer ATOT!

 

[CalvinHobbs]

can anybody comment more on the rest period between reps and sets??? if you're trying to gain muscle mass

 

[mrkun]

Originally posted by: CalvinHobbs
can anybody comment more on the rest period between reps and sets??? if you're trying to gain muscle mass

I believe 45-90 second rest periods is what's usually recommended.

As always, use http://www.exrx.net/ for fitness information (especially their forums).

 

[mrkun]

Originally posted by: psteng19

My workout... I used to do lots of isolation exercises almost daily but now I've switched over to more compound exercises 3-4x a week, usually 3 sets of 8 reps, or if I can't finish the last set, it would be to failure.

(Monday) chest/triceps:
flat/incline/decline bench
dumbbell bench flat/incline
skullcrusher
cable tricep extension?
dips

(Tues/Fri) legs:
squats on Smith
deadlifts
seated calf raises
leg extensions
leg curls
more leg extensions on sled machine

(Wed) bi's/back/shoulders:
pull ups
seated rows (cable)
lat pull downs
shoulder shrugs
shoulder upright row
overhead shoulder press

Thu/Sun rest, Sat sometimes

Umm, let's see, you have 9 tricep exercises, 8 quad exercises, 7 anterior delt exercises, 6 chest exercises, 5 bicep exercises, and 5 general back exercises per week. You don't think you might be overtraining?

Where to start? First, take a week or two off to allow your body to recover. Then you want to dump some of these exercises. Doing lots of reps doesn't make muscles grow, it's the recovery period in which they do. You should also do a periodized program in which you switch between hypertrophy and strength phases. For example, you could have a 3-week strength phase, followed by 3-week hypertrophy phase; since you're more interested in hypertrophy I believe, you could do a 4-week/2-week period. The strength phase is generally in the 3-6 rep range with roughly 3 minutes rest between sets. The hypertrophy range is generally 8-12 reps with 60-90 seconds rest. It might be a good idea to do different lifts depending on phase as well. Additionally, it might be a good idea to split up your muscular sets, i.e. do one half the back set on Monday, then the other half on Friday, or something along those lines.

Upper body, push

I would do just two compound exercises per week, preferably on different days, with no isolation work in strength phase. You could then do a single tricep isolation exercise once per week.

So you could do flat/decline bench (they work the same set of muscles) on one day, then incline bench/shoulder press/military press another. You could then alternate between bar and dumb bells each week. Do tricep isolation on a different day.

Upper body, pull

Here again, two compound lifts per week on different days. I like upright rows because its the only lift that works both the suprasinatus and infraspinatus. And then do alternate weeks on bent-over rows/cable rows/pull ups. Do one bicep isolation (curls) per week in the hypertrophy phase.

Lower body

I would do squats one day per week, then deadlifts on another day. You can do leg curls once or twice per week, even during the strength phase. Also, you should be doing weighted crunches (same way you'd work every other muscle) to match the work from your spinal erectors.

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

Remember to tell your doctor of any and all supplements you currently take as they can affect your lab results. Creatine supplements can cause your creatinine levels to rise.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: Safeway

Originally posted by: Safeway

Originally posted by: hungfarover
The only thing I didn't like about it when I was training regularly was the bloat factor. It seemed to really help combat exactly the problem you're having: rather than crap out on the 3rd heavy set I could power through it.

Drink tons of water.

When you say 'the bloat factor', are you referring to the additional water retained in muscles, or do you feel and look bloated/gassy?

Please answer ATOT!

Creatine is not supposed to cause bloating. The water retention occurs inside the muscle, not under the skin, which is what people are normally talking about when they speak of bloating and water retention.

Having said that, there are a number of people on the bodybuilding forums I frequent who complain about bloating while using creatine. I personally have never experienced this.

 

[wheresmybacon]

Originally posted by: Safeway

Originally posted by: hungfarover
The only thing I didn't like about it when I was training regularly was the bloat factor. It seemed to really help combat exactly the problem you're having: rather than crap out on the 3rd heavy set I could power through it.

Drink tons of water.

When you say 'the bloat factor', are you referring to the additional water retained in muscles, or do you feel and look bloated/gassy?

yes and yes, although the latter could also be blamed on all the powdered protein I was taking in. ymmv



edit: type-o

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: Safeway

Originally posted by: Safeway

Originally posted by: hungfarover
The only thing I didn't like about it when I was training regularly was the bloat factor. It seemed to really help combat exactly the problem you're having: rather than crap out on the 3rd heavy set I could power through it.

Drink tons of water.

When you say 'the bloat factor', are you referring to the additional water retained in muscles, or do you feel and look bloated/gassy?

Please answer ATOT!

I don't know about creatine, but the protein shakes are definitely making me gassy.

 

[jiggahertz]

Originally posted by: mrkun

Originally posted by: psteng19

My workout... I used to do lots of isolation exercises almost daily but now I've switched over to more compound exercises 3-4x a week, usually 3 sets of 8 reps, or if I can't finish the last set, it would be to failure.

(Monday) chest/triceps:
flat/incline/decline bench
dumbbell bench flat/incline
skullcrusher
cable tricep extension?
dips

(Tues/Fri) legs:
squats on Smith
deadlifts
seated calf raises
leg extensions
leg curls
more leg extensions on sled machine

(Wed) bi's/back/shoulders:
pull ups
seated rows (cable)
lat pull downs
shoulder shrugs
shoulder upright row
overhead shoulder press

Thu/Sun rest, Sat sometimes

Umm, let's see, you have 9 tricep exercises, 8 quad exercises, 7 anterior delt exercises, 6 chest exercises, 5 bicep exercises, and 5 general back exercises per week. You don't think you might be overtraining?

Where to start? First, take a week or two off to allow your body to recover. Then you want to dump some of these exercises. Doing lots of reps doesn't make muscles grow, it's the recovery period in which they do. You should also do a periodized program in which you switch between hypertrophy and strength phases. For example, you could have a 3-week strength phase, followed by 3-week hypertrophy phase; since you're more interested in hypertrophy I believe, you could do a 4-week/2-week period. The strength phase is generally in the 3-6 rep range with roughly 3 minutes rest between sets. The hypertrophy range is generally 8-12 reps with 60-90 seconds rest. It might be a good idea to do different lifts depending on phase as well. Additionally, it might be a good idea to split up your muscular sets, i.e. do one half the back set on Monday, then the other half on Friday, or something along those lines.

Upper body, push

I would do just two compound exercises per week, preferably on different days, with no isolation work in strength phase. You could then do a single tricep isolation exercise once per week.

So you could do flat/decline bench (they work the same set of muscles) on one day, then incline bench/shoulder press/military press another. You could then alternate between bar and dumb bells each week. Do tricep isolation on a different day.

Upper body, pull

Here again, two compound lifts per week on different days. I like upright rows because its the only lift that works both the suprasinatus and infraspinatus. And then do alternate weeks on bent-over rows/cable rows/pull ups. Do one bicep isolation (curls) per week in the hypertrophy phase.

Lower body

I would do squats one day per week, then deadlifts on another day. You can do leg curls once or twice per week, even during the strength phase. Also, you should be doing weighted crunches (same way you'd work every other muscle) to match the work from your spinal erectors.

I agree with mrkun. You're doing 24 sets on your chest/tricep day. If you're going anywhere close to failure on these you're not going to have anything left for most of it. You are doing redundant movements. There is no need to do both bb and db bench on the same day. The same is true for your other days.

There's nothing wrong with taking creatine, but IMO since you are fairly new to everything you should still be able to see gains without it by training and eating properly. I think your rep range is ok. I usually go 6-8 reps for strength/hypertophy.

Also, do back squats not squats on the smith.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: hungfarover

Originally posted by: Safeway

Originally posted by: hungfarover
The only thing I didn't like about it when I was training regularly was the bloat factor. It seemed to really help combat exactly the problem you're having: rather than crap out on the 3rd heavy set I could power through it.

Drink tons of water.

When you say 'the bloat factor', are you referring to the additional water retained in muscles, or do you feel and look bloated/gassy?

yes and yes, although the latter could also be blamed on all the powdered protein I was taking in. ymmv



edit: type-o

I've found that depends on the brand. I was using Designer Whey and felt the same thing, switching to ON 100% Whey solved the problem. I haven't experienced it since even when using creatine.

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: jiggahertz

Originally posted by: mrkun
Umm, let's see, you have 9 tricep exercises, 8 quad exercises, 7 anterior delt exercises, 6 chest exercises, 5 bicep exercises, and 5 general back exercises per week. You don't think you might be overtraining?

Where to start? First, take a week or two off to allow your body to recover. Then you want to dump some of these exercises. Doing lots of reps doesn't make muscles grow, it's the recovery period in which they do. You should also do a periodized program in which you switch between hypertrophy and strength phases. For example, you could have a 3-week strength phase, followed by 3-week hypertrophy phase; since you're more interested in hypertrophy I believe, you could do a 4-week/2-week period. The strength phase is generally in the 3-6 rep range with roughly 3 minutes rest between sets. The hypertrophy range is generally 8-12 reps with 60-90 seconds rest. It might be a good idea to do different lifts depending on phase as well. Additionally, it might be a good idea to split up your muscular sets, i.e. do one half the back set on Monday, then the other half on Friday, or something along those lines.

Upper body, push

I would do just two compound exercises per week, preferably on different days, with no isolation work in strength phase. You could then do a single tricep isolation exercise once per week.

So you could do flat/decline bench (they work the same set of muscles) on one day, then incline bench/shoulder press/military press another. You could then alternate between bar and dumb bells each week. Do tricep isolation on a different day.

Upper body, pull

Here again, two compound lifts per week on different days. I like upright rows because its the only lift that works both the suprasinatus and infraspinatus. And then do alternate weeks on bent-over rows/cable rows/pull ups. Do one bicep isolation (curls) per week in the hypertrophy phase.

Lower body

I would do squats one day per week, then deadlifts on another day. You can do leg curls once or twice per week, even during the strength phase. Also, you should be doing weighted crunches (same way you'd work every other muscle) to match the work from your spinal erectors.

I agree with mrkun. You're doing 24 sets on your chest/tricep day. If you're going anywhere close to failure on these you're not going to have anything left for most of it. You are doing redundant movements. There is no need to do both bb and db bench on the same day. The same is true for your other days.

There's nothing wrong with taking creatine, but IMO since you are fairly new to everything you should still be able to see gains without it by training and eating properly. I think your rep range is ok. I usually go 6-8 reps for strength/hypertophy.

Also, do back squats not squats on the smith.

I thought I wasn't doing enough, lol.
OK, so I'll alternate dumbell and barbell benches, up the weights and drop the reps, then alternate to hypertrophy and take some creatine.

 

[mrkun]

Originally posted by: psteng19

Originally posted by: jiggahertz

Originally posted by: mrkun
Umm, let's see, you have 9 tricep exercises, 8 quad exercises, 7 anterior delt exercises, 6 chest exercises, 5 bicep exercises, and 5 general back exercises per week. You don't think you might be overtraining?

Where to start? First, take a week or two off to allow your body to recover. Then you want to dump some of these exercises. Doing lots of reps doesn't make muscles grow, it's the recovery period in which they do. You should also do a periodized program in which you switch between hypertrophy and strength phases. For example, you could have a 3-week strength phase, followed by 3-week hypertrophy phase; since you're more interested in hypertrophy I believe, you could do a 4-week/2-week period. The strength phase is generally in the 3-6 rep range with roughly 3 minutes rest between sets. The hypertrophy range is generally 8-12 reps with 60-90 seconds rest. It might be a good idea to do different lifts depending on phase as well. Additionally, it might be a good idea to split up your muscular sets, i.e. do one half the back set on Monday, then the other half on Friday, or something along those lines.

Upper body, push

I would do just two compound exercises per week, preferably on different days, with no isolation work in strength phase. You could then do a single tricep isolation exercise once per week.

So you could do flat/decline bench (they work the same set of muscles) on one day, then incline bench/shoulder press/military press another. You could then alternate between bar and dumb bells each week. Do tricep isolation on a different day.

Upper body, pull

Here again, two compound lifts per week on different days. I like upright rows because its the only lift that works both the suprasinatus and infraspinatus. And then do alternate weeks on bent-over rows/cable rows/pull ups. Do one bicep isolation (curls) per week in the hypertrophy phase.

Lower body

I would do squats one day per week, then deadlifts on another day. You can do leg curls once or twice per week, even during the strength phase. Also, you should be doing weighted crunches (same way you'd work every other muscle) to match the work from your spinal erectors.

I agree with mrkun. You're doing 24 sets on your chest/tricep day. If you're going anywhere close to failure on these you're not going to have anything left for most of it. You are doing redundant movements. There is no need to do both bb and db bench on the same day. The same is true for your other days.

There's nothing wrong with taking creatine, but IMO since you are fairly new to everything you should still be able to see gains without it by training and eating properly. I think your rep range is ok. I usually go 6-8 reps for strength/hypertophy.

Also, do back squats not squats on the smith.

I thought I wasn't doing enough, lol.
OK, so I'll alternate dumbell and barbell benches, up the weights and drop the reps, then alternate to hypertrophy and take some creatine.

Like I said, just lifting weights a bunch of times doesn't actually make your muscles grow, but allowing your muscles sufficient time to recover that does it.

 

[AlucardX]

pretty much everyone is spot on. most of the time, less is more with weight lifting once you get going.

you're doing way too much for your exercises and are being overloaded.

in addition, don't forget light cardio in the beginning to warm up, 5min on the bike or treadmill should suffice. however no cardio once you weight train. also, you want to be stretching in between sets and in between different exercises.

i recommend also checking out bodybuilder.com for different exercise ideas to vary it, and freetrainers.com can be of some assistance to get you on some sort of regiment.

i also need to get on creatine, i've tried the shakes and always drink plenty of water but i haven't seen hardly any gains in a long time.. even after mixing the exercises up.

 

[mrkun]

Originally posted by: AlucardX

i also need to get on creatine, i've tried the shakes and always drink plenty of water but i haven't seen hardly any gains in a long time.. even after mixing the exercises up.

Make sure your diet is in check first.

 

[Descartes]

I've used various forms of creatine over time, and most recently I was using BSN's CellMass. I used it for about 6 months and then stopped. I honestly can't tell any difference. I'm still gaining without it, my recovery seems to be very much the same, and my strength and stamina are the same.

So, I conclude that I have had no benefit of creatine. I suspect that it's a placebo for many, but there are a lot of studies behind it. If it works for you (whether in your mind or not), then go for it.