Athletic Recovery

idk, my son is 16 and I am not having him take creatine.  No reason too.  He works out hard, not that as long as your son, also not in a sport besides baseball right now.  He does go to bed early when he's tired or when he has to get up in the morning.  He should be drinking 1/2 his body weight in OZ of water every day.  Stay away from processed food including sugar.  My son has put on 15 lbs of muscle in the last 10 mos or so and hasn't skipped a beat.  Eats super healthy and drinks water and or milk.  No processed foods at all.  His commitment to eating healthy has us all eating healthy and feeling better

I also just read multi vitamins aren't good for you either.  Bad for your liver (unless you aren't getting the right amount throughout your day.

I turned off the Wi-Fi when I went to bed and it ultimately helped with my son's sleep schedule and recovery.

Just curious, how’d your son find out about creatine?  Idk, I’d be nervous having my son take it.  Maybe once they are in their 20s.  Not sure it’s good for kids to take.  

Good question Dadof3. My understanding is that creatine is not appropriate for that age. Was wondering if advice was given by a pediatrician.

Regarding creatine we researched it and spoke to his pediatrician at his last physical and she had no problem with it.  He does take a specific type and dose. She just said to watch his water intake.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5469049/

International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine

• Creatine monohydrate is the most effective ergogenic nutritional supplement currently available to athletes with the intent of increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass during training.

• Creatine monohydrate supplementation is not only safe, but has been reported to have a number of therapeutic benefits in healthy and diseased populations ranging from infants to the elderly. There is no compelling scientific evidence that the short- or long-term use of creatine monohydrate (up to 30 g/day for 5 years) has any detrimental effects on otherwise healthy individuals or among clinical populations who may benefit from creatine supplementation.

• If proper precautions and supervision are provided, creatine monohydrate supplementation in children and adolescent athletes is acceptable and may provide a nutritional alternative with a favorable safety profile to potentially dangerous anabolic androgenic drugs. However, we recommend that creatine supplementation only be considered for use by younger athletes who: a.) are involved in serious/competitive supervised training; b.) are consuming a well-balanced and performance enhancing diet; c.) are knowledgeable about appropriate use of creatine; and d.) do not exceed recommended dosages.

• Label advisories on creatine products that caution against usage by those under 18 years old, while perhaps intended to insulate their manufacturers from legal liability, are likely unnecessary given the science supporting creatine’s safety, including in children and adolescents.

Creatine is one of the most studied supplements there is. It's likely beneficial for teenagers to the elderly; athlete or not. Anecdotal but I've consistently taken it for 20+ years.

Multivitamins, unless you're deficient in something are usually a waste of money. Even if you are deficient in something you're better off taking what you need vs. a multivitamin. Easy to track if you regularly get bloodwork done.

Pediatricians like most general physicians have very limited knowledge when it comes to nutrition. For example if your teenage son does strength training, and puts on muscle they will likely have an elevated BMI (outdated metric) which your pediatrician will warn you against. While I'm not saying don't listen to your doctor, speaking with a nutritionist is likely beneficial.

@Dadof3 posted:

idk, my son is 16 and I am not having him take creatine.  No reason too.  He works out hard, not that as long as your son, also not in a sport besides baseball right now.  He does go to bed early when he's tired or when he has to get up in the morning.  He should be drinking 1/2 his body weight in OZ of water every day.  Stay away from processed food including sugar.  My son has put on 15 lbs of muscle in the last 10 mos or so and hasn't skipped a beat.  Eats super healthy and drinks water and or milk.  No processed foods at all.  His commitment to eating healthy has us all eating healthy and feeling better

Is he drinking raw milk? If not it's processed.

@nycdad posted:

Is he drinking raw milk? If not it's processed.

Sorry, I should have been more specific, he isn’t eating ultra processed foods, I just assumed most people knew what I meant.

If your player is serious about playing baseball in college, I think getting professionally evaluated and paying a few hundred bucks for a custom program is worthwhile.  The plan will include recovery days.   My son told me that because everyone is so different, customs are the only way to go.  I know it can be a little expensive up front, but it might help down the line to prevent an overuse injury.

Is this not perfectly normal? I would imagine training hard 3 hours a day 6 days a week is going to be taxing for anybody. Especially if it's a new sport and it's not routine at this point.

Just use that off day to recover, hydrate properly, and rest. The only sport I know where training is going to be that difficult that often is wrestling. Being uncomfortable and constantly pushing yourself if the entire premise of that sport.