Creatine

It is a naturally occuring substance that has to be used propely. It is a legal way to increase performace and gain weight. It helps in muscle recovery and if abused it can cause liver problems.
You need informed advice as to how much, when to take it and how to take it.

I use it every day post-workout, but I also take more than 1.5x my bodyweight in grams of protein and I drink about 1/2 gallon of water daily. Since I started doing all these things as well as taking a vitamin, I have put on 20 lbs. of mass since early October. I'm assuming it was nearly all muscle because I have become much faster, I can throw harder, and my numbers in the weight room have gone up. I can't give an exact number for % lean mass gained because I don't have calipers. The point I'm getting at is that creatine will help if you are doing everything else right, the best analogy for supplements that I can think of is that they are only icing on the cake. Make sure you make a solid cake before making a supplementation program.

I use creatine.

After a workout,I mix it with whey protien.

2 scoops of whey,1 scoop of creatine,milk,banana.I have put on about 15 pounds since the beginning of August.Im running and throwing better.

Just make sure to have a simple diet,or supplements wont help you.

Lot of people, especially teenagers, have questions on using Creatine. Here are some frequently asked questions and info:

*Please note--I do not recommend use of Creatine by anyone under the age of 18. As with all supplements, there may be some health risks that are the responibility of the user. Do your research before you decide to take a supplement!

Creatine is an amino acid (amino acids are the building blocks of protein) which is made in the body by the liver and kidneys, and is derived from the diet through meat and animal products. Creatine (usually in the form of creatine monohydrate) is a supplement taken to enhance strength training performance. Creatine Monohydrate is a white, odorless crystalline powder, clear and colorless in solution.


Creatine is a supplement that serves as an energy reserve in muscle cells. Muscular contraction is powered by the breakdown of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to ADP (adenosine diphosphate). When all the ATP is broken down, creatine phosphate in the muscle donates a phosphate group to ADP, and further energy reactions can occur. Creatine monohydrate is a precursor to creatine phosphate. By supplementing with CM, CP levels in muscle apparently
are maximized, and more muscular work can occur, since there are
greater energy reserves to use.

Many people report increasing their lean muscle mass while using CM, though gains seem to stop after a certain point.

Some people report symptoms including headaches, clenched
teeth, and the sound of blood rushing in their ears while using CM.
Creatines effects on blood pressure are an open question. Since it
has the effect of fluid retention in muscle, it might increase blood
pressure in the same way high sodium levels do, but this has not been
established or refuted.

In addition to this, one other symptom reported is stomach and muscle cramps. Reducing the intake of creatine can lead to a reduction in severity of the cramps. The cramping is usually a result of dehydration caused by creatine intake. If using creatine, you should drink PLENTY of water.

Scientific evidence supporting creatine is there, but while some very good results have been reported in strength increases, others have reported no significant gains while taking the supplement. Like all supplements, supplementing creatine is useless if your body already has enough of it. Further supplementation is then not needed and just a waste of money. If however, you do not have the optimal levels of creatine in your muscle cells, then supplementation can enhance your training. Some people get minimal or no effect from creatine. This is due to their already high creatine levels due to dietary intake or the efficiency/inefficiency that they produce ATP. If you take creatine monohydrate and don't notice any results in about 2 weeks it's a good bet that you're one of these people.

Once strength gains plateau, your muscle cells are be saturated with creatine and since the body loses about 1-2% creatine a day you should be able to get away with cycling on and off creatine to lengthen your results. Once you stop creatine supplementation and your body clears it 100% (about 2 month process) you'll probably be back at your old strength and muscle mass levels.

Parts of this post are copyrighted by Paul Moses.

Upstate hit it on the head.

It can be a good supplement, but ONLY when you combine it with proper nutrition and strength & conditioning program.

Used without the above will produce very little & just be a waste of time.

As with any nutritional supplement, check with your doctor first.

I have read several reports on Creatine and it is pretty much as MAXXs post says.
My son has gained 15lbs sinc Freshman year and thye coach wants him bigger. He is just starting to take CM and I researched the stuff because of this.
You also have to watch because some companies are mixing Roids with it but that is indicated on the container.
I am looking forward to seeing what results taking creatine will have on my son.

To avoid having legal supplements mixed with trace AAS, just invest in a brand that is sponsored by a sport that has an effective drug testing system. For example, I'm pretty sure the NFL and EAS have an agreement going because it is garanteed that there will be nothing in any EAS supplement containing any banned substance. EAS supplements aren't that great when compared to other brands, but I think the safety outweighs going for a better, but riskier brand.

Maxx, I'm glad you pointed out responsibilty. There are many legislators from around the US who want to pull sports nutrition supplements off of the market without knowing the first thing about amino acids. Do not feed the fire by doing something stupid, as everyone else will suffer.

On a final note: DO NOT BUY CELL TECH OR ANY OTHER MUCSLETECH PRODUCT!

There are 2 things to consider when deciding to use a particular supplement product or a particular supplement company:

One, nutritional supplements are not regulated or tested by the by the FDA, unless there is some issue with a product that requires their involvement. You can make a supplement in your garage, stick some fertilizer and motor oil in it and sell it.

Two, be careful of stats from any type of scientific study. Studies and stats from a study are easily manipulated. For example, the researcher can manipulate the study so that the desired results are achieved. For example, they may use people in their study that do not represent the ENTIRE population. Also, a company could claim that their product works in 75% of users, but if the company only tested 4 people, and it worked for 3, those results may not be very reliable since it was tested in such a small group of users.

REMEMBER: Supplement companies only care about one thing, and it's not necessarily your health. It's your MONEY!

I agree with MAXX.
My son arrived on campus a solid but very lanky 190. My son has trouble gaining and maintaining weight after long workouts and all of the running he does. He burns it as fast as he puts it on. In two years he gained 10 pounds (muscle). He is still growing.
Since august he has been on a corrected balanced diet to gain muscle which also consists of protein shakes, bars also. He also eats several times a day, and shake before he goes to bed. He has gained 6 pounds and kept it on since august.
The combination of eating the right combination of foods, shakes, how many times to consume and when to consume has helped him more than the creatine he took for awhile.
I do not suggest that anyone consume creatine while they are young and still growing. There are other ways to "get bigger".
He has a achieved this by way of a trainer (former team mate) who has been working with him.

Also suggest if consumming creatine, blood pressure should be taken often. You need to drink a lot of water, and most don't.

Creatine is the most studied supplement besides gatorade. It's cleary safe to use and is not harmful to the kidneys, unless a pre-existing kidney conditions exists.

With that said it's still a supplement and should only be used as such.

Supplement companies do not mix creatine with roids and put that on the label. This is obviously illegal.

Certain companies have been accused of putting illegal substances in their first run of products so word of mouth advertising is great. Therefore they sell a great deal of product and by the time anyone tests the product the illegal substances are no longer included.

The supplement businees is just like any other business. There are ethical and knowledgable companies who put the consumer first. And there are unethical companies who lie and rip off consumers.

Every industry is this way, the supplement industry has just received a great deal of negative press recently. Some was deserved, but most was written by reporters who have no clue about health, nutrition and supplementation.

This is a little bit off topic but...

UpstateNY... is there a reason that we shouldn't buy muscletech products?

I personally have never bought a product from them (too expensive!), but it sounded like you were pretty convinced about the brand...

Please let me know your thoughts...

Gig 'em aggies!

B-Rod

brod, I'd be glad to let you know. You said part of it, they are too expensive. If anyone wants to make their own homemade "celltech" without all the extra dextrose and for about half the cost for double the size, I can PM you a link. Another reason is because their marketing is based almost entirely on lies (not that I'm defending the reputation of other companies, I realize this is a business), but I remember that the first muscle-tech ad I saw in a bodybuilding magazine stated (do not quote me exactly) that their products allow better gains than steroids and are much safer. Being 13, I went right ahead and blew $50 on nitro tech and their fancy ionized protein transfer system (BS). The only thing I got out of it was gas and about 2 lbs. Now that I know better I know that the BB'ers in their ads are all steroid users, some are abusers, so the gains they got were partly because of drugs. I personally am against having anabolic compounds being illegal drugs, but for the drug free athlete who wants to stay that way, I see their advertising methods as false advertising and highly unethical. Also, if they put half as much money in advertising and marketing and put a little time into research, then maybe they could develop a quality creatine or protein product. Their weight loss supplement (can't remember the name), was actually pretty good when it used ephedra, caffeine, and aspirin, also known as the ECA stack, but now that ephedra is illegal even their weight loss supplements are total garbage. The bottom line is that muscletech is great at advertising, but terrible at putting quality products on the market.

I am honestly not biased toward any one supplement company or brand, I just cannot stand muscletech because in the end, I probably blew about $150 to $200 on their products for creatine and protein. After writing all of this, I'm not going to sit here and praise a different company either. I personally use a GNC vitamin, Optimum Nutrition's protein powder, and EAS's creatine. The only thing these have in common are that they are cheap, and since my diet is in check I know these will work for me. The only change I would make is that I would used micronized, or German creatine instead of the traditional version, but other than that I am pleased with my supplementation program. If you want more info on supplements, Jsorb is the person to ask, he probably has the answer because he is much better with his diet and supplementation than I am.