creatine

[Baggen]

Im in need of some info about creatine as i know wery little about it but am considering trying it out at the same time as im ordering protein. I was hoping it could help gaining a few extra kg:s of muscles but im conserned about bi effects and such, only one i know it binds water so you can appear more fat in the face and such?

Friend recently tried it out and felt it worked great for him however im more sceptic at this point and would like to have some other opinions about it.

/baggen

[Titan]

Here's an article on it:

http://www.trulyhuge.com/creatinemonohydrateL14.html

Creatine will force a little bit more fluids into your muscles, giving a good pump and making them a little bit bigger. This is known as cell volumization - leading more water inside the cells, making muscles bigger and firmer. Do not confuse this with water retention that happens outside the muscle cells, making the muscles look smooth. It's not uncommon to gain 6 to 10lbs during the first two weeks. This gain is largely due to the increment of body fluids in the muscles.

In short, it's not going to help you build muscles. Weights and protein will do that. But will Creatine help you work out harder than you normally would? I wish I had an answer. I used to take it long ago, and the one thing I did notice with it compared to my other workouts wasn't anything during my regular sets and repetitions. I didn't feel like I had more energy during these, but when I would push myself towards exhaustion, I'd suddenly get a surge of energy right then, letting me work out harder. I don't know whether or not the Creatine had anything to do with it, but I hadn't experienced it in gym-training without it, so back then, I assumed it was the Creatine. It's the only thing I noticed about it. It makes you wonder, though ... a lot of people take Creatine, so maybe there's something to it, only that some people experience it more quickly and easily than others? Or maybe a difference in brands?

Maybe if everyone wrote down their Creatine-experiences, it'd all sound different. Mine could be summarized as:

- no additional energy to go up in sets or repetitions
- strange surge of energy coming at the point of complete exhaustion

It was about 8 years ago that I took it, so my body could've been different than it it today. I'm today is much more used to pressing myself to exhaustion, and I've gotten similar surges of energy. I think if Creatine had any effect on me, it was very slight and marginal. I'd put that money in more protein, with my experiences from it. But I'm real interested in hearing others experiences now, because so many people use Creatine.

[Baggen]

Thanks, Im leaning towards trying it out, found 2Kg:s of it for 30 euros so probably will trow it in the order just to have the option of trying it out if i feel like it.

[RiceIlari]

some people say that it helps and some people say that they did not see any effect. you should try it for at least few months and then decide. In my part I have not got anything out of creatine or atleast the effect is so small that I can`t see it. Most important thing is to eat lots of protein if you wanna gain muscle 2-2,5g / your fatless weight / day.

[Baggen]

Decideded to try it out so ordered 2kg:s kreatine will be enough to go for the recommended period. Minimum is 4-5 weeks in those instructions ive read and then you should do a holdup for some reason, anyone knows why?

Also restocked on protein 8kg:s should be enough for me for a while.

2-2,5g/kg i assume? so basically i should use one 4kg bag or a little more a month then, my fatless bodyweight should be around 68kg:s and 75 all in all?

[RiceIlari]

2 - 2,5g/fatless kg/day is daily protein need for building muscle. example if your fatless weight is 80 you need 160 - 200 grams of protein per day. that (160 - 200) is overall need. most of that you can get eating right.

most of people that I know (I included) uses creatine about 5g per day and do not take any fueling period (20g/day/1week) for starters. try it about 8-12 weeks then take a few weeks off and then start again.