Creatine and Running

LoneWolfRunner

I am somewhat familiar with benefits of creatine and weight training and have started taking it again since I am back to hitting weights in an effort to rebuild my strength after just exclusively running for the past 8-10 months. (Big mistake, I think. I'm going to keep the weight training in my routine from here on.) My question is... does anyone know if creatine has any benefits for runners? I looked on the internet and most sources seemed to suggest it was of no use to running. So I'm wondering if I should take it everyday anyway or just on my weights days (2, maybe 3, days a week).

ElliottTN

Everything I have read says nope for any distance running but BUT I believe there were studies done on sprinters that did show some noticeable results. So that being said, if you have any speed days or ever end your long runs with speed pickups THEN it may be worth paying for the extra dosing if you keep some anaerobic work in there.

You should also look into beta-alanine. Benefits have been mostly documented in weight training but also had some studies done on some competitive cyclers that showed increased output during anaerobic periods.

Acg67

LoneWolfRunner wrote: »

I am somewhat familiar with benefits of creatine and weight training and have started taking it again since I am back to hitting weights in an effort to rebuild my strength after just exclusively running for the past 8-10 months. (Big mistake, I think. I'm going to keep the weight training in my routine from here on.) My question is... does anyone know if creatine has any benefits for runners? I looked on the internet and most sources seemed to suggest it was of no use to running. So I'm wondering if I should take it everyday anyway or just on my weights days (2, maybe 3, days a week).

If you're still loading, you should take 5g/day for a month to get saturated, then you can cut down to 3-4x a weeg @5g/day to maintain.

LoneWolfRunner

Thanks guys... I will try the creatine loading first since I need to focus on building my strength back (and at 56 I need all the help I can get), but I will also check out the beta-alanine.... never heard of it.

I owned a gym back in the mid to late '80s so my training and supplement knowledge is rather dated....

LoneWolfRunner

Just checked out the beta-alanine... sounds like its worth getting now...says it works well with creatine and studies suggest it has good results with oldsters like me....

Cherimoose

LoneWolfRunner wrote: »

Thanks guys... I will try the creatine loading first since I need to focus on building my strength back (and at 56 I need all the help I can get)

I have a different take on creatine. I think it should be added only after building a good, solid foundation of strength. When you artificially boost what the body is naturally capable of handling, it could potentially cause injuries - especially in connective tissue, since those repair slower than muscle, particularly with age.
Instead of rushing the ramping-up process with creatine, i'd focus on getting proper nutrition, adequate rest, and following a good, balanced lifting program. Once your body is hardened & strong, it's ok to add creatine.. but i would do it when you hit a plateau. That way you can tell if it's actually working, and by how much.

LoneWolfRunner

Adequate rest.... for me those are usually mutually exclusive terms... but you make some good points. Before I started running a couple of years ago, I was only into weight-lifting and bodybuilding and was 30 pounds heavier than I am now. My body naturally responds pretty quickly to weights, but I don't want to injure myself. I am already feeling beat up from all the miles I've run this year so far...

SonyaCele

i don't know if there is a benefit for runners, but i'm on creatine and i went for a couple mile run once, for fun, and my legs swelled up like big fat plump sausages for a few hours.

LoneWolfRunner

SonyaCele wrote: »

i went for a couple mile run once, for fun, and my legs swelled up like big fat plump sausages for a few hours.

I could be wrong, but maybe it was suddenly deciding go for a couple mile run on a whim, more than the creatine, that gave you bratwursts.... lol