Creatine

Wookinpanub

What are your thoughts on creatine? I am doing a modified SL 5X5 program and looking to add muscle, definition. I am 43, 6'3" and 205 lbs. Probably could lose 15 lbs around my mid section.

I had just lost 55-60 lbs so I worry about gaining excess weight back. Is that a risk with creatine? What about the mass gainers proteins?

Packerjohn

Many mass gainer protein powder have a bunch of sugar. Just stick with regular whey protein around 120 calories for 20-25 grams. Creatine can help with strength gains. May have 5 lbs or so of water weight gain.

kwtilbury

As the previous poster said, creatine will cause you to retain water, but it's one of the few supplements that has an extensive body of research supporting its effectiveness.

LolBroScience

http://examine.com/supplements/Creatine

sixxpoint

Micronized Creatine Monohydrate at 3-5 grams per day... Yes.

Protein powder, to be taken for convenience as needed... Sure, why not?

Mass gainers... NEVER! If you struggle with bulking, then make your own mass gainer with natural foods like peanut butter, protein powder, whole milk, banana, eggs, oats, etc.

Cchioles

20+ Years Of Research Says YES!

martyqueen52

Creatine with Creapure.... the rest is all trash, period.

To add muscle, you need to be in a caloric surplus. And yes, SOME of the weight will come back as fat, but, you can limit it slowly by doing a slow bulk. Instead of instantly adding in 500 more calories a day, add in 250 for a few weeks and see how you feel / look.

Use a mass gainer if you have problems consuming the amount of calories through whole food.

Your protein intake should be 1g to 0.8g per pound of bodyweight.

Example: I'm 180lbs. ..... I consume 0.8g .... therefore, my daily intake needs to be at least 144g of protein.

Ironmaiden4life

Creatine monohydrate is notorious for side effects like bloating and gastro-intestinal upset, although it doesn't effect everyone.

I found Creatine HCL gave me none of the side effects I had with mono.

Wookinpanub

Good stuff, thanks y'all. Perusing GNC now for creatine products and reading reviews. I am just nervous about gaining weight again. It took a ton of effort to lose the 60 lbs of fat. Plus I need to lose some more fat around my mid section.

sixxpoint

martyqueen52 wrote: »

Creatine with Creapure

Agreed. All of the following eight brands are also micronized creapure (so it dissolves faster):

Life Extension, Ultimate Nutrition, Optimum Nutrition, SportPharma, Universal Nutrition, AllMax, Integrated Supplements, Myogenix.

martyqueen52 wrote: »

To add muscle, you need to be in a caloric surplus. And yes, SOME of the weight will come back as fat, but, you can limit it slowly by doing a slow bulk. Instead of instantly adding in 500 more calories a day, add in 250 for a few weeks and see how you feel / look.

Use a mass gainer if you have problems consuming the amount of calories through whole food.

Your protein intake should be 1g to 0.8g per pound of bodyweight.

Example: I'm 180lbs. ..... I consume 0.8g .... therefore, my daily intake needs to be at least 144g of protein.

If you clean bulk, i.e. eat at 10% surplus relative to your TDEE when lifting, then much of the gained mass will be muscle and water. Dirty bulking, eating a 20% or more surplus relative to your TDEE will carry more of a bodyfat increase. Adding 500 calories on top of your daily TDEE is pretty drastic.

Mass gainers are good for nothing. They are very expensive and taste like hell. You can make your own mass gainer shake for a fraction of the price and it will taste a lot better.

Ideal protein intake is 0.6 to 0.8 gram per 1 lb. bodyweight, or 0.8 to 1 gram per 1 lb. lean body mass. You're overeating protein if you are going by the higher ratio and basing it off bodyweight.

Example: 180 lbs.... 0.6 to 0.8 g/lb. bodyweight = 108-144 g/day... or... 0.8-1 gram x 135-144 lbs. of lean body mass = 108-144 g/day

Ironmaiden4life wrote: »

Creatine monohydrate is notorious for side effects like bloating and gastro-intestinal upset, although it doesn't effect everyone.

I found Creatine HCL gave me none of the side effects I had with mono.

People normally recommend mono first because it is cheaper and most people don't have any bloating from it. Mono and hcl will pretty much yield the same results. Some people are non-responders, and some people (especially if they abuse it) will experience bloating from either product. 3-5 grams of creatine mono everyday shouldn't carry that side effect, and it is a very safe + proven amount.

Bloating could be from:

• Taking in too much creatine mono (more than 3-5g).
• Unnecessarily "loading" creatine
• Too much sodium (which can hold water)
• Stress
• Lack of sleep
• Not moving, not sweating, being sedentary
• Food sources you eat

^^^ all of those could be factors for holding water.

Here are some Creatine studies for further analysis:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2649889/
http://www.jissn.com/content/6/1/6

Conclusion

Creatine ethyl ester did not show any additional benefit to increase muscle strength or performance than creatine monohydrate or maltodextose placebo.

Additionally, total body mass, fat mass, fat-free mass, and thigh muscle mass were not significantly enhanced with creatine ethyl ester supplementation compared to placebo or creatine monohydrate groups.

The vast majority of the improvement observed in the present study can most likely be attributed to the training protocol itself, rather than the supplementation.

Furthermore, it appears that the skeletal muscle uptake of creatine ethyl ester uptake was not significant enough to increase skeletal muscle creatine levels without significant degradation to creatinine occurring.

Ironmaiden4life

@sixxpoint.... I bet you make your Momma proud

Did enjoy reading the research studies though good stuff

jessef593

Ironmaiden4life wrote: »

Creatine monohydrate is notorious for side effects like bloating and gastro-intestinal upset, although it doesn't effect everyone.

I found Creatine HCL gave me none of the side effects I had with mono.

Definitely HCL, it's less likely to cause water retention/bloating, and it's more concentrated so it requires less per day to retain muscular saturation. I generally take my creatine with 1.5-3G of beta alanine. They both produce good results especially when taking in unison.

999tigger

Cant say im a believer in the greater effectiveness of hcl. If it makes you retain water then ofc you will increase your weight due to that water retention, but its just doing it job.
OP youve posted threeads on your desire to gain muscle previously as well as the other wish to lose the excess 15lbs on your stomach. The issues raised have alreayd been pointed out to you.

WeaponXI

Since there are few to no studies in the effectiveness of creatine hcl, and the cost is so much higher, I'll stick with my creatine monohydrate. Cheap and effective.

jessef593

Yeah, it's not like I've seen spectacular results from hcl. Definitely have seen increases in muscular endurance and less fatigue between sets while taking it. I'm mainly just a fan of the lack of water retention. Even though it has its benefits. Will be trying out monohydrate once my current supply runs out. OP, honestly it's completely personal preference when it comes to supplements.