Creatine?
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DeadDeadLion
Posts: 2 Member
Hey all, glad to have found this board!
I've been doing Stronglifts for about 4 weeks now. I did the aworkoutroutine beginner program last year for a few months so not completely new to lifting. I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with taking creatine while trying to lose fat? It's a little demotivating to not see anything come off the scale with the water retention and the muscle gain but sooo satisfying to see progression on my lifts! I've already surpassed most of my PB's in 4 weeks.
Today's workout:
Squat 5x5 (47.5kg)
OHP 4/4/4/3/3 (27.5kg) I stalled twice at 25kg and today started at 27.5
Deadlift 1x5 (65kg)
Do you reckon I'm making such good progress because of the creatine or just muscle memory?
I've been doing Stronglifts for about 4 weeks now. I did the aworkoutroutine beginner program last year for a few months so not completely new to lifting. I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with taking creatine while trying to lose fat? It's a little demotivating to not see anything come off the scale with the water retention and the muscle gain but sooo satisfying to see progression on my lifts! I've already surpassed most of my PB's in 4 weeks.
Today's workout:
Squat 5x5 (47.5kg)
OHP 4/4/4/3/3 (27.5kg) I stalled twice at 25kg and today started at 27.5
Deadlift 1x5 (65kg)
Do you reckon I'm making such good progress because of the creatine or just muscle memory?
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Replies
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DeadDeadLion wrote: »Do you reckon I'm making such good progress because of the creatine or just muscle memory?
i never know how much of an effect creatine has in the sense of what people always say it does. me, i take it because i looooove that hydration effect. it makes my muscles and joints move smoothly instead of sticking and snagging on themselves and one another. so for me it's not about being able to work them harder. it's more about having them be more comfortable and functional when they're not working out.
i guess i do sometimes notice a 'contract harder' effect during actual workouts, but i'm not sure i ever traced it directly to the creatine. i take it pretty religiously, but that harder-contraction feeling isn't an everyday thing. for me i think it's more closely related to my levels of rest and nutrition.
as far as scale shifts, even without creatine most people see a temporary retention effect when they first start lifting. that part of it tends to shed itself after a month or two, once the body's gotten used to lifting as the new normal for it.0 -
DeadDeadLion wrote: »Hey all, glad to have found this board!
I've been doing Stronglifts for about 4 weeks now. I did the aworkoutroutine beginner program last year for a few months so not completely new to lifting. I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with taking creatine while trying to lose fat? It's a little demotivating to not see anything come off the scale with the water retention and the muscle gain but sooo satisfying to see progression on my lifts! I've already surpassed most of my PB's in 4 weeks.
Today's workout:
Squat 5x5 (47.5kg)
OHP 4/4/4/3/3 (27.5kg) I stalled twice at 25kg and today started at 27.5
Deadlift 1x5 (65kg)
Do you reckon I'm making such good progress because of the creatine or just muscle memory?
It's great to hear you're having such fantastic progress. Your progress is probably due to a bit of muscle memory as well as new neuromuscular adaptations.
Creatine works by minutely increasing the amount of APT your body can produce anaerobically. It doesn't directly increase strength, but by allowing you to perform an additional rep here or there it slowly allows you to become stronger over time.0 -
canadianlbs wrote: »DeadDeadLion wrote: »Do you reckon I'm making such good progress because of the creatine or just muscle memory?
i never know how much of an effect creatine has in the sense of what people always say it does. me, i take it because i looooove that hydration effect. it makes my muscles and joints move smoothly instead of sticking and snagging on themselves and one another. so for me it's not about being able to work them harder. it's more about having them be more comfortable and functional when they're not working out.
i guess i do sometimes notice a 'contract harder' effect during actual workouts, but i'm not sure i ever traced it directly to the creatine. i take it pretty religiously, but that harder-contraction feeling isn't an everyday thing. for me i think it's more closely related to my levels of rest and nutrition.
as far as scale shifts, even without creatine most people see a temporary retention effect when they first start lifting. that part of it tends to shed itself after a month or two, once the body's gotten used to lifting as the new normal for it.
Creatine affects the joints? That's SO good to know. Mine are very creaky, especially during squats.0 -
cerise_noir wrote: »Creatine affects the joints? That's SO good to know. Mine are very creaky, especially during squats.
well, to be clear: i've never heard it referred to by anyone else but myself. on the other hand, that could be partly because rheumatoid arthritis is a bit underrepresented as a population in the strength-training world.
i can't in conscience swear it would do the same thing for anyone else. but i'm always willing to swear that it does it for me. to a point where i'd rather be without anti-rheumatic meds than without creatine.
it would be interesting to find out, actually, how/why it does what it does. almost everything that's already known about most anti-rheumatics is a serendipity thing. people with r.a. who just happened to be put on quinine or sulfa for some other thing, and then realised that it was controlling their flares. idk if creatine materially changes anything about my sinovial fluid, but there's just no getting away from the fact that taking the stuff with enough water is like having wd-40 injected into my joints.0 -
Oops. ATP. A little dyslexic here.
@canadianlbs That's awesome! Although I'm worried about the RA people who apparently have malaria too. I wonder if the water retention caused by creatine causes the muscles to pull on the bones a bit more and give you an eensy bit more joint space.
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Fittreelol wrote: »Oops. ATP. A little dyslexic here.
@canadianlbs That's awesome! Although I'm worried about the RA people who apparently have malaria too.
lol huh? i think you just get a two-for-one deal out of the stuff if you do have them both. actually, idek if quinine cures malaria or just protects you from catching it. my sister was on hcq while she was in africa, and she said she was contributing to the spread of resistant malaria because she was so sloppy with taking her pills.
it's a blood parasite, i do know that much. used to think that it was a disease but technically, apparently not.Fittreelol wrote: »I wonder if the water retention caused by creatine causes the muscles to pull on the bones a bit more and give you an eensy bit more joint space.
idk, i thought every muscle crosses a joint? so pulling ought to have more of a compressive effect. it just feels like my whole body has had an oil change. which is what makes me think some of the hydration must get into the synovial capsules as well, because r.a. is basically your immune system changing your synovial fluid's pH so that it breaks down your cartilage. i'm not an objective model of anything though, since mine seems like it's dormant lately.0 -
That's really interesting about your joints!
I'm wondering if I'm getting a rather unwanted side effect... sleep deprivation. For about 2 weeks now I've only had about 4 hours sleep a night, I take ages to fall asleep then wake up constantly throughout the night. Before that I was getting a good ol' 8 hours. I've googled it and there is no official documentation of this effect but quite a few people claiming they have experienced this on creatine. I'm going to stop taking it to see if my sleep improves. Really hoping it's not the creatine!!0 -
canadianlbs wrote: »cerise_noir wrote: »Creatine affects the joints? That's SO good to know. Mine are very creaky, especially during squats.
well, to be clear: i've never heard it referred to by anyone else but myself. on the other hand, that could be partly because rheumatoid arthritis is a bit underrepresented as a population in the strength-training world.
i can't in conscience swear it would do the same thing for anyone else. but i'm always willing to swear that it does it for me. to a point where i'd rather be without anti-rheumatic meds than without creatine.
it would be interesting to find out, actually, how/why it does what it does. almost everything that's already known about most anti-rheumatics is a serendipity thing. people with r.a. who just happened to be put on quinine or sulfa for some other thing, and then realised that it was controlling their flares. idk if creatine materially changes anything about my sinovial fluid, but there's just no getting away from the fact that taking the stuff with enough water is like having wd-40 injected into my joints.
Well, I am fascinated! My knees and hips sound and feel as though there is sand in the joints, and I have been wondering about creatine!
I'm glad it works for you!1 -
cerise_noir wrote: »Well, I am fascinated! My knees and hips sound and feel as though there is sand in the joints, and I have been wondering about creatine!
I'm glad it works for you!
if you do decide to experiment, please remember that the curious-scientist in me honestly wants to know what your experience is. good bad or neutral, it would satisfy something i've been sitting on for quite a long time.
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