Creatine/Supplement help.

Mutant13

Hi guys.

Currently concentrating on a slow bulk to build some muscle. On lifting days I have whey isolate with magnesium in my post workout shake, wondering if I should also be taking creatine now? What are you opinions/experiences with it? Are there other supps I should be adding at this stage?

Thanks!

Hendrix7

Creatine is cheap and it works.

Buy creatine monohydrate, all of this other "buffered-superduper-HCL-creatine" nonsense is just marketing to make you pay more money.

Try to get something which is 'creapure' brand if you can, this is better quality, but still super cheap.

Chadomaniac

ye but get a decent quality creatine , makes a difference imo ... if i want an extra edge add steroids . im jokin take fish oil daily and a multivitamin .. diet is key . make sure u eat enough on a slow bulk . remember U BULKING

jayche

Creatine works and its really cheap (even the creapure brand ones are like 10 dollars for a 2 month supply), so definitely try it if you want to.
As for other supplements you kind of just have to look at your diet and see if you're deficient in anything and go from there, most people would benefit from fish oil supplementation (again, its cheap and it helps).

Hope I helped happy lifting!

AntWrig

Hi guys.

Currently concentrating on a slow bulk to build some muscle. On lifting days I have whey isolate with magnesium in my post workout shake, wondering if I should also be taking creatine now? What are you opinions/experiences with it? Are there other supps I should be adding at this stage?

Thanks!

How many calories are you consuming overall? Just get creatine monohydrate.

Firefox7275

Get the basics in place, are you consistently getting the full complement of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and antioxidant phytonutrients from your diet? Looking at your diary you could do with upping your intake of fruits and veggies in the full rainbow of colours, oily fish and mineral rich foods - when you are training intensively your needs can double, antioxidants can speed recovery so your workouts are better quality.

Creatine is effective but generally should not be taken consistently but in short courses, so IMO it;'s best to reserve for when you feel you are hitting a plateau with your gains (strength or size). If you load quickly you will waste a lot in your pee and may gain water weight, this is less likely if you load over the course of a few weeks. HMB is an interesting stack with creatine, less research tho.

Mutant13

Thanks for the advice everyone,

Fitness social- currently I eat about 2200 all up lifting days, a little less on non lift days. I'm still experimenting to see what intake I gain at, keep in mind I'm 128 so don't torch cals like ya'll do!

Think I'll definitely invest in the creatine, fish oil and a good multi.

When do you normally take the creatine, does it make a difference?

jayche

Thanks for the advice everyone,

Fitness social- currently I eat about 2200 all up lifting days, a little less on non lift days. I'm still experimenting to see what intake I gain at, keep in mind I'm 128 so don't torch cals like ya'll do!

Think I'll definitely invest in the creatine, fish oil and a good multi.

When do you normally take the creatine, does it make a difference?

I just take it post-workout to keep it simple and so I don't forget to, I'm pretty sure it doesn't really matter when you take it though.

AntWrig

Thanks for the advice everyone,

Fitness social- currently I eat about 2200 all up lifting days, a little less on non lift days. I'm still experimenting to see what intake I gain at, keep in mind I'm 128 so don't torch cals like ya'll do!

Think I'll definitely invest in the creatine, fish oil and a good multi.

When do you normally take the creatine, does it make a difference?

I take it whenever. Sometimes I forget to take it.

2200 calories is good. Just SLOWLY increase calories. I would probably increase your carb intake 15-25g per week, depending on the movement of the scale. You want to try and push the limit in regards to how much you can eat. Slow and steady wins the race.

markpmc

Creatine is cheap and it works.

Buy creatine monohydrate, all of this other "buffered-superduper-HCL-creatine" nonsense is just marketing to make you pay more money.

Try to get something which is 'creapure' brand if you can, this is better quality, but still super cheap.

This ^^

Mutant13

Thanks for the advice everyone,

Fitness social- currently I eat about 2200 all up lifting days, a little less on non lift days. I'm still experimenting to see what intake I gain at, keep in mind I'm 128 so don't torch cals like ya'll do!

Think I'll definitely invest in the creatine, fish oil and a good multi.

When do you normally take the creatine, does it make a difference?

I take it whenever. Sometimes I forget to take it.

2200 calories is good. Just SLOWLY increase calories. I would probably increase your carb intake 15-25g per week, depending on the movement of the scale. You want to try and push the limit in regards to how much you can eat. Slow and steady wins the race.

Thanks, that's helpful. I do want to avoid as much fat gain as I can, and I think being a little scared of packing on fat has held back my gains so far. I know a little bit of fat is unavoidable, bit doing it slowly should help, yeah?

AntWrig

Thanks for the advice everyone,

Fitness social- currently I eat about 2200 all up lifting days, a little less on non lift days. I'm still experimenting to see what intake I gain at, keep in mind I'm 128 so don't torch cals like ya'll do!

Think I'll definitely invest in the creatine, fish oil and a good multi.

When do you normally take the creatine, does it make a difference?

I take it whenever. Sometimes I forget to take it.

2200 calories is good. Just SLOWLY increase calories. I would probably increase your carb intake 15-25g per week, depending on the movement of the scale. You want to try and push the limit in regards to how much you can eat. Slow and steady wins the race.

Thanks, that's helpful. I do want to avoid as much fat gain as I can, and I think being a little scared of packing on fat has held back my gains so far. I know a little bit of fat is unavoidable, bit doing it slowly should help, yeah?

Yes, you're going to have to balance fat vs muscle gains. If you add calories slowly you will put on very little fat. The benefit is that your metabolism will be racing (which is good). Also, when you do decide to cut down again, you will have more calories to play with.

Mutant13

Excellent. Thanks again to everyone for the advice!

fishgutzy

I've heard differing tales of creatine.
On the down side, it is considered to be a muscle inflater not a muscle builder. Once you stop taking it, the muscles return to the natural state.
I have also read that is helpful at muscle recovery because it helps reduce lactic acid muscle pain.

Found this info useful.
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-873-CREATINE.aspx?activeIngredientId=873&activeIngredientName=CREATINE

HelloDan

Only about 30% of people have a really good response to creatine, and 30% have no response. The rest have some response, but not the bigger gains that are possible.

Creatine is so cheap that it is worth trying in case you are a responder, just keep in mind you may not be.

Hendrix7

I've heard differing tales of creatine.
On the down side, it is considered to be a muscle inflater not a muscle builder. Once you stop taking it, the muscles return to the natural state.

Well creatine does not directly build muscle, it simply allows you to product slightly more force. So that's more of a moot point than a downside.

bcf7683

Thanks for the advice everyone,

Fitness social- currently I eat about 2200 all up lifting days, a little less on non lift days. I'm still experimenting to see what intake I gain at, keep in mind I'm 128 so don't torch cals like ya'll do!

Think I'll definitely invest in the creatine, fish oil and a good multi.

When do you normally take the creatine, does it make a difference?

I take it whenever. Sometimes I forget to take it.

2200 calories is good. Just SLOWLY increase calories. I would probably increase your carb intake 15-25g per week, depending on the movement of the scale. You want to try and push the limit in regards to how much you can eat. Slow and steady wins the race.

Thanks, that's helpful. I do want to avoid as much fat gain as I can, and I think being a little scared of packing on fat has held back my gains so far. I know a little bit of fat is unavoidable, bit doing it slowly should help, yeah?

Yes, you're going to have to balance fat vs muscle gains. If you add calories slowly you will put on very little fat. The benefit is that your metabolism will be racing (which is good). Also, when you do decide to cut down again, you will have more calories to play with.

What is a good schedule (for lack of a better word) of increasing calories? I'm basically doing the same as Mutant stated above (sorry for hi-jacking your thread :drinker: ) , I started at 1300cals/day (while I was losing) and I've been adding 100-150 cals every week or two (I'm at 1700 now- if I go 100-ish over on lifting days, I don't really mind). Is that a decent pace? I don't want to go from eating 1500cals/day to 2500 in a week, I'm pretty sure I'd get a little squishy.

ilovedeadlifts

It's cheap and I feel like I recover better while taking it.
Pick up some plain creatine mono and see how you like it.


You should probably be taking the shakes every day as opposed to only on training days. Recovery happens around the clock, not just immediately after lifting.

Mutant13

You're welcome to hijack BCF personally I jumped from 1700 to 1850 to 1900 to 2000 over the course of about three weeks. Although I think this might have shocked my system a bit because I lost a pound in the last week...

Iloveadeadlift- should I be having the whey non lifting days even if I'm already meeting my macros without it?

sunsnstatheart

There are lots of studies devoted to creatine and its one of the supplements that has solid science behind its use. Just stick with creatine monohydrate as that's the one that's been studied. The other stuff is also way more expensive.

There seem to be two crowds on creatine: (1) creatine loading and (2) daily steady intake. From what I've seen loading seems unnecessary but there doesn't seem to be any harm in mildly "overdosing" so there's no harm either. The risk seems to be the wasted creatine and associated cost. You will also see the cycling discussions that say you should come off creatine on regular intervals. There's lots of creatine in beef so if you're eating lots of beef then you may not respond to creatine as there seems to be a maximum load. Most of the work I've seen says take between 3-6 mg per day. Maybe try taking a heaping teaspoon (5 mg) of your creatine monohydrate 30 minutes before your workout, maybe split it so that its before and after your workouts. Then play with your dosage. Since you're a woman and smaller, you may need less? I take 10 mg every day (split between right before and after my workouts) which probably means I'm wasting some but what I buy is cheap and I don't seem the harm in slightly too much.

There are plenty of bodybuilders on MFP with the degrees to back it up so I'll defer to those guys on the details of the studies.

HelloDan

Iloveadeadlift- should I be having the whey non lifting days even if I'm already meeting my macros without it?

No, not if you already hit your protein target, and you wouldn't even have to take it on lifting days if you could eat real food conveniently. However it's easier to gulp down a shake in the gym or locker room, than to get a grill up on the go, plus as a bonus whey is a cheap source of protein.

Mutant13

Ah okay, I hit my protein needs fine without it non lift days. I thought another reason for whey as a recovery meal was because it allows faster delivery to your muscles than protein in other forms? Or is that a bit of a myth?

TR0berts

Most of the work I've seen says take between 3-6 mg per day. Maybe try taking a heaping teaspoon (5 mg) of your creatine monohydrate 30 minutes before your workout, maybe split it so that its before and after your workouts.

mg? I just read at the Mayo clinic that 5 grams per day for anaerobic work, 2-5 grams for maintenance were used in studies. Of course, I didn't see the studies - or their results - so I don't know what the results were.

eta: the "url" tag doesn't work on MFP.... The link is http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/creatine/NS_patient-creatine/DSECTION=dosing

sunsnstatheart

Most of the work I've seen says take between 3-6 mg per day. Maybe try taking a heaping teaspoon (5 mg) of your creatine monohydrate 30 minutes before your workout, maybe split it so that its before and after your workouts.

mg? I just read at the Mayo clinic that 5 grams per day for anaerobic work, 2-5 grams for maintenance were used in studies. Of course, I didn't see the studies - or their results - so I don't know what the results were.

eta: the "url" tag doesn't work on MFP.... The link is http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/creatine/NS_patient-creatine/DSECTION=dosing

Thanks for the typo correction: "grams" not "mg"

HelloDan

Ah okay, I hit my protein needs fine without it non lift days. I thought another reason for whey as a recovery meal was because it allows faster delivery to your muscles than protein in other forms? Or is that a bit of a myth?

Unless you workout after fasting, it's unlikely to make a significant difference, as there will already be protein in the blood, meaning protein absorption rate at the stomach not critical.

Slightly off topic, but it's quite interesting that we make our lives easier by considering hourly/daily/weekly/monthly allowances or targets for calories or macros, when in reality the body is constantly changing.

TR0berts

Thanks for the typo correction: "grams" not "mg"

Ah, OK. I hope I didn't come off as argumentative, because I really don't know much other than what I read there and here. I just figured I'd ask, because I - well, like I mentioned - really don't know. In fact, this thread "made" me look up some more info on creatine, as I had always heard that creatine caused kidney problems. Based on the Mayo clinic and a couple of other places I deem trustworthy, that's been basically debunked, unless you already have kidney issues.

I'll probably pick some up some time and see if I notice any changes.

Thanks all for the input - and Mutant for asking!

Awkward30

So I don't have any first hand experience, but I'm starting creatine after the holidays, so I've been researching it, and the key things I've found are that you have to drink a metric **** ton of water and that carbs facilitate entry into cells. I haven't combed primary literature yet (doing that next week), so I don't know if these are myths or not, but I'm planning to take creatine with my carbiest meal (post-workout for me, usually).

sunsnstatheart

Thanks for the typo correction: "grams" not "mg"

Ah, OK. I hope I didn't come off as argumentative, because I really don't know much other than what I read there and here. I just figured I'd ask, because I - well, like I mentioned - really don't know. In fact, this thread "made" me look up some more info on creatine, as I had always heard that creatine caused kidney problems. Based on the Mayo clinic and a couple of other places I deem trustworthy, that's been basically debunked, unless you already have kidney issues.

I'll probably pick some up some time and see if I notice any changes.

Thanks all for the input - and Mutant for asking!

Not at all and apologies for the confusion. I meant to fix this but for some reason it won't allow me edit the original. I'm just another guy working on self improvement. I read a bit but I'm no expert.

dramir47

there are two forms of creatine. Monohydrate and HCL. Monohydrate is cheap and gives you faster results, and HCL which is a micronized version, that also gives you results, just not as good as monohydrate. Once you stop taking monohydrate, youll lose size fast, whereas if you're taking HCL, you'll lose it at a slower pace. Just make sure you drink at least a gallon of water when taking creatine monohydrate. It could lead to kidney stones if you don't.