Creatine???

The real deal, is it will help a little bit if someone isn't getting enough in their diet. It doesn't help that much, most of the weight gained is in water and it doesn't even work at all for some people. I think its one of the most tested bodybuilding supplements and its not harmful.

The stuff you buy at your local gnc or what ever is nothing to even worry about. The problem is people lie all the time about how they get so much muscle so fast. A lot of times people will say oh I did this or that instead of just saying they are taking steroids. The fact that real creatine works so poorly its become a slang word.

So don't worry you son isn't going to turn in to Arnold overnight from taking this harmless mostly worthless stuff. Also hes 18 years old, you need to stop with this allowing nonsense, hes at the age where he should have already learned to make his own informed decisions for himself.

In case you are just worried about taking creatine in form of a supplement powder:

1-2 decent steaks (contain creatine), implementing carb backloading and a gallon of water a day gave me similar results

Edit: I did not aim to really bulk up however, and most of the impact of supplements lies in the power of positive thinking really...

If he wants to build muscle faster the tried and true way is through lifting and nutrition aka eating a lot. Creatine while safe and not a make or break supplement is not going to bring gains overnight or is some miracle drug that some claim it to be.

best advice to build muscle faster at his age is usually to eat more. GOMAD is what's recommended for young men getting into powerlifting (gallon of milk a day, i.e. in addition to regular large meals and a lot of protein) - i.e. traditional bullking with a calorie surplus. A calorie surplus is necessary to build muscle. Bulking does result in fat gain as well, but that's what cutting cycles are for (fat loss while maintaining lean mass).

Adolescent men have more testosterone in their system than fully grown men (18 is not fully grown, even if he's stopped growing in height his shoulders will still be growing and his long bones won't have all fused yet) so have more potential to build muscle in a calorie surplus. GOMAD (or any other diet that provides a similar calorie surplus) is not recommended for older men or women of any age (too big a surplus) - because young men have more testosterone then a calorie surplus plus adequate level of strength training results in more lean mass and less fat gain. Older men can't get the kinds of results adolescent and young adult men can, most of the surplus just becomes fat... women can't do this at any age. (older men and women can still gain lean mass and strength though... just the gains are limited and too big a surplus only ends up as fat gain)

no harm in him having creatine too, but check he's eating at a surplus because if he's not then his muscle gains will be held back by that, and creatine and anything else natural won't fix that.

best advice to build muscle faster at his age is usually to eat more. GOMAD is what's recommended for young men getting into powerlifting (gallon of milk a day, i.e. in addition to regular large meals and a lot of protein) - i.e. traditional bullking with a calorie surplus. A calorie surplus is necessary to build muscle. Bulking does result in fat gain as well, but that's what cutting cycles are for (fat loss while maintaining lean mass).

Adolescent men have more testosterone in their system than fully grown men (18 is not fully grown, even if he's stopped growing in height his shoulders will still be growing and his long bones won't have all fused yet) so have more potential to build muscle in a calorie surplus. GOMAD (or any other diet that provides a similar calorie surplus) is not recommended for older men or women of any age (too big a surplus) - because young men have more testosterone then a calorie surplus plus adequate level of strength training results in more lean mass and less fat gain. Older men can't get the kinds of results adolescent and young adult men can, most of the surplus just becomes fat... women can't do this at any age. (older men and women can still gain lean mass and strength though... just the gains are limited and too big a surplus only ends up as fat gain)

no harm in him having creatine too, but check he's eating at a surplus because if he's not then his muscle gains will be held back by that, and creatine and anything else natural won't fix that.

The technical term is "calorie partitioning". If I was your son, I'd stop by Taco Bell to get a snack in preparation for dinger.

I am asking this ? for my 18 year old son. He is 6' 2'' 210 and very fit. He is currently in summer workout sessions for his Sr. year of football. He eats a variety of healthy foods and some of your typical teenage Ick. He is begging me to please let him use creatine to build up muscle faster. I know nothing! I am afraid of starting him on something that I really don't understand. I have been allowing whey protein and encouraging the lean meat and eggs. He insists that the other players who are supplementing with creatine are building up faster. Any real advice would be great. Most of what I am finding on the net is from ads and of course they are not going to tell me anything "bad".
TIA
A concerned mom

Creatine is fine
I started using it when I was 18-19.
I cycle on and off it. Currently off, will prolly start back on it in Aug.

You can get creatine from eating Beef.

And the examine.com link is a good place to read up on it

What creatine does is "add water" to the muscles. This then enables you to work out longer, therefore you build more muscle..