Creatine and bulking??

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Just finished a week of "loading" haven't noticed much size increase? Also drinking protein shakes once a day/twice a day on gym days, Hitting the gym 3-4 times a week and getting roughly 300 over daily cals, am I expecting too much? Trying to pack mass as I feel "small" or "skinny" 157-8lbs @ 5'8... I don't know what the hell im doing btw, I'm new to all this, so any help or insight would be nice

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  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Give it time. One week and looking for results is like doing sit ups and checking to see if you have abs yet. Building muscle takes time. Also, creatine loading isn't necessary whatsoever. Stick with your surplus for another week or bump it up to 500 and see how it goes. Also make sure you're on an effective program.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Creatine isn't steroids or a growth hormone, it's an aid to slightly reduce fatigue during high intensity work and will also add some water weight. You won't notice much if any of a size increase so you have either been mislead by hype over what results to expect or misunderstand the effects of the product.

    Same goes for protein shakes, they aren't magic and you shouldn't even need them if you have your diet dialed in first. As @pinggolfer96 mentioned, just go slow and be patient and consistent.
  • SomeGainsPlz
    SomeGainsPlz Posts: 2 Member
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    My diet isn't anywhere close to dialed in but that's what I'm working on, the protein is just for the calorie boost to get over my daily, I'm not expecting either the creatine or protein to be some magic get jacked thing, but the water retention is what I meant putting on "size" from it, because it doesn't seem like I'm even getting bloated or anything from that, I'm still planning on sticking with my routines and that because I am getting results/gains but from what I've read about taking creatine I should have already seen change from water absorption, chalk it up to miss information I guess. Patience and more hard work it is lol thanks for the responses
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    My diet isn't anywhere close to dialed in but that's what I'm working on, the protein is just for the calorie boost to get over my daily, I'm not expecting either the creatine or protein to be some magic get jacked thing, but the water retention is what I meant putting on "size" from it, because it doesn't seem like I'm even getting bloated or anything from that, I'm still planning on sticking with my routines and that because I am getting results/gains but from what I've read about taking creatine I should have already seen change from water absorption, chalk it up to miss information I guess. Patience and more hard work it is lol thanks for the responses

    You could be a non-responder, something like 20% of people don't respond to creatine, but the average person gets about 2-4 pounds of water gain within their muscles. Since that's all over your body your probably won't notice much even if you do get 4 pounds worth.
  • borrego6193
    borrego6193 Posts: 26 Member
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    Just finished a week of "loading" haven't noticed much size increase? Also drinking protein shakes once a day/twice a day on gym days, Hitting the gym 3-4 times a week and getting roughly 300 over daily cals, am I expecting too much? Trying to pack mass as I feel "small" or "skinny" 157-8lbs @ 5'8... I don't know what the hell im doing btw, I'm new to all this, so any help or insight would be nice

    Creatine isn't suppose to give you size, of course you will gain weight by the water retention, but that's about it. It only increases the ATP in your muscles, make sure you're getting your protein in (1-1.5g per lb) if youre trying to gain weight, keep eating
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Adding carbs are your friend on a bulk. While protien is essential, not as much as when you are cutting and trying to retain muscle.