Creatine question

[vengie]

I am getting off the pre-workout supplements as I am tired of gut rot after my workout.

I just purchased some creatine monohydrate and was wondering how to best use it?

I've read to take it everyday, with no cycle necessary, year round 365. Is this accurate?

Also, I was planning to take 5g every morning in my morning shake, is that enough? or should I also take 5g post workout in my shake on training days? (4days a week).

Any help is appreciated!

[403ep3]

When I took creatine I really only took it in cycles. I had to get off of it because it made me pee a lot haha.

[Redlined_8000]

5g pre and 5g post is a good idea.

Ive read loading not necessary, some people do some people dont.... My experience, during loading phase you may be on the toilet alot.
Its good to eat or drink some sort of carbohydrate when you take it.

As for the cycling with it... again ive seen it on product recommendations however some people ignore it and take it forever.

Also I found a nice little read up on it to share.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/willbrink17_full.pdf

and

http://www.bodybuilding.com/images/creatine-report.pdf

When you take it it is important to keep up on your water intake.

[403ep3]

Drinking while taking creatine = not good. Say bye to alcohol lol

[fiveowed]

never liked creatine, found it only worked when using it no long term gains, have a can of animal pump that I dont want, if you want to try it.

[HomespunLobster]

I do the two - 3 scoops creatine a day. Plenty of water. Helps as long as you are taking it, waste of time if you don't keep on it.
First week of using creatine I gained 5 lbs. in the last month and a half I've gained 15 lb's and lost two waist sizes. If I stopped the creatine I doubt I'd be much heavier than before. And for those saying alcohol and creatine don't mix, I'd disagree. Just drink more water.

[BrknFngrs]

Originally posted by HomespunLobster
And for those saying alcohol and creatine don't mix, I'd disagree. Just drink more water.
Agreed, the only issue I've ever noticed when I drink on creatine is I get a bad headache if I don't drink a fair bit of water and its a night of heavier drinking.

[LadyLuck]

Originally posted by HomespunLobster
I do the two - 3 scoops creatine a day. Plenty of water. Helps as long as you are taking it, waste of time if you don't keep on it.
First week of using creatine I gained 5 lbs. in the last month and a half I've gained 15 lb's and lost two waist sizes. If I stopped the creatine I doubt I'd be much heavier than before. And for those saying alcohol and creatine don't mix, I'd disagree. Just drink more water.

Curious, how much of that weight was water weight? Or were the gains strictly muscle?

What brands do you guys prefer? I got a tub of Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Powder, need to stick to taking it regularly. On non work-out days I throw in a scoop into my morning shake, on work-out days i have a scoop before and 1 scoop after work out. LOTS of water!

Check out Red Tag Nutrition (www.redtagnutrition.com) for some good deals

[DeleriousZ]

You're supposed to drink a ton of water to stay hydrated while on creatine aren't you?

[Tej.S]

You don't need to cycle or load mono. Just take 5g a day, anything more is a complete waste of money. Unless you weigh like 230lbs+, there is absolutely no need to take 10g a day like a lot of sites will tell you. Just be sure to drink plenty of water and if you do plan on drinking alcohol, try to stick with the light colored drinks(vodka, gin, etc). You won't die if you drink here and there lol. It usually takes 1-3 weeks for the creatine to properly store in your body before it can be used by the body so be patient with the results. Don't ever mix your creatine with with orange juice or it turns in to creatinine, which is useless to the body. Not sure if I missed anything, if I did, just ask and I'll cover it lol.

Oh yeah, btw, Optimum Nutrition is great for dat dere micronized creatine mono :D

[bjstare]

^That's all great advice.

I've used it on and off for a few years. Currently trying to see what kind of gains I can get with no Creatine for a long period.

One thing that seems to be a pretty common idea that hasn't been mentioned yet, is to take it with dextrose (or grape juice if you don't have a bucket of dextrose), cause it will spike your insulin and help you absorb it more effectively (....right? haha).

[Tej.S]

Yeah, that's correct Cj. I don't know how effective it would be in the long run since it absorbs regardless, but if you take creatine with a good source of carbs, it's supposed to absorb more efficiently. There are people that refute this claim, but hey, it doesn't hurt so why not lol.

[duaner]

I've mentioned this before but monohydrate worked well for me and I kept the gains. Years ago I couldn't get above 185 lbs (at 6'4") for the life of me. Then I tried creatine monohydrate for the first time. Advice from someone who was around 6'-6'2" and 245 was to not do a loading phase since you pee out the excess, so it's just a waste.

So that's what I did--no loading phase, took it in grape juice immediately pre and post workout. Within 6-8 weeks I was up to 211 lbs. When I stopped taking it I dropped to 200 lbs and held that as a minimum for several years, despite sporadic workouts. Only in the last few months have I dipped below 200 due to extenuating circumstances that have kept me from working out.

At the moment I am trying to get back into it and am taking creatine HCL. It'll be a while before I notice if it works well or not. A product I tried at one point last year that seemed to work good was BPI Sports's Build-HD (monohydrate mix).

I would recommend no loading phase, take with grape juice or some simple carbs (like waxy maize or a blend), drink lots and eat lots. But I'm no expert either, so take what I say with a grain of salt. lol That's just what worked for me.

[Tej.S]

It's never a bad thing to hear things from people with experience haha. Let me know how the HCL goes, I tried it once(con-cret) for a little while, but it didn't sit so well in my stomach.

[duaner]

Originally posted by Tej.S
It's never a bad thing to hear things from people with experience haha. Let me know how the HCL goes, I tried it once(con-cret) for a little while, but it didn't sit so well in my stomach.
That's exactly what I'm taking. Got 4 bottles for $20 each, so I'll be going for a while. lol Haven't had any issues with the stomach.

Once I'm finished with the con-cret, depending on how well it works, I may get a couple things of Build-HD and do that again. When I did use it last year, my workouts were a bit too sporadic to really take advantage of it but to notice a difference still says something.

I guess in the end different things work for different people and it's all about finding what works best for oneself.

[Tej.S]

Originally posted by duaner

I guess in the end different things work for different people and it's all about finding what works best for oneself.

I could not have said it better myself.

[Tej.S]

Originally posted by fiveowed
never liked creatine, found it only worked when using it no long term gains, have a can of animal pump that I dont want, if you want to try it.

You still want to give away that can of animal pump :D ?

[wintonyk]

What CJ and Tej said I agree with exactly. I cycled it when I did it to see what the different effects were. loading vs not. with grape/pineapple vs. without.

My experiences agreed with claims that loading was useless. Net results were the same except I felt bloated when i started by loading. The juices I found helped more with regards to muscle stamina when taking the creatine.

Overall though, whenever I would come off creatine all the weight gains would go away within about 2 months. For me usually added about 10-15 lbs. When I am at a point where I can get bigger again, I will see what creatine will do. Never cracked the 200 mark.

[Tej.S]

Originally posted by wintonyk
What CJ and Tej said I agree with exactly. I cycled it when I did it to see what the different effects were. loading vs not. with grape/pineapple vs. without.

My experiences agreed with claims that loading was useless. Net results were the same except I felt bloated when i started by loading. The juices I found helped more with regards to muscle stamina when taking the creatine.

Overall though, whenever I would come off creatine all the weight gains would go away within about 2 months. For me usually added about 10-15 lbs. When I am at a point where I can get bigger again, I will see what creatine will do. Never cracked the 200 mark.

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of creatine did you use?

I know a lot of people use creatine to put on some weight, but it's odd if you're losing ALL of the weight since it can't all be water-weight. I'm using creatine on my cut, but more so for strength/energy purposes rather than putting on weight. For what it's worth, I'm using micronized mono and I don't get bloated at all and I don't notice a loss in too much water-weight(usually fluctuates 1~lb) when I miss a few days.

[GQBalla]

werd what Tej.S is saying.

5 g is all you need per day.

Don't bother with cycling and loading.

currently I'm at 190 with a pretty clean bulk. Not to bad. The gut is coming in though.

Ive been thinking about supplementing in Creatine again but i haven't touched that stuff for about three years. All I remembered is it gave me a huge head ache. Most likely because back then i really didn't know what i was doing and didn't drink enough water/drink too much alcohol.

[DeleriousZ]

The main thing I noticed when I was taking creatine was that my cognitive abilities were reduced and I had a shorter temper. Not sure if that was due to something else, but I found I had a hard time thinking clearly and sharply.

[Tej.S]

Originally posted by GQBalla
Most likely because back then i really didn't know what i was doing and didn't drink enough water/drink too much alcohol.

Haha, this sums it up. If you weren't already getting enough water, the alcohol was only dehydrating you even more. I also notice slight headaches on the days I don't drink enough water either, but they fade once I hydrate myself lol. However, this is pretty much irrelevant because the creatine itself does not cause dehydration so even if you weren't taking creatine, you'd still get a headache(hope that makes sense lol). Everyone is different, so some people might react differently than others.