Creatine... I KNOW, I KNOW, JUST HELP ME

[Boxerjl]

Ok I Know Thre Is Alot Of Crap About Creatine But On Here Ive Heard To Take It An Hour B4 Your Workout BUt In School I Just Started A Physical Conditioning Class And Alot Of the People In there Take Creatine And They Take It Like Right B4 They Workout But Ive Been Adviced By Someone On this Forum To take It An Hour b4 Workout

Let Me KNow Please And Yes Ive Heard All About Creatine I Just Need This Question Answered Please.

[AdamGB]

They're one of the many people taking creatine because of what the supplement industry promised them - yet have no clue on what it does, why it does it, how it does it and when and how to take it.

Your body won't metabolise enough of it to be worth talking about whilst training and not a lot before hand, you are supposed to take it simply as part of your diet to increase your bodies natural threshold of ATP CP.

Which will be more efficient if taken after you train. your body will use some if you eat it an hour or two before hand, but that is not the primary reason for creatine supplementation, it's not some magic pill. it's just a convenient source of something you probably already get enough of if you eat red meat...

[Boxerjl]

I Agree 100% Adam But Its Alot Cheaper Then Red Meat If i Was To Eat A Steak Every Day Thats Like 4 Bucks A Day For 30 Days 120 Dollers A Canister Of Creatine That Lasts 265 Days Cost Me $19.99 So You See Why I Go With Creatine

But i Dont KNow if I Have The Right Kind i have Monohydrate And Read The Sticky Post

But Ill Prolly Stick With Monohydrate Becuz Of The Price For The Others

[AdamGB]

Get Phosphate... Monohydrate adds more water into cells... gives you size... but for what?

Also you get what you pay for, hence Mono being cheaper, it's popular because most people's training is purely cosmetic and all they are interested in is size...

Creatine Phosphate actually aids the ATP CP (creatine phosphate) energy system. You get a lot more out of a steak than just creatine... also shoot your butcher, you can get steaks a lot cheaper than 4 dollars each over here, you wouldn't pay that much more to eat a steak in a restuarant over here...

You don't need steak every day though...

[Heavy D]

To answer your question, read the directions on your creatine. Take it when it says to take it. Simple as that.

[Poom]

try Creatine ethyl Ester, its cheap

[AdamGB]

actual what I said may have been slightly wrong, I think all creatine is converted into CP once it is absorbed by the body.

It's still mostly popular because it is ment to volumise cells more than other types of creatine rather than the performance boost it gives to the ATP CP energy system

[Boxerjl]

Heavy D
It Doesnt Say When To Take It It Just Says To Take It

[AdamGB]

That's bad... you can damage yourself if you over use it and waste your money by either under or over taking it.

Displaces other minerals like calcium and can cause deficiencies... it should tell you about cycling, dosages and hydration.

Don't take my word for it, but I think you are meant to start off taking 2.5 grams for a month and then slowly increase it weekly by 0.5 grams until you reach 4.5g.

You need to research what you are putting into your self... it's hard because most of the 'research' that has been done is done by supplement companies who obviously have an agenda...

www.google.com though I would check mulitple sources to make sure what you are reading is impartial...

[md]

I wouldn't touch the stuff - it can lead to tight and heavy muscles. Exactly what you don't want if you're a boxer.

Here's what's been recommended by some gym monster probably working for some supplement company.

"The first way is called loading. This method works very well for anyone who has never taken creatine before. Just as the name implies, it involves loading up or saturating your muscles with creatine. During the first four days to a week, take 20 to 30 grams per day. Mix it with non-acidic juice or water. Grape juice works well. After this loading period, take a regular intake of between five to fifteen grams per day to keep your muscles saturated (no need to over do it). The other method is a more gradual approach to supplementing with creatine monohydrate. Over the course of an extended period, one basically skips the loading phase and just supplements with five to fifteen grams per day, everyday. The best results have been noticed when creatine is combined with a high carbohydrate base, such as dextrose (glucose) and taken about one-half hour before training."

Don't come bleeting when you get muscle cramps and a dose of the scats.

[Lion King]

Ugh... Ok, do this. I've been on and off of when and where to take the stuff... and this is what you should do.

1) Take 2 servers of Creatine, 3 times daily.

2) Take it before school. Take it after school, (or 30 minutes before your workout). Take it a few hours after your workout.

3) Never take it as an alternative to meals. You should still be able to consume 6 small meals a day (if your a bodybuilder).

4) Use water or milk only.

[Dizaster]

From a lot of the previous posts I think i might get my head bitten off for this, but I think that taking creatine a few hours before training does help. I don't think just before a workout would really do anything. Having it a part of a proper diet though obviously works the best.

The reason though that i've found it helps is simply because besides me training for boxing, their has also been time on the side where I have done a lot of weight traing, and have experimented with creatine on and off. Also during weight training I kept to a very strict routine with a good diet and sleep and things like that so their wasn't much variation there. I also kept very good records of my progress so I could really tell when I had made gains. And I have to say that during the times that I was using creatine, I really did notice that I made progress quicker when I was taking it. You don't feel a huge difference, but where i'd be doing a set & would normally get to about the 10th rep & be done, with the creatine I would get to 10 and still feel I had another 4 or 5 reps in me. This happened on a very consistent basis & was very noticable when I had been using creatine.

As far as boxing training goes though, I noticed the same sort of ability. Training 3 times a week, I really got used to my abilities & how much I could work before my muscles would tire to the point of me barely being able to move. I really avoided using creatine during the my boxing training periods, but I decided to experiment with it for a while. I did not go through a loading phase or even take it every day as part of my diet program. I took between 5 - 10mg around an hour to 2 hours before training. I also drank quite a bit of water & during training after taking that, I found I could go a lot longer and perform more exercise before my muscles got to the point of quiting on me. You really do need keep hydrated as I think one of the big benifits of creatine is it increases your muscles ability to store water & it really just increases your muscles ability to perform longer without being tired.

I don't feel I would have got as much benifit, if any, if I took the creatine rigggght before the workouts. Obviously if I included in in my diet, I don't think it would matter to much whether you take it before or after a work out, as your body stores it & you get the benifits any time you work.

Supplement companies advise to take it right before a workout to get that extra pump, but I think that's rubbish..

Anyway, that's just my 2 cents from my experience, and I think that the difference a good sleep compared to a bad sleep the night before training has more affect on your performance than taking creatine. So their is a lot to look at in your diet & resting periods before focusing on getting gains for an expensive supplement.

[Boxerjl]

Thanks Everyone

See Everyone Tells Me That Creatine Pumps You Up And MAkes You All Bulky And Stuff But Everyone In My Physical Conditioning Class Are Scrawny And Take Creatine Are Benching Like 220 Pounds And They Are As Small As Me

Dizaster
I Usually Take My Creatine And Hour B4 My Workout And Have Also Noticed What Youve Noticed About Feeling Like Being Able To Last Longer In Lifting And Bag Work

The Weight That I Lift Has Increase Extremely Fast And I Havent Gained Any Size Or Weight, Since I Started Taking Creatine..

[AdamGB]

How long have you been taking it for? Its a fact that when your muscles absorb it they absorb water too.

Thats that.

[Boxerjl]

Adam Ive Been Taking It For About 3 Months I Havent Seen To Much Inprovement And Probably Will Quit Taking It