Creatine

[Trainer Monkey]

thanks TM.. i'm thinking 2 protein shakes on days i workout.. and doing a cycle of creatine for a month.. and then i was reading to take 3 weeks off.. so i'm just hoping i don't lose everything during those 3 weeks..

Definitly go with the Protein as well
Theres a lot of argument on the 3 weeks off thing
It depends if you do a load cycle,if you dont you can more or less use it as a daily
Now if you load up,it stores,so yeah youve got to take time off of it
Also check the recomendations on the brand you buy,they usually know their own product best,as far as potency and use

[donnydarkoIRL]

For boxing I know a few guys using the stuff.

It works well, it does what it says on the tin.

[Dizaster]

Make sure you drink tonnes and tonnes of water during your cycle though.. Always remember to have water with you when you are at work/school etc. Your body, but most importantly your muscles dehydrate very quick when you take creatine.. Drink a lot before going to bed as well.
One of the big bonus of taking creatine is that your muscles fill up with water. This helps by creating the ideal environment for nutrients to travel to and absorb into your muscles, recovery, function, everything.. You really want to make sure your body is always topped up with water...
Besides that, I loved taking creatine when I was heavily training with weights etc. Where you would usually reach that failure point at 10 reps, you now read that same sort of pain at 14 reps, but you can push on through it to maybe 16 or 18 before failure.. Even more.. You'll find you have to adjust your weights after a few training sessions as you adapt to the bonus strength you get..

A lot of great information is out there and guys on here have given good advise so far.

So the only thing I wanted to emphasize is alllllways stay hydrated. Plan to have a bottle of water with you all the time, and you will get maximum results from it..

Another good product to look into after creatine is L-Glutamine.. I won't go into it here, just do a bit of research and you'll find out it's benifits.. It's affects aren't nearly as obvious as creatine, but when I was stacking L-Glutamine, Creatine, glucose tablets for creatine insulane spike, and Protien, I had my biggest gains, felt absolutely amazing during every session, and my recovery times were amazing... I felt pumped all the time as long as I was hydrated, and really had to force myself NOT to workout. I'm a big fan of less is more,, especially when you really put it all into each workout... But when you feel really fresh, it's hard not to work out just because it's your designated recovery day... But your body loves the rest and as they say "you get bigger during your rest, not your workouts"...

Stay hydrated!! Good luck man!

[ono]

Yeh creatine is probably the most effective non hormonal supplement out there.

It's perfectly safe to use and i personally wouldn't bother with the loading phase. I'd do what Trainer Monkey says and and cycle it for longer without loading it.

Altho a lot of people will tell you to take it before training it's actually much more effective to take it after training. The effect of creatine directly before training is very minimal. You need to be taking it directly after traning when your body is in a phase where it is crying out for nutrients. The uptake of creatine will be much greater when your body is crying out for fuel. Take it with your protein shake and some simple carbs to kick start the recovery process.

So to clarify, don't worry about a loading phase. Take the creatine as directed otherwise. Don't worry so much about taking it pre-workout as your creatine stores should already be full from your morning dose. Most importantly take it immediately after with simple carbs and protein.

[Douglas]

I use Creatine from time to time and it works great. When I'm lifting weights, the "pump" comes much sooner, and I feel more swollen after the workout. Only problem is it's kind of addicting in a way. Maybe not physically addicting, but it's like if you take it for awhile then one day you forget to take it and you try to work out, it just seems like a total drag.

[nutrick]

I heard it could trash your liver (or kidneys, not sure which), so I was told to drink a lot of water, and take breaks, like maybe 2weeks on 2 weeks off, not sure he didn't give me specifics. does anyone know how long the break would be?

[Trainer Monkey]

Again it depends on potency,and wether or not you load
Drink plenty of water and gatorade regardless
But Im not a big fan of loading,it doesnt seem to give much added benefit,makes the supplement more dangerous to use,and limits the amount of time you can be on the supplement
Its really just a concept left over from the Roid culture,now it seems that almost every supplement has a load recomandation.
Now with some,it was reasonable,like Andro,but lets face it,Andro is a roid,so that makes sense
Creatine isnt

[ono]

I heard it could trash your liver (or kidneys, not sure which), so I was told to drink a lot of water, and take breaks, like maybe 2weeks on 2 weeks off, not sure he didn't give me specifics. does anyone know how long the break would be?

It won't do anything to your liver. It's not methylated.

Considering most people already have around 1-2 grams of creatine already in their body from food consumption, your body can handle it.

Just stay hydrated. Maybe cycle 6-8 weeks on then 4 weeks off if your worried.