Creatine

[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

[donnydarkoIRL]

For a boxer, would creatine result in weight issues?

[Douglas]

For a boxer, would creatine result in weight issues?

I've heard it can cause the muscles to bulk up a bit, which can be a bad thing because it could slow a boxer down.

[donnydarkoIRL]

I've heard it can cause the muscles to bulk up a bit, which can be a bad thing because it could slow a boxer down.

I wouldn't worry about the speed too much, I'm happy that my speed could reduce and I'd still be a fast 154.
The problem is I'm 6'1" and I'd say bulking would make the limit hard to reach.

[ono]

I've heard it can cause the muscles to bulk up a bit, which can be a bad thing because it could slow a boxer down.

That's just a myth by the way.

I've heard it said time and time on here as wel. Muscle will not slow you down.

[Trainer Monkey]

For a boxer, would creatine result in weight issues?

Only depending on the type of lifting you do

[p4pking]

Some good advice on this thread. I would just stress that you take Dextrose and Maltodextrin after a workout, before(or along with) anything else. Creatine, like any postworkout supplement, should be absorbed in the muscle tissue as quickly as possible for maximum results. As I believe Ono said, creatine is already in your body, and it's used greatly in muscle contractions. Therefore your body's natural supply of it is somewhat depleted after a workout. By rapidly replenishing your glycogen stores, you'll draw the creatine, protein, glutamine, whatever supplements you take, into your muscle tissues when they most need it. Take Dextrose and Maltodextrin with creatine, glutamine, some pure antioxidants(vitamin C,E,B12, B6, etc.) Then 20 minutes later, have a whey protein shake. You'll wonder why the hell you ever spent so much time training without doing so.

[ono]

Some good advice on this thread. I would just stress that you take Dextrose and Maltodextrin after a workout, before(or along with) anything else. Creatine, like any postworkout supplement, should be absorbed in the muscle tissue as quickly as possible for maximum results. As I believe Ono said, creatine is already in your body, and it's used greatly in muscle contractions. Therefore your body's natural supply of it is somewhat depleted after a workout. By rapidly replenishing your glycogen stores, you'll draw the creatine, protein, glutamine, whatever supplements you take, into your muscle tissues when they most need it. Take Dextrose and Maltodextrin with creatine, glutamine, some pure antioxidants(vitamin C,E,B12, B6, etc.) Then 20 minutes later, have a whey protein shake. You'll wonder why the hell you ever spent so much time training without doing so.

That is the way to get the absolute best out of Creatine.

Replenishing Gylcogen stores is probably the most important aspect of post workout nutrition.

More excellent advice from p4pking.

[Trainer Monkey]

As has been pointed out before,Creatine isnt some miracle drug,its a naturally occuring substance your supplementing
What you get out of it,is really dependent on what your willing to put in to the gym
It mainly helps giving your muscles better recovery
As has been pointed out,theres a lot of good advice on this thread
Id toss on methysulfonyl-methane for joint recovery

[AdamGB]

Only depending on the type of lifting you do

I was always under the impression that you experienced at least some bloat simply by taking it?.. regardless of how you trained?

[Trainer Monkey]

I was always under the impression that you experienced at least some bloat simply by taking it?.. regardless of how you trained?

Not really,it mainly juices your muscles so you bounce back,you can take all the creatine you want,but if you arent lifting you arent going to get anything from it
Ive done just about everything up to Andro(Ok thats technically a Roid but nobody knew it at the time)and Creatine is your safest bang for your buck

[AdamGB]

Oh yeah, knew that... was talking about water retention rather than muscle mass

Problem is I'm starting to get fairly tight at 81kg so I can't even afford a pound or two.

I can imagine it giving a good bounce back though, what's really been helping me has been taking a whey powder with Branch Chain Amino Acids in... I'm recovering much quicker at the moment and I'm able to train harder more frequently with out feeling like I've done too much (Which funnily enough I think I have this week... :s ;p)

[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.