creatine... or however you spell it.

[mike14]

Is creatine really worth taking? a lot of people told me that it is. and ive never heard that there is anything wrong about it. also, i looked at the nutrition facts on the back and there is like 140 caleries per serving and like 34g of carbs. is that ok?

thanx,
mike,
aka,
smokey.

[F1]

I don't know what your goals are, or what brand creatine your taking, but it is considered a safe and effective supplement according to the majority of the scientific literature. However for about 10% of the population it will have no benefit as these people already resynthesis the majority of their ATP quickly. If you are in the other 90% of the population, it will allow you to recover quicker after high intensity maximal exercise (heavy weight training, repeated sprints, etc). If you follow a short, but high volume loading phase (5 days 20g, etc) you can gain about an extra 1kg in water retention. If you don't want that, then following a longer loading phase (10 days 10g) or not using one at all, will limit the water retention.

As far as I'm aware there is no use for creatine supplementation in aerobic activities, as it offers no performance improvements. Creatine can also be used to limit muscle atrophy in immobilised limbs, so if you've an arm in a cast, taking creatine will limit muscle wastage.

As for cals etc in your creatine, just take that into account if your trying to lose weight and factor it in to your daily intake. Be aware that creatine is best absorbed with simple carbohydrate following exercise, so that's why alot of cretaine supplements are blended with it.

Hope that's of help
mac

[dinabol]

There are no side effects from taking the recommended dose of creatine, except for some retainment of water, which during contest time can be a pain in the rear. I suggest getting off creatine at least two weeks prior to a contest.

[dos]

I have actually read before that it is closer to 30% of people who would receive no benefits from creatine supplementation. Also, from what I understand, the 'loading phase' is not necessary at all (no significant differences between groups who load and groups that didn't). Basically, the loading phase is a great way to get people to use-up their supply quicker and buy more creatine!

[massive member]

if your diet and training is good and you're recovering properly and you respond to it, you will notice the effects of creatine.

5 grams a day is plenty

[F1]

Just to clarify, I mentioned the loading phase as it's what most creatine supplements recommend. As dos pointed out you get the same benefit over time without a loading phase (although I understand it takes slightly longer to get the full benefits, as your muscles do not become as saturated as quickly), plus you don't get the water retention.

As to it being 30%, it could well be , I'm sure dos you have a reliable source and I know you more qualified than me to answer the original question. Either way try it; if it don't work, don't use it.

[dos]

Here's one study that look at dosages etc.

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 187–192.

Long-Term Effects of Creatine Monohydrate on Strength and Power
DAVID R. PEARSON, DEREK G. HAMBY, WADE RUSSEL, and TOM HARRIS


The Human Performance Laboratory, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana 47306.

ABSTRACT

The use of creatine monohydrate supplementation by athletes to increase strength and lean body mass has great anecdotal support. There has also been great interest in the use of lower doses of creatine monohydrate for extended periods during heavy resistance training. The purpose of this investigation was to document the long-term effects of creatine monohydrate supplementation on resistance-trained athletes. Sixteen collegiate football players were randomly separated into creatine monohydrate and placebo groups. Supplementation in capsule form consisted of 5 g/d of creatine monohydrate or placebo (no loading phase) throughout a 10-week supervised resistance training program. Pretesting and posttesting consisted of the following: weight; body fat estimation; 1 repetition maximum bench press, squat, and power clean; and Cybex testing. Results revealed the creatine monohydrate group was able to significantly increase measures of strength and power and increase body mass without a change in percent body fat, whereas the placebo group showed no significant changes. The results indicate that 10 weeks of creatine monohydrate supplementation while participating in a resistance training program significantly increases strength and power indices compared with placebo supplementation. These data also indicate that lower doses of creatine monohydrate may be ingested (5 g/d), without a short-term, large-dose loading phase (20 g/d), for an extended period to achieve significant performance enhancement.

Key Words: resistance training, supplementation, weight training

Another one that looked at the effects of 'loading'....I know, i know....they used leg extensions as one of their strength measures!

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 413–419.

Creatine Loading, Resistance Exercise Performance, and Muscle Mechanics
SCOTT W. STEVENSON and GARY A. DUDLEY


Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California 91768; Department of Exercise Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602.

ABSTRACT

We tested the null hypothesis that creatine monohydrate loading (20 g per day for 7 days, n = 18) would not alter resistance exercise performance, isometric strength, or in vivo contractile properties of the quadriceps femoris muscle compared with loading with placebo (n = 13) in resistance-trained subjects. For the entire study group, the 1 repetition maximum (1RM) and 5-set performance (the number of repetitions) for unilateral, dynamic knee extension increased slightly (2% and 5%, respectively) after dietary supplementation, and these responses did not differ by condition. Maximal voluntary isometric torque and the rate of torque development did not change. During electromyostimulation, torque development and relaxation time were also unaffected. Our data suggest that creatine loading does not augment unilateral strength or multiset resistance exercise performance for knee extensions compared with placebo loading.

Reference Data:Stevenson, S.W., and G.A. Dudley. Creatine loading, resistance exercise performance, and muscle mechanics.


Key Words: ergogenic aids, strength, contractile properties, electromyostimulation

[F1]

Not trying to be pedantic here dos, because I agree that you get the same benefits wothout the loading phase. However the studies above are making unsound conclusions.

The first study hasn't compared a loading phase group vs. a non-loading phase group vs. a control group. Ok they saw an improvement over the 10 weeks in the non-loading phase group; but what about if a loading group saw greater improvements and/or improvements more quickly, compared to the non-loading group?

The second study concludes that you don't need a loading phase, but they haven't compared to a non-loading phase creatine supplementation group. Because if they did and found no difference in the non-loading creatine supplementation group, there conclusion would be that creatine supplementation has no effect full-stop.

Mind you, what can you expect if they use leg extensions as a strength test!

Like I said, I'm not disagreeing with you, just being an arm chair critic

[DANZIG]

You only have to do the loading phase once. and as earlier posters have mentioned you can get the same benefits without loading, however, it takes thirty days. I believe it is best to load with only ten grams per day for one week, then relenquish the dose to five grams a day for maintenance purposes. This sataurates the tissues with creatine. Also, I like to get off the stuff for a while then re-load and go at it agian.