spirol

I usually take 1 tablespoon of creatine in the morning. Then 1 table spoon after my working at night. Is this okay, I only weight about 120 lbs.

Plan9Senior

What type/brand of creatine are you using?

When taking pure creatine, you are supposed to take it about 30 mins before you work out and right after you work out.

G5_Todd

my nutrionist told me that you body creates all the creatine you need....


further he stated that if you take to much or if you take if for a long period of time your body will forget how to make it and stop making it.....thus depending you to take it forever

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spirol

i'm taking pure creatine.

bookerV

I'm not a fan of creatine myself. But I have friends who take it sometimes. They take it before & after working out. Usually they bring a bottle of powder into the the gym and leave it in their locker, then at the end of the workout add some water (they add some juice crystal thingies so it doesnt taste like crap), mix it up and chug it back.

i dunno. I think natural is the way to go personally. I dont like using anything like that. I take protien and thats it. I have heard about developing creatine dependancies as well, but you need to take it constantly for a long period of time. I find that going all natural means that the results last longer, ie if you stopped working out for a while for some reason you would stay in better shape a lot longer if going 100% pure. But thats just me, it could be quite different for you...

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Redjake

I just started taking it about a week and a half ago. During the "loading" phase (where you take it like 4-5 times a day for week) I had the explosive shits and constant gas. It was incredible. But now that I am taking it once per day (take it at lunch), I am fine. My Health & Fitness professor said there are virtually no side effects, as long as you give your body a rest every couple of months and lay off of it.

From his understand, and he has his master's degree, your body will not EVER "stop making creatine" or "become dependant." plus, your body will not go back down to its original size if you stop taking it. creatine holds water, which makes yoru muscles bigger, which lets you lift bigger weights, which makes your muscles.....even bigger. if you stopped, you might lose a little bit of muscle, but what you've made during the process can't be lost unless you stop working out.


I haven't noticed any big improvements yet, but I haven't been taking it long.

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winsecure

As with a lot of supplements, there is the question of becoming dependent on it (your body may stop production of its own if you use it constantly for too long). This is why its important to cycle it if you do use it. 8 weeks on, 4 weeks off is a common cycle.

Creatine doesn't actually "hold water". Rather it facilitates the transport of water into muscle cells. When you work out, your muscle fibers incur micro-fiber tears in them. The faster influx of water into your muscle cells allow these micro-fiber tears to repair faster. Because of this, you don't stay sore as long, you have faster muscle mass & strength gains. Also the water servers as a volumizing agent... your muscles will have more water in them, so you'll look larger.

When you cycle off the creatine, you will lose the pure volumizing effect of creatine. However the faster rebuild of the muscle fibers that led to bigger and stronger muscles, that will not be lost... unless of course you become totally lethargic

JayRock

You might want to also take some L-Glutamine along with the creatine. Glutamine aids in muscle recovery and combined with creatine works very well.

Tholo

When you stop taking creatine, your muscles no longer have the same water retention so you lose approximately 30% of the gains you made while on, its a noticeable loss, but the gains are worth it.

There are no other side effects, but be aware the many bodies (something like 1/10 or 1/100) simply do not digest creatine and you will essentially be pissing it all away. Theres no real way to know if you're doing this though without a test, so best bet is...keep at it and if you don't have any gains, drop the stuff.

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Sun Tzu

In conjuction with what Tholo said; if your OK with the fact your going to lose some of the gains you made; then creatine isnt to bad. If your going to use it; down it with pure grape juice. As far as when to take there are a bunch of theories. They're all right and all wrong. In other words everybody is built differently; what is going to work for one person may have a different outcome for someone else because of genetics. When I used it I found that dose in the morning and one after my workouts had the best effects. Also because of the loss when mixing unless the suspension is used I took it dry right from the spoon to make sure I get every bit and then washed it down with grape juice.

Although I did make temporary gains asthetically; the biggest impression it left on me is what it did for my running stamina. I have never been a great runner. At the time I was going through specialized military training in which running in thick beach sand with jungle boots on; for an average 6 mile run at a 6:30 to 7 min pace was killing me. I was in the last percentage of my class on these torture runs. That fact alone made the instructors come down on me even harder (which wasnt good). Three weeks after using Creatine- the side pinch was gone, the burn in my legs was gone, and I generally felt a higher level of oxygenation occuring. I wasnt stumbling across that anaerobic threshold, and went from running in the rear to running in the front.

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G5_Todd

just ran a search...answered a few questions i had and cleared up a myth or two.....


anyone have any info on liquid creatine vs. pills / powders

__________________
"....and when you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy."

-General Franks