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Thread: Creatine

  1. #1
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    Hey, just wondering if any of you have taken creatine. What types of results did you get?  And how much did you take??  Any suggestions on how much would be appropriate for me??  I'm 5'2 122lbs.  Thanks all.

    FLY
     

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    I have taken creatine, but quit while I am on my cycle.

    But I love it .Loved the way it "pumped" up my muscles ; puts about 3 extra water pounds on me -- got to make sure you drink lots of water through out the day.

    I took a tsp a day after I worked out. You can usually go by the directions on the bottle. There is new evidence now saying you can skip the load phase--- which is what I do now.

    Just keep ur diet clean and lots of water while on it. I think its super stuff :)
     

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    Thanks alot Octopussy.  I just started it yesterday, I took it right after my workout.  Someone else told me I could skip the loading phase too--and I did....so just one tsp a day???  

    BTW, I didn't get a chance to welcome you here......WELCOME!!!!  :)  Thanks again...FLY
     

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    Thanks for the welcome. I think most say one HEAPING tsp a day :)  Good luck with it . Just remember to drink lots of agua thru the day.
     

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    Creatine really helps out in the beggining but for some reason, after a few monthes, it deosnt seem to do anything for me anymore. Its more like I get the same pump it gave me without it.
    All it really did is give me more energy when working out. It also made me retain water. It works, nothing dramatic, but it works.
     

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    Just came across this ...

    Women Drop Bodyfat Get Stronger W/Creatine

    Creatine supplementation increases strength
    improvements for the upper body in female athletes doing resistance training.  It also decreases body fat more than placebo when skinfold measurements are utilized.

     Hopefully I have all the women readers and the male
    readers who have active female friends interested at this point.  Again, I won't cover too many things we already know about creatine but instead will focus on interesting "add-ons" from this study.

     The Effect of Creatine Supplementation During Resistance Training in women (M.Brenner et.al. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2000, 14(2), 207-213)

     We're already aware that creatine supplementation has been shown to exhibit an ergogenic effect on maximal effort, repeated sprint exercise, as well as weight training.  Harris et al. reported that the increase in muscle creatine as a result of oral supplementation was greater in the leg that was trained as compared to the control rested leg.  

    This seems to infer that creatine uptake may be greater in muscle being trained versus some whole-body muscle uptake when supplementing with creatine.

     Until this study only one other study had been published where women were the test subjects and resistance training was the exercise protocol utilized.  That study tested previously untrained women for 10 weeks.  One other interesting note regarding previous creatine studies is most of them utilized short-term supplementation in men, even though many women use creatine and MOST INDIVIDUALS TAKE IT FOR PROLONGED PERIODS.  

    Every time I read a 5 day creatine study I want to vomit.  Why do the study when it doesn't mimic real-life events?

      The present study tested the benefits of oral creatine
    supplementation on twenty NCAA Division 1 lacrosse players between the ages of 18-22. This was a double-blind, placebo controlled study.  None of the subjects had used creatine for at least 2 months prior to.  They took 5 grams 4 times per day for 7 days and then took 2 grams per day (all in capsule form) for the remaining 24 days and the placebo group took sucrose capsules.  

    The women participated in a supervised resistance-training program 3 times per week.

     Body composition was measured on day 1 and day 38 of the study with hydrodensitometry (water tank) and skinfold measurement.  Strength was measured via a free-weight bench press (1RM) and leg extension (Nautilus) on days 3 and 39.

     An interesting dietary note is that on a self-reported
    questionnaire 56% of the women considered themselves vegetarian and 24% of the nonvegetarians consumed red meat, poultry, and /or fish less than twice a month.  

    Other creatine studies have indicated those with the lowest pre-test creatine muscle creatine concentrations have the most to gain with creatine supplementation.  Vegetarians are known to have lower muscle creatine stores than those who consume meat with regularity.

    Findings:

    - Bench press increased more in the creatine-supplemented group than the placebo group.  

    - Leg extension improved in both groups but was not significantly different between the groups.  It's interesting to note that other studies have
    also found that creatine has a more profound effect on upper body strength over lower body strength.  Why?  No one knows at this time.

    The authors note that it's possible these highly trained women were already near their maximum genetic
    potential for leg strength (remember, they are lacrosse
    players) and thus there was less room for advancement
    regardless of supplementation.

    - When skinfold measurements were used 85.7% of the creatine users dropped body fat but only 33% of the placebo group saw a decrease.  The mean drop in body fat for creatine users was 1.2% but the placebo group saw a mean increase in body fat of .3%.  No statistical difference in body fat was noted
    when hydrodensitometry was utilized.  

    The authors note that "...if creatine increased body hydration, this would result in an underestimation of body density and an overestimation of body fat after supplementation using hydrodensitometry."

    I found this study of interest because women are typically paranoid about increasing body weight with creatine use.  

    In the present 5 week  study both groups increased body weight but there was no statistical difference between the creatine and placebo groups.  This is good for women afraid of gaining more weight with creatine use.

    Further, I like the fact the women who took creatine saw a drop in body fat and the placebo group did not.  And finally, creatine increased performance in the gym and the creatine group increased their bench more than the placebo group.  

    The authors noted "...no indication of liver or kidney malfunction" as well and this corroborates other
    research indicating that the only side effect of creatine
    supplementation is an increase in lean mass.
     

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    Pumpdog.....thank you very much, that is infomative and interseting reading......maybe I will start to take creatine.  
     

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    Spanishfly, I have used creatine. I was taking about 10 grams daily on the maintanance phse and bout 25-30 grams on the loading phase.

    Its a good supplement, and like octopussy says pumps are good.

    I would deffinately recommend this supplement. creatine is basickly fibre, and seeing as the muscles are fibres the stuff must be good fro them lol ;).

    Lets us know how it works for you my friend.

    If your interested a good site to buy creatine from is www.Ripfast.com that is the creatine I used and it was great.

    Riftwood
     

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    Hey Pump--great info--thanks alot :)

    So far I'm into my third week of the creatine and I love it.  I have gotten great pumps in the gym and I do feel alot stronger.  The first week I took it my stomach did cramp up, but that subsided.  Also I have been drinking water like crazy--I have been extremely thirsty.  I must stay this is some amazing stuff.  Personally, I would recommend it to other women--it seems most are weary of creatine due to the idea of getting bloaty and gaining weight.  I have gained  but in a good way, I'm now 127lbs and proud!!!  :)  No bloating has occured either.  
    So to any of you who are not sure, I would give it a go!!

    Now--Anyone have any suggestions on how long I should take it??  I was going to do it for 3 wks...is it ok to take creatine for longer periods of time??  

    Thanks in advance, and once again thank for answers already given  ;)
     

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    I think, not for absolute sure, that creatine should be cycled for 6 - 8 weeks. Then go off, and give your receptors a little break.........I have read where some people do it year round......but I would think you need a "cleansing out" phase, so to speak.

    Glad you are liking it ;)
     

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    Yes I really like the creatine.  So far--for me-- it has been awesome.  I guess I'll give it a break when I feel like its not working anymore.  :)  I'm sure at some point my body will stop responding to it.  Then its break time.  Talk to you soon.....

    Bye, FLY
     

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