Creatine - worth it?

Morba · 25 Mar 2008 at 17:39

fus said:
Not everything on this forum is a personal attack on you! I think his comment was meant in jest. Or is it that you have made some quite outrageous claims with no proof so you are on the back-foot whenever someone talks to you?

rofl

aftershxck · 25 Mar 2008 at 20:24

Is it really worth it for a beginner to use creatine ? I mean - from your other posts I'd assume you have only just started working out recently, why use supplements (bar protein) at the beginning?

Participant · 25 Mar 2008 at 21:03

aftershxck said:
Is it really worth it for a beginner to use creatine ? I mean - from your other posts I'd assume you have only just started working out recently, why use supplements (bar protein) at the beginning?

Correct I'm only just starting proper training. "Is it really worth it" is exactly the question I'm asking, and it seems that the answer's a resounding no!

Thanks all.

Morba · 25 Mar 2008 at 21:15

the answer is definitely not a no, just dont be under the impression that it will give you gains rapidly.
to gain muscle you need to eat, you have said you are not eating enough, creatine will not replace good calorie intake.

Irish_Tom · 25 Mar 2008 at 22:47

It tastes like **** but I've found it has helped since bringing it into my routine.

Panzer

At The Gates · 25 Mar 2008 at 22:51

I've been training again for about 8 weeks now and started on Creapure about 4 weeks ago (starting with 15g a day when loading) and it's made no difference whatsoever. Going back to the charts i made last year when i was training before, my gains now are the same as then pretty much (bearing in mind i'm following pretty much the same diet and exercises, and all the gains i made last time are gone from being ill, so i'm starting frmo square one again). No more endurance than normal, no better recovery times, no water retention, etc etc. I'm sure it works for some, but seems to have zero effect on me. I stopped taking it and justwent up to 3300 cals a day. Seems to be working, although my gains suck due to getting about 4 hrs sleep a night :/

benjo plz. · 25 Mar 2008 at 22:59

you need more sleep. 4 hours is simply not enough, you need atleast twice that.

tom_e · 26 Mar 2008 at 00:24

At The Gates said:
I've been training again for about 8 weeks now and started on Creapure about 4 weeks ago (starting with 15g a day when loading) and it's made no difference whatsoever. Going back to the charts i made last year when i was training before, my gains now are the same as then pretty much (bearing in mind i'm following pretty much the same diet and exercises, and all the gains i made last time are gone from being ill, so i'm starting frmo square one again). No more endurance than normal, no better recovery times, no water retention, etc etc. I'm sure it works for some, but seems to have zero effect on me. I stopped taking it and justwent up to 3300 cals a day. Seems to be working, although my gains suck due to getting about 4 hrs sleep a night :/

Some people react to one type of creatine but not the other so it may be worth you trying CEE before writing it off totally

^TANK^ · 27 Mar 2008 at 10:48

For what its worth i had great results with Reflex creatine monohydrate, i started noticing big gains in size and strength rather quick so i can rate that brand. Maximucles version is another one i tried and it done nothing for me totally hyped crap!

Billy 2 Sips · 27 Mar 2008 at 11:10

Reflex is the creapure stuff.....best creatine about.

Richdog · 27 Mar 2008 at 11:15

At The Gates said:
although my gains suck due to getting about 4 hrs sleep a night :/

Ouch that's going to really hurt testosterone levels too... try taking ZMA, I tried it recently (from about a week ago) after suffering months of ragged sleep and it's working like a charm, I sleep much better now and can really feel the difference.

LiE · 27 Mar 2008 at 11:34

Some creatine pre and post workout works quite well.

Richard_16v · 27 Mar 2008 at 11:40

I'm sure I have read Creatine can cause issue with the Colon, something like Colonitis(SP) or something that sounded quite horrible, has anyone else heard about this or am I going mad?

At The Gates · 27 Mar 2008 at 11:44

Richdog said:
Ouch that's going to really hurt testosterone levels too... try taking ZMA, I tried it recently (from about a week ago) after suffering months of ragged sleep and it's working like a charm, I sleep much better now and can really feel the difference.

tell me about it. I'm makin progress but i know it's nowhere near as well as if i was more rested. When my body should be recovering from working out, it's just dealing with stress of no sleep and work. I'll have a look at ZMA, cheers!

benjo plz. · 27 Mar 2008 at 12:50

Richdog said:
Ouch that's going to really hurt testosterone levels too... try taking ZMA

I never found it to help with sleep, it just gives me really vivid dreams, melatonin is worth a look. Grape seed extract and tribulus are good for testosterone levels.

Skull · 27 Mar 2008 at 13:00

Richard_16v said:
I'm sure I have read Creatine can cause issue with the Colon, something like Colonitis(SP) or something that sounded quite horrible, has anyone else heard about this or am I going mad?

I've never heard anything on that... even in medical journals.

Richard_16v · 27 Mar 2008 at 14:31

Skull said:
I've never heard anything on that... even in medical journals.

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/fb.asp?m=2123053 there is a thread about it on muscletalk to be fair a lot seems to be speculation, but it's something to research before taking it - some sufferes seem to blame creatine.

Oh and it's called colitis (good guess considering it was a long time ago that I read about it in passing).

Richdog · 27 Mar 2008 at 14:43

benjo plz. said:
I never found it to help with sleep, it just gives me really vivid dreams, melatonin is worth a look. Grape seed extract and tribulus are good for testosterone levels.

Definately helps me with sleeping... though I do also get the vivid dreams!

As for tribulus... heard very mixed reports about it working?

benjo plz. · 27 Mar 2008 at 15:08

Richdog said:
As for tribulus... heard very mixed reports about it working?

if your test levels are normal it won't do anything. if they're low it will boost them.

Richdog · 27 Mar 2008 at 15:11

I meant mixed reports full stop... not for people with already healthy test levels. Mine aren't up to scratch, which is why I was considering them in the first place.

Meh, I may just try them anyway, £10 for 3 months supply aint exactly breaking the bank.