Creatine
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I am an 18 year old male attending Virginia Tech. I am pretty into lifting and taking creatine. With my knowledge of creatine and the opinions of my acquaintances who take or have taken creatine, you will have a huge success rate if you take it right. So, I have come up with a few vital steps to follow if you want to be safe and buff. Here they are:
1. Only take the recommended dose. Never take more creatine, or your body may be affected. Most, if not all, people who get sick taking creatine either have a liver or kidney problem or overdose on this product.
2. Since creatine takes water away from your body, drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water per day.
3. Never ever drink alcohol while you are an active creatine user. Alcohol actually dehydrates your body, and you need the exact opposite, which is to make your body more hydrated than usual.
4. Take your creatine with warm water if you are taking the powder. This makes the creatine absorb in the water and you don't get that much of a gritty aftertaste. Water is the best to thing take all creatine with. Don't take creatine with fruit juices. It is thought that this will make the creatine have little to no effect on your body.
5. Lift, Lift, Lift. Get a program and stick to it. Lift 3 to 4 days a week, getting all of your potential muscles worked. Creatine is not muscle in a bottle, you have to do your part.
6. Try to run while on creatine. Stretch too, all the time. Some football players and other people who use creatine to play sports have trouble with pulled muscles. If you stretch and run while on creatine, this lessens the chance of this.
7. Consult your doctor if you have or have had kidney or liver problems. These are the main organs which work with creatine. A lot of the people who have kidney or liver problems have gotten worse while taking creatine.
8. Research creatine. Don't let anyone tell you that creatine is all good or bad. There is much controversy on this topic, and only you can decide whether or not to take it.
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Oh boy. Here we go again.
More teenagers who are going to turn the sport of bodybuilding on it's end with their experience with Creatine and how to use it properly. SHEESH. Let's all listen to their words of wisdom in their many, many years of lifting and nutritional experience. Yeah, OK.
I'm tired of hearing these guys, who are only on their first or second year of training, start taking a supplement and thinking it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Of course they're gonna be getting stronger...they haven't even come close to peaking yet. Now, here's what I want to hear. I person who's been training for 10-12 years, hit a genuine peak, and then started taking Creatine. What are his results?
I have seen many a products come and go. Of course the "marketeers" have to keep coming up with something new. After all, it is a billion dollar a year business.
In it's most simplistic form, all Creatine does is pull water into
the muscles. Therefore, making them look bigger and fuller. Once
you go off it, there go your gains, right into the toilet.
This can be accomplished in a natural way which is called "supercompensation." By not eating any carbs for a couple of days, the body rids itself of all excess water (hence the success of the Atkin's diet). After this, you load up on good carbs like pasta, yams and rye bread for a couple of days. The muscles become like a sponge and soak up all the water for fear of the next "drought" if you will. It overcompensates. Isn't this the same way we build muscle? The more we train, the bigger and stronger our muscles become in fear of the next load of stress that's going to be put upon them.
Because carbs hold water in the body more then protein or fat, this has worked successfully for many bodybuilders over the years with minimal side effects. You don't want to go without carbs for too long because the brain operates purely on glucose (sugar). So if you go too long, expect to get cranky and tired, etc.
Well that's it,
Big Mark
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Big Mark, You wanted to hear from somebody who had been lifting for 10-12 years? Well I can't help you there, but I have been lifting for 7 years now and can tell you that creatine has definitely helped me gain muscle and get stronger. I am not saying this stuff is the cure all for lifters, but it does help. I had hit a peak in maxing and my weight, and this heightened both.
As far as the dangers, hell, it seems everything these days is going to kill you. Tests and studies have shown that too much coffee, too little coffee, too much wine, not enough wine will harm you. Slight exaggeration, but the essence is true. I don't know what or who to believe on this. And I have not had any side effects. Maybe I'm lucky, maybe lifting experience has helped - I don't know.
Well, just wanted to give my two cents. Take it for what its worth. Interesting comparison to the carb example - never heard of that. Good write up in general.
RG
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