Creatine question

[madhops22]

I am thinking about adding creatine to my diet after my cutting cycle ends (in about 6 weeks). I have a few questions about it:
1 - how much would I have to take to add lots of strength, without causing any danger to my body?

2 - Is this stuff really worth it? Will I get a lot stronger using it than without using it?

3 - What exactly does it do...does it add strength just by taking it? Or does it just give you more energy to lift more in workout sessions?

Sorry about the dumb questions, but I am a newbie to strength building.

I don't want to add crazy amounts of mass, just strength. As I am training to get in good shape to play basketball and soccer this year.

thanks,

Madhops

 

[pact]

mad, as far as how much to take it depends on your weight, but 5 to 10g a day will be ample, any excess is wasted (pissed out i believe) but you may want to load it at 20 to 25g a day for 5 days. whether you load or not, you will be at the same level after two months but you will see results quicker if you do load (from personal experience). secondly, it is worth it considering you can get like 1000g for $30 bucks from MQ and there's similar pricing elsewhere (5g a day for 60 days=300 g, that amount can be had for $15), since it is so cheap that is why i decide to load. if it bothers your stomach, don't load it. for what it does, it basically flushes more water and nutrients into your muscles and works the ATP-CP systems allowing you to pump out a few more reps. as for results, you will get stronger -- not crazy ass stronger, but it helps get through plateaus, i find the best results come from eating a lot (obviously!!) and you should put on about 10lbs and may lose 2 to 5lbs of it when you come off. that's about it in a nutshell
pact

 

[latebloomer]

Creatine facts/Technical reference/likely more than you want to know.

I can explain it on a molecular level and why good ol' table sugar is your friend here. Some facts you should know before starting.
How do I get Creatine Monohydrate into my muscles so it will work?
Creatine Monohydrate is transported into muscle cells by the action of Insulin, a protien released by the Pancreas in response to rising blood sugar levels. This is a compensating mechanism in your body to burn excess extracellular sugar as a good fuel source for ATP(cellular energy) production.This mechanism is also a bonus in the form of "cell volumization" which increases the size of the muscle cells by way of the flow of fluids into the cell. That increases the size of each muscle group as a result and will give you one hell of a "pump" during and for a short time after your workouts.


How much sugar is needed ?

It doesn't take more than 25-30 gms of sugar on a fairly empty stomach. You should increase that to compensate for an above average lean muscle mass. It's not detrimental to your health, in fact, you probably get more of an Insulin response from eating a cady bar or a cookie.
B]How does Creatine Monohydrate work?[/B]
Your body producesCreatine Monohydrate using the amino acid L-Arginine naturally. your not doing anything you body doesn't already do so I think it's completely safe.
Once inside the cell Creatine Monohydrate is transformed to a useful form for energy called Creatine Phosphate. That phosphate molecule is the key to energy to drive contraction and relaxation of the muscle. It's part of a molecule that you've probably already heard of......ATP.
ATP production is the reason your Pancrease releases Insulin to push extracellular sugar into the cell. It's used as fuel in a process called The Krebs cycle to produce ATP. ATP production is also the reason for lactic acid build-up as a waste material of another, though brutally inefficient, cycle of ATP production called Anerobic Respiration.
What is the benefit of Creatine supplementation

Putting more Creatine Monohydrate into the muscle cell is a more efficient way of producing ATP and avoiding the more inefficient(and sometimes painful) Anaerobic Respiration. It should decrease recovery time and rest periods between sets(see where I'm going with this?) Improve the quality of your form in each repetition with heavier weights since ATP will be replenished from immediately available stores of Creatine Phosphate. It will allow your muscles to do more work over the same period of time and introduce a new stress to adapt to.
It's all good[

To repeat what Pact said, 20-25 gms a day for five days to load is how I've always used it. I've seen papers stating up to 20grms a day by atheletes for 10 years I don't see the use for that much but I can give you advice on how to do that efficiently.

Take it in 5gm doses 4 times a day for five days. Adjust it a little higher(like the sugar) for lean mass above the average.
Take it on a slightly empty stomach(to potentiate an Insulin response) with 25-30 gms of sugar.
Using good ol' table sugar will avoid the sour stomach associated with using very acidic fruit sugar drinks. You should be able to find cheap drink mixes or use a favorite sport mix. Just make sure you read the lable on it and add enough sugar to stimulate an Insulin response.

If you have any further questions I will be following this post with interest and will respond as my schedule permits.
I hope this helps you. Please do keep me posted on your progress.

Brad[

 

[latebloomer]

I forgot to mention that there's a matinence dose involved and that would be 5gms per day. If you forget one or two days don't freak. It takes a month for it to completly wash out of your skeletal muscle so one or two days isn't going to make much of a difference in your resevoir.

Did this information help?

 

[madhops22]

latebloomer!

Thanks a lot for the info!
That was a wicked post and very informative. I'm still cutting right now **I'm 5'10, 188lbs - I want to be at 175-180lbs before I go on the creatine...so I'll start up the creatine cycle in about 6 weeks.
Once you start taking creatine, do you have to stay on it (you said maintenece dosage of 5gm)? I was hoping to use it as a firestarter! Be on it for like 3 months to get some major gains in my training during the summer. Would would the best length of time to take it?

thanks again for the great help!

Madhops

 

[latebloomer]

Madhops,
I'm glad you got something out of my technorant

You're thinking of it for the short term and using it to fuel your workouts for the summer. Just keep in mind that Creatine Monohydrate will transport lots of water with it into the muscle because of changes in extracellular solute concentration......Translation: It will make you thirsty. As it's used up to make ATP, your body will be eliminating more waste products(Creatinine)..Translation: After a workout you'll piss like a firehose.
No real danger there but always be aware of fluid intake.

During summer you'll want to be aware of hydration issues and not count on your thirst mechanism all the time but be aware.
I'm sure it's fine.

The matinence dose is used to maintain levels of Creatine Monohydrate in your muscle cells during training cycles. Just try to make sure you take a dose a day after the loading phase to keep levels close to where they were at the end of loading.

I always scheduled a dose before a workout or athletic event and during the last set of my workouts or the later innings of a ballgame. I think that you'll see benefit from it over three months, in fact I wouldn't be suprised to hear you saw improvement before your loading phase was over.

Remember,
Use the powdered Creatine Monohydrate with some sugar to drive it.
The benefits of more Creatine than what I've specified is not known. I haven't looked into it in awhile but I don't think there's any good reason to take more than that. Certainly with the issue of the osmolarity of extracellular fluids changing I wouldn't experiment with higher doses.

Results still depend on your routine and nutrition. Creatine will enhance ATP production but YOU have to force the muscle to adapt. You'll just have much more energy available for that purpose.............................................Now how about some Karma eh?

Hope that helps

 

[madhops22]

late bloomer

Thanks again mah man!
How do I send you Karma? Cuz you get mad amounts of karma for your help!

How long have you used creatine for? What kind of gains/results did you get from using it?

Madhops

 

[pact]

madhops, 2months of creatine use will suffice although some on these boards use it year round, but with the two months you can restart in a month or two to get another "wind". if you load you will definately notice results in the first week unless you are in the unfortunate 10% that do not respond.
pact