login
Creatine
-
No new posts
|
 2009-06-16 8:42 AM |
 DC |  Subject: CreatineFor those of you who aren't afraid to admit it, who uses it & how? E.g., take it for 2 weeks, get off for 2, & back on for 2... (I'm no podium seeker & I like that creatine helps me gain muscle [like more well-defined shoulders].) |
| 2009-06-16 8:52 AM in reply to: #2220673 |
Expert  937   Traverse Cityish | Subject: RE: Creatine Great for building muscle, not so great for endurance and long distance events. If you are concentrating on power building in the off season it may be worth dabbling in, but you'll get mixed reviews about it actually being helpful during the race season. While my vanity side likes what it does, the realistic side knows that extra muscle that doesn't propel me forward is just more weight to pull along. |
| 2009-06-16 11:12 AM in reply to: #2220673 |
Elite 4048 Gilbert, Az. | Subject: RE: Creatine Porfirio - 2009-06-16 6:42 AM For those of you who aren't afraid to admit it, who uses it & how? E.g., take it for 2 weeks, get off for 2, & back on for 2... (I'm no podium seeker & I like that creatine helps me gain muscle [like more well-defined shoulders].) How does creatine help your shoulders? (I'm not asking to be a smartass, I just want to see if you know what creatine actually does in the body) Creatine is absolutely wonderful for very short burst, intense activity, such as weightlifting, sprints, things of that nature. It's one of the few supplements out there that has been proven to work, and is so innocuous that it's listed as a food product, and is not regulated or banned by any national or Olympic governing body. But, for endurance purposes, creatine is of limited if any value, and can even be detrimental. John |
| 2009-06-16 11:20 AM in reply to: #2220673 |
Expert 735 Chatham, Ontario | Subject: RE: Creatine I take it to help with muscle recovery. |
| 2009-06-16 12:07 PM in reply to: #2221294 |
Elite 4048 Gilbert, Az. | Subject: RE: Creatine tabbs - 2009-06-16 9:20 AM I take it to help with muscle recovery. Then you are wasting your money. Creatine does absolutely nothing to enhance muscle recovery post workouts. John |
| 2009-06-16 12:48 PM in reply to: #2221265 |
| DC | Subject: RE: Creatine "How does creatine help your shoulders? (I'm not asking to be a smartass, I just want to see if you know what creatine actually does in the body)" Pure aesthetics. I enjoy tri's & the training (intensely), but I also don't like "looking" like a puny whimp (like the girl in high school that no one liked  ). If there's another way to help maintain a good amount of muscle mass (I'm putting on around 5 pounds but, according to my wife, giving the impression of much more) AND that will consequently help in my race times, I'd love to hear of it--particulary from you more seasoned athletes. I'm much more open-minded now. |
| 2009-06-16 12:54 PM in reply to: #2220673 |
Regular 96 Novi, MI | Subject: RE: Creatine I use it to make sure I can get all my reps in. It helps boost energy in the muscle to get a better workout in. I also use it after a workout for recovery. It keeps the muscles hydrated and aleviates most of the soreness. |
| 2009-06-16 1:02 PM in reply to: #2220673 |
Master 1826 | Subject: RE: Creatine creatine assists in efforts not exceeding 30 seconds.. not very helpful in tri (this is from a study.. can't remember what exactly.. heard a discussion on tri-talk podcast if you want to find reference) |
| 2009-06-16 1:32 PM in reply to: #2220673 |
| 53 | Subject: RE: Creatine I have used creatine in the past for weight lifting and have seen great results. I can tell the difference if I dont use creatine. Basically when you are lifting weights you are trying to cause your muscles to 'tear' (not in a damaging way). This is the soreness you get when you lift. Creatine allows a short boost of energy to the muscle allowing you to lift more weight therefore tearing your muscle resulting in more gains. I have heard arguments that Creatine can actually help cardio excercise but havent really seen any concrete proof, especially for longer endurance events. For lifting its great! I would say if you are serious about endurance events I would forget it and focus on a supplement that is more suited for that particular cause. |
| 2009-06-16 1:35 PM in reply to: #2220673 |
| 53 | Subject: RE: Creatine One other thing, I think its hilarious that people see this as such a taboo product. It is naturally created by the body. I remember my roomate saw mine once and asked if it was steroids...haha. However, I would heed the warnings to not use it for long periods of time. There should be a loading period (1-2 weeks) and then a maintenence period. You dont want to cause an imbalance in your body over long periods of time. |
| 2009-06-16 1:45 PM in reply to: #2221603 |
Elite 4048 Gilbert, Az. | Subject: RE: Creatine Porfirio - 2009-06-16 10:48 AM "How does creatine help your shoulders? (I'm not asking to be a smartass, I just want to see if you know what creatine actually does in the body)" Pure aesthetics. I enjoy tri's & the training (intensely), but I also don't like "looking" like a puny whimp (like the girl in high school that no one liked ). If there's another way to help maintain a good amount of muscle mass (I'm putting on around 5 pounds but, according to my wife, giving the impression of much more) AND that will consequently help in my race times, I'd love to hear of it--particulary from you more seasoned athletes. I'm much more open-minded now.Don't worry about the creatine too much then. It may make your shoulders, etc. look bigger, but as soon as you stop taking the creatine a lot of that will go away. Just do more tri training, and maybe add in some pushups, situps, pullups, etc. as a supplement. http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?username=Devlin Those are a couple of race photos from last year and this year. I'm def. not scrawny, and I haven't touched a weight other than idly once in a while for more than 10 years. John |
| 2009-06-16 2:42 PM in reply to: #2220673 |
Veteran 160 GA | Subject: RE: Creatine I started taking it about four years ago, and used it in anywhere from 4-8 week cycles with 2-4 weeks in between. If you use creatine, cycling it is a necessity--your body will increase its tolerance and benefits will decrease. I didn't take it for my 8 months in Iraq. |
| 2009-06-16 2:58 PM in reply to: #2222066 |
| DC | Subject: RE: Creatine TRI-ing soldier, Thanks for sharing, Iraq experience & all. (I don't take it as ranting at all.) And, you managed to addressed the original question of cycling creatine. I'm going for a 2 wk. on, 2 wk. off. I am otherwise so skinny its sickly.  |
| 2009-06-16 3:07 PM in reply to: #2222066 |
Elite 4048 Gilbert, Az. | Subject: RE: Creatine TRI-ing soldier - 2009-06-16 12:42 PM Furthermore, I don't believe creatine is only useful in short burst-type performance. This would imply it only improves performance of fast-twitch muscle fibers. If fast-twitch muscle fibers are stronger, it will improve the performance of the entire muscular system, i.e., slow twitch muscle fibers will be activated later, and thus last longer. Cycling is a muscle driven sport. Then you would be wrong. Creatine monophosphate (Or the newer and more popular creatine ethyl ester) basically helps the energy metabolism in the muscle cell by providing more fuel in the anaerobic system. Basically, your cell has adenosine tri phosphate (ATP) in it. This is the fuel for short burst, high intensity anaerobic types of activity such as sprinting, weightlifting, etc. The muscle gets energy by breaking one of the phosphate bonds in ATP. This results in ADP plus energy plus waste products. There is a replenishment cycle where the creatine monophosphate contributes a phosphate to recreate ATP from ADP. This allows the muscle to work for an extra bit of time in the anaerobic power phase. Now, before you get all excited, that "extra" bit of time is seconds at best. The anaerobic power phase where creatine will make a difference is a couple of minutes in the best of circumstances, and is generally around 30 seconds to a minute. After that, energy production shifts to aerobic pathways, and creatine is not the primary fuel source anymore. So, it's not a matter of which fibers get enhanced (Because even in sprinting or weightlifting, you are still recruiting someof the slow twitch fibers), but which fuel system is used. A good analogy is having two gas tanks in your car. One tank is filled with premium high octane, which allows your car to go all out, but only has enough fuel for maybe a mile of travel. Then you have to switch to the lower octane main tank, which allows you to go much much further, but not at as high a level as the high octane tank. John |
| 2009-06-16 3:11 PM in reply to: #2221294 |
Extreme Veteran 662 Sunny San Diego | Subject: RE: Creatine "I take it to help with muscle recovery." I think your confusing it with Glutamine. Edited by joker70 2009-06-16 3:12 PM |
| 2009-06-16 3:33 PM in reply to: #2220673 |
Expert 1123 Falls Church, VA | Subject: RE: Creatine and just to clarify, creatine doesn't stimulate more muscle growth, it allows you do to more work. This will create a greater stimulous for hypertrophy, but if you're already scrawny, simply progressing your lifting amounts over time with sufficient calories is what you need to gain muscle. 5lbs of muscle is actually a decent amount, you might gain 25 lbs or more on your major lifts with that. However that only improves anaerobic power, short burst kind of stuff. Edited by Bioteknik 2009-06-16 3:33 PM |
| 2009-06-17 8:21 AM in reply to: #2222166 |
Expert 735 Chatham, Ontario | Subject: RE: Creatine joker70 - 2009-06-16 4:11 PM "I take it to help with muscle recovery." I think your confusing it with Glutamine. OH thank - I better get some glutamine too! Edited by tabbs 2009-06-17 8:22 AM |
| 2009-06-17 8:51 AM in reply to: #2222155 |
Expert 608 St. Louis | Subject: RE: Creatine tkd.teacher - 2009-06-16 3:07 PM TRI-ing soldier - 2009-06-16 12:42 PM Furthermore, I don't believe creatine is only useful in short burst-type performance. This would imply it only improves performance of fast-twitch muscle fibers. If fast-twitch muscle fibers are stronger, it will improve the performance of the entire muscular system, i.e., slow twitch muscle fibers will be activated later, and thus last longer. Cycling is a muscle driven sport. Then you would be wrong. Creatine monophosphate (Or the newer and more popular creatine ethyl ester) basically helps the energy metabolism in the muscle cell by providing more fuel in the anaerobic system. Basically, your cell has adenosine tri phosphate (ATP) in it. This is the fuel for short burst, high intensity anaerobic types of activity such as sprinting, weightlifting, etc. The muscle gets energy by breaking one of the phosphate bonds in ATP. This results in ADP plus energy plus waste products. There is a replenishment cycle where the creatine monophosphate contributes a phosphate to recreate ATP from ADP. This allows the muscle to work for an extra bit of time in the anaerobic power phase. John You will always use ATP in either aerobic or anaerobic but the amount of ATP produced in the the cycles(krebs vs ?) is from 32 per sugar to 4(?) per sugar. |
| 2009-06-17 10:23 AM in reply to: #2223678 |
Champion 9407 Montague Gold Mines, Nova Scotia | Subject: RE: Creatine xcrunner2010 - 2009-06-17 10:51 AM tkd.teacher - 2009-06-16 3:07 PM Creatine monophosphate (Or the newer and more popular creatine ethyl ester) basically helps the energy metabolism in the muscle cell by providing more fuel in the anaerobic system. Basically, your cell has adenosine tri phosphate (ATP) in it. This is the fuel for short burst, high intensity anaerobic types of activity such as sprinting, weightlifting, etc. The muscle gets energy by breaking one of the phosphate bonds in ATP. This results in ADP plus energy plus waste products. There is a replenishment cycle where the creatine monophosphate contributes a phosphate to recreate ATP from ADP. This allows the muscle to work for an extra bit of time in the anaerobic power phase. You will always use ATP in either aerobic or anaerobic but the amount of ATP produced in the the cycles(krebs vs ?) is from 32 per sugar to 4(?) per sugar. John was talking about the ATP that is stored in the cell; this is the energy that is used first and is part of the "anaerobic alactic" energy pathway that does not require oxygen. As he mentioned, the creatine monophosphate can change to ADP back to ATP to allow the cell to work for just a little longer. Shane |
| 2009-06-17 11:20 AM in reply to: #2223678 |
Elite 4048 Gilbert, Az. | Subject: RE: Creatine xcrunner2010 - 2009-06-17 6:51 AM You will always use ATP in either aerobic or anaerobic but the amount of ATP produced in the the cycles(krebs vs ?) is from 32 per sugar to 4(?) per sugar. See what gsmacleod said. Cycles..hrm...IIRC the other one is the Cori cycle? I'd have to look at my ex phys text to be sure, but I think that's the cycle that takes lactate to the liver where it's converted back into glucose... John |
| 2009-06-17 11:47 AM in reply to: #2220673 |
Pro 4277 Parker, CO | Subject: RE: Creatine I used creatine for about a 6-month period a few years back. I gained about 10 pounds and my muscles (I was lifing regularly then too) were noticably bigger (I'm a pretty thin guy). My understanding is that creatine attracts water to your muscles, therefore, increasing the size. No benefit at all for endurance sports! In fact, I would find I would get severe cramping in my legs during runs over 40 - 50 minutes. Not too mention, creatine is expensive. I de feel I looked more fit when I took it...but that was really the only benefit that I found. |
| 2009-06-17 12:25 PM in reply to: #2220673 |
Regular 157 Bay City, MI | Subject: RE: Creatine So out of curosity would creatine help on the far end of aerobic exercise? What I mean is if you "hit the wall" during a run would you get an extra few seconds of increased power to help you push through? I am not sure I worded this right so I can expound if need be. |
| 2009-06-17 12:42 PM in reply to: #2224365 |
Pro 6011 Camp Hill, Pennsylvania | Subject: RE: Creatine Creatine will make you look larger while you're taking it, because it will cause your muscles to retain more fluids. This results in a slightly spongy feel to them. Also, I haven't seen any studies that confirm it, but anecdotally, I've heard that it can cause a tendency to cramp. Both of these things would have a negative effect on an endurance athlete - extra water weight and an increased likelihood of cramping. For weight training, it works well. |
| 2009-06-17 12:57 PM in reply to: #2224553 |
| DC | Subject: RE: Creatine "... anecdotally, I've heard that it can cause a tendency to cramp." To your point & Rayd's, do you think there's a specific place in the legs that would you crap up. Rayd, please chime in. I recently posted a thread b/c I started getting what I thought were shin splints but unusual b/c they were in both legs, not always exlusively on my shins, & the kind of minor pain from not running enough ("jellow legs"). Indeed, I was running on an inconsistent basis. But hmmm, can it be the creatine? |
| 2009-06-17 12:58 PM in reply to: #2222066 |
Coach 10487 Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Creatine TRI-ing soldier - 2009-06-16 2:42 PM your last paragraph is incorrect, specifically your belief about cycling which isn't about maximal strenght but all about power which is work rate or more precisely how much work you can do over an specific distance/time. (the same goes for swimming and running). Also, what do you mean by: "slow twitch muscle fibers will be activated later, and thus last longer"?I started taking it about four years ago, and used it in anywhere from 4-8 week cycles with 2-4 weeks in between. If you use creatine, cycling it is a necessity--your body will increase its tolerance and benefits will decrease. I didn't take it for my 8 months in Iraq. |
|
|
|
|
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK