Banned
Hey brethrens,
I would like to know whether it is acceptable and recommendable not to take creatine on a nonworkout days. I have been taking creatine daily for the past three months, and I would like to know if I'm suppose to take only on my workout days MWF and stay off from it on TThS.
Any thoughts will appreciated.
Banned
some creatines say to take on workout days only or to take it everyday...if not then you can take it everyday if you want
Banned
I like to cycle my creatine. 3 months is a lil long to be on creatine i think. i do 6- 8 week cycles.
and i take my creatine on off days during a cycle of it. to keep it runnin through the system at all times.
Banned
thanks for the wise suggestion, guys.
AR's Cunning Linguist
I've cycled creatine in the past, but don't cycle any more. Starting last September, I took creatine monohydrate (via Vitargo CGL) every day for two months. After that, I have only taken it post WO (4 times per week) and I've experienced no downsides or side effects.
Banned
it is good to know that u experience no sides, thanks
Anabolic Member
reason being?Originally Posted by K.Biz
Anabolic Member
What is creatine?
Creatine is a compound that can be found in foods, made in our bodies, or taken as a supplement. In the body, it is made in the liver from parts of three amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine. Most creatine is stored in your muscles, though a very small amount is stored in the brain, heart, and testes.
How it works.
There is a compound found in your body called adenosine tri-phosphate, or better known as ATP. Your body can get energy from ATP very quickly, much faster than from carbohydrates or fats. ATP is what produces the energy needed for quick bursts of energy, such as weight lifting. The only drawback is there is a limited supply of ATP found in your body, its not unlimited. When the ATP reaction occurs to produce this energy, it loses a phosphate group . This new compound is known as adenosine di-phosphate (ADP). Now the importance of creatine is this. If there is enough creatine stored in the muscles, it will give a phosphate group to the newly created ADP which turns it back into adenosine tri-phosphate, ATP! Which can be immediately used for energy. So the more creatine in the muscles, the more ATP reactions can occur, which in turn produces more energy for the athlete.
Some of you may be wondering what the difference between Creatine Monohydrate (CM) and Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE) is.
CEE is CM that is synthetically bonded with a molecule of hydrochloric acid. This allows CEE to be taken directly into the muscles thru the cell walls giving it an absorption rate between 90%-100%. In comparison, CM has an absorption rate of around 10%
Are there any drawbacks?
Not really. There have been no studies that have led to any safety concerns of creatine. Creatine draws water into the muscles so you should increase your water intake. Most people do not drink enough water anyway, without the supplementation of creatine. If you are one of those that do not drink enough water, and you start taking creatine, it is possible to become dehydrated or experience muscle cramps, but even this is not too common and will end with an increase in water consumption. There are not many long term studies of creatine use, but so far, the few that have been done have not lead to any safety concerns. In theory, creatine is safe. In practice, thus far creatine is safe. Creatine, along with many other supplements, is not regulated by the FDA so make sure you purchase it from a reputable company.
Associate Member
I would take it everyday to keep creatin levels stable. There have been studies of people taking creatine for 10-14 weeks and no side effects were reported.
In regards to max2extremes post, there's no way you can have 90-100% absorbtion, your muscles can only hold so much creatine and all the excess is urinated out of the body. Thats why you do a loading phase to begin with to reach max levels, and then take about 5 grams ed to keep stable levels.
You can buy 200 servings of creatine monohydrate for about 20-30 dollars at most nutrition stores, spending any more money then that on a creatine supp is a waste of money imo.
Anabolic Member
You dont have a loading phase with CEE because of this absorption rate, Anaboxa34. Spending 20-30 dollars on a creatine monohydrate is a wast of money imo. What source do you want for my post? Online? .edu? Message Boards? A scan of my college books? My post is right on.
Take care.
Junior Member
When I took it, I did daily without any interruptions and it seemed to work very well. I always liked to mix it in my PWO shake with a little dex and had great results.
Anabolic Member
You are contradicting yourself. You are saying that excess creatine is urinated out, but you should load it. Well if the excess is getting peed out, putting more in only creates a larger excess and therefore still peed out. Also, I have been on and off creatine for 10 years and never once loaded with it. Every study I have read states a "loading phase" is a marketing scheme to get people to buy more.
Associate Member
CM only has 10% absorption rate?? wtf.....how accurate is this statistic?
I take 15 g CM daily...7.5 pre-workout, 7.5 pwo
AR's Cunning Linguist
It really depends on what you're taking CM with. Waxy maize starch is much more efficient than dextrose or maltodextrin, the absorption rate is much higher.
Junior Member
kre alkylyn ? what do guys think of this creatine?
Associate Member
I'm sorry if what i said was confusing, what i'm saying is that your muscles can only hold a limited amount of creatine. When you first start you do a five day loading phase to reach maximum creatine storage although you will still be urinating some creatine out. Then after the loading phase (once max creatine levels are reached) you take about 5 grams per day to maintain plasma levels. Even if a loading phase is not done you will still urinate excess creatine even at a 5 g/day dose.
-Max2extreme: Do you have any studies in medical journals that you can cite or post a link to because i would be interested in reading the material. IMO peer reviewed medical journals are the absolute best source for getting accurate info regarding supplements, drugs, etc.
Also how do you figure spending $20-$30 on CM is a waste. You can get 200 5g servings for this price. Its been proven to work over and over again, so why waste money on some juiced up creatine with all sorts of extra chemicals, carbs flavors etc. I dont know the cost of CEE, but if it is comparible to CM and proven to work then just disregard my arguement here. But i only say this because when i go to nutrition stores i see these juiced up creatines for $60-$80 dollars and then flavorless CM for $20.
The "Official journal of the american college of sports medicine" has tons of peer reviewed research articles on creatine and other sports supps. The link i have is www.msse.org. I don't know if you can access all the journals with this link or not but if you cant say so and i will make sure i get you a link to the article i'm getting my info from.
Anabolic Member
Ill try to find the most legit place and post a link bro. I don't have ACSM's journal subscription. I got a trial of this month's but thats it. Do you get them regularly? Thoughts?? From this issue alone, I dont want to buy it. Perhaps this just was a weak one for what I want.
And I just think CEE is better than CM... I havn't gotten water bloat, I actually noticed good energy/str gains and in a short amount of time after taking it. And I don't believe you get full muscle saturation of creating with CM, especially 5g. It is true you pee out creatine, but that doesn't mean your muscles are fully saturate (i know you didn't say that), but with CM's absorption rate, It's my opinion (I havnt searched on this) that the small amount of creatine that gets to your muscles isnt enough to keep up with creatine use.
Ill try to get some actual studies from ACSM (top source imo as well) or NASM or some .edu study...
Peace.
New Member
Every Day Homie!
Junior Member
From some of the articles I've read in the past it seems that only on work out days. For example if you lift mon-fri take it mon-fri and weekends off. The article was refering more to loading though 40-50g a day with like 2 gallons of water. Just my 2cents.
New Member
daily
Anabolic Member
I thought this was the resurrection of SM.
Associate Member
Well if u wish to cycle do 8 weeks on,2 off and then back.However if ur not on a dose of more than 5grms there is no need to!
Associate Member
and yes u always take it every day u can't cycles from day to day!
AR Addict
i thought he SM was back... damn bumping old threads...
Anabolic Member
You guys do realize that you are responding to a question that was posed 1 year ago from a member who is now banned? This should surely end up being locked.
Junior Member
can anyone explain why you want creatine pwo ? i always take it before workout but havent taken after
Retired~ AR-Hall of Famer ~ "Enforcer"
can you explain why almost every post you make is bumping a dusty old thread?
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