THe only supplement I’ve had for the past half year of proper lifting has been Whey Protein, and just now I got HOT-ROX Extreme. I placed an order for BCAA’s and Creatine, but i’m not sure if I should get them, because of these reasons:
Because I’m cutting right now, should I be taking creatine…that would make me increase mass, and right now I’m at 10% BF, trying to get down to 6%BF, although keeping that muscle mass or improving it would be nice.
And about BCAA’s…are they actually helpful? Worth the cost?
Creatine is great for cutting. It will give you the strength to get through you workouts when your energy starts to bottomout from the lack of calories in your diet. Forget about mass…anything you gain from creatine is either water or lean muscle from lifting heavier weights.
BCAA’s are a tough one. People say they work, but they are not something you can tell outright(unless someone can prove otherwise). Im taking them and I’m just hoping they are preserving my muscle through this diet phase im going through. So it’s one of the supplements that you don’t know if they’re working or not.
Seeing as you already purchased them, why wouldnt you take it? Lotta money down the tubes.
I know to take HOT-ROX in morning/evening, and whey after my workout, so when should I add in the creatine/BCAA’s?
Also, i can’t find a definite answer as to how I should “load” my creatine…its the first time I’m getting it. Finally, the only side effect I’ve seen is that people say when you stop taking creatine, even if you continue to work out etc, you slowly decrease in muscle size?
Take your BCAAs during your workout and take creatine directly after your workout with your whey. You can mix the creatine in with the whey or you can drink it separately, I’m pretty sure it makes no difference.
You don’t actually have to “load” creatine, just take x amount throughout the day.
x = 3-10g a day, 5 is a pretty common dosage. Taking more will not necessarily yield you better results, so don’t think taking 10 a day will make you hyyyugger quicker.
The reason why some will argue that loading does help is that you can saturate your body quicker by taking larger amounts, which may be true but the benefit is debatable.
[quote]Padilla7921 wrote:
Take your BCAAs during your workout and take creatine directly after your workout with your whey. You can mix the creatine in with the whey or you can drink it separately, I’m pretty sure it makes no difference.[/quote]
On the BCAA’ they are most effectively assimilated before and after your workout. I think it was David Barr who said due to some stress related issue with the gut it isn’t effective to take them during your workout. Whether you take them during or not you should also be taking them before and after with your Surge and Creatine.
D
Edit: Surge and Creatine Postworkout only. Didn’t mean those before and after just BCAA’s before and after.
[quote]mafzal4 wrote:
THe only supplement I’ve had for the past half year of proper lifting has been Whey Protein, and just now I got HOT-ROX Extreme.
And about BCAA’s…are they actually helpful? Worth the cost?
[/quote]
BCAA’s absolutely worth it!! Fat Burner @ 10% bf is a waste of money in my opinion, you should have just made a few simple changes to the diet. Now that I think about it the BCAA’s will help keep you lean too so buy them up
[quote]IronLife wrote:
You don’t actually have to “load” creatine, just take x amount throughout the day.
x = 3-10g a day, 5 is a pretty common dosage. Taking more will not necessarily yield you better results, so don’t think taking 10 a day will make you hyyyugger quicker.
quote]
I wouldn’t take 30g of Creatine a day either to be honest, 10g and no more, anymore than 10g a day and your body stops producing it naturally.
I know to take HOT-ROX in morning/evening, and whey after my workout, so when should I add in the creatine/BCAA’s?
Also, i can’t find a definite answer as to how I should “load” my creatine…its the first time I’m getting it. Finally, the only side effect I’ve seen is that people say when you stop taking creatine, even if you continue to work out etc, you slowly decrease in muscle size?[/quote]
Yeah, your muscles will lose the ability to hold as much water as the did when you took creatine.
[quote]mafzal4 wrote:
so…does that mean stay on creatine forever? [/quote]
Creatine is like protein or BCAA’s in my opinion in that it will continue to give positive results and isn’t harmful in any way. So, staying on long term is fine IMO.
[quote]Dedicated wrote:
On the BCAA’ they are most effectively assimilated before and after your workout. I think it was David Barr who said due to some stress related issue with the gut it isn’t effective to take them during your workout. Whether you take them during or not you should also be taking them before and after with your Surge and Creatine.
[/quote]
I was told that BCAAs should be taken during the workout. Thanks for the new info (or, well, the revelation).
I know to take HOT-ROX in morning/evening, and whey after my workout, so when should I add in the creatine/BCAA’s?
Also, i can’t find a definite answer as to how I should “load” my creatine…its the first time I’m getting it. Finally, the only side effect I’ve seen is that people say when you stop taking creatine, even if you continue to work out etc, you slowly decrease in muscle size?
Yeah, your muscles will lose the ability to hold as much water as the did when you took creatine.[/quote]
Wait just a fucking minute!
If I stop taking creatine I’ll deflate a little bit?
When I got off creatine, my muscles completely deflated. From my understanding, creatine is what allows each muscle cell to fill up…mostly with water. Once the high amounts of creatine are out of your system, you don’t retain as much water and you don’t look as “full”. Am I wrong on this?
BCAA’s are a tough one. People say they work, but they are not something you can tell outright(unless someone can prove otherwise). Im taking them and I’m just hoping they are preserving my muscle through this diet phase im going through. So it’s one of the supplements that you don’t know if they’re working or not.
[/quote]
I can say without a doubt that I noticed a HUGE difference in terms of recovery and performance when taking BCAA’s and Surge compared to not taking them during the course of collegiate summer football practice which consisted of 4 days of total body workouts and 2+ hour practices.
BCAA’s will especially be useful during a cutting phase because they prevent catabolism without the extra uptake of calories.
You DO gain strength from creatine. If you’re on it for, say a few years, and then go off, you will still be stronger than when you started, even after the creatine has left your body. Obviously because you have been working with more weight(hopefully), and thereby built more muscle.