I know you’ve all heard questions like this so please bare with me. I’ve read alot obout creatine and all I’ve gotten was a big migrain. From what I’ve gathered there are two ways to take it loading phases and cycles or 5grams a day as a supplement. I’ve heard that the loading phases and cycling are mearly ploys to get you to use more. So I wanted to here from people that tried both. Oh if this is important: The reason I want to take creatine is for the energy and muscle recoop benefit.
From what I’ve learned, the loading phase does increase the results, or at least get you the results quicker for the first couple of weeks, but if one were to take the regular dose, your Creatine results (with everything else the same) will catch up.
I’m not good at explaining things, but if you were to look at a chart showing the effects of Creatine, loading compared to not loading, the loading will shoot up the first 2 weeks faster than without, but you end up at the same point after about 4 or 6 weeks.
After that the results go up at about the same rate. So if you need the boost for the next 2 weeks or so, then it’s a good idea to load, if you want good results over a longer span of time, the loading is a waste of money.
There’s also no reason to cycle it, so even if you choose to load, you should only do it once, then stay on it.
I personally will never load again, even if I were to stop using it for some reason.
The only reason I will stop using it again, is if I realy run out of money. To me, stopping using creatine is like stopping taking my vitamin/mineral supplement or eating less protein.
I was going to ask a creatine question, but thought it kind of followed along with this thread…
How much creatine can the body use at one time AFTER the loading phase? I see some products are 2 scoops and have 10g of creatine and others are 1 scoops for 5g. Is the 10g really better than the 5g after loading or just divide it in 2 servings?
Here’s a small part of a much larger article, explaining the energy benefit of Creatine:
"1. Provide additional energy for your muscles
Time for a quick and simple biology lesson. In your body you have a compound called ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate). Think of ATP as an energy containing compound. What is important to know about ATP is that the body can very quickly get energy from a ATP reaction. You have other sources of energy such as carbohydrates and fat - but they take longer to convert into a useable energy source. When you are doing an intense quick burst activity - such as lifting a weight or sprinting, your muscles must contract and need a quick source of energy. This immediate energy comes from ATP.
Okay - still with us? Here is where it gets interesting. When your muscles use ATP for energy a chemical process happens where the ATP is broken down into two simpler chemicals ADP (adenosine di-phosphate) and inorganic phosphate. This process of ATP turning into ADP releases the energy which gives your muscles the ability to contract. Unfortunately, we do not have an endless supply of ATP. In fact, your muscles only contain enough ATP to last about 10-15 seconds at maximum exertion. In case you were wondering - no, the ADP can not be used to create more energy for your muscles.
Here is where the creatine comes in - or more specifically the creatine phosphate (CP). We don’t want to go into great detail on creatine vs. creatine phosphate now (that is in a later article) - all you need to know now is that the majority of creatine that is stored in the muscles bonds with abundant phosphorus stores in the muscles and is converted into Creatine Phosphate (CP). CP is able to react with the ADP in your body and turn “useless” ADP back into the “super useful” energy source - ATP. More ATP in your body means more fuel for your muscles. "
Hey Now:
I just asked basicly the same question the other day. Besides the deluge of opinions I got from the oters reading these post I got an answer from David Barr who has written many articles for the T-Nation website. I found this article to be very informative and answered all of my questions. I pasted the link to the article at the end of this reply. OK. Good Luck
McDog
[quote]punisher73 wrote:
I was going to ask a creatine question, but thought it kind of followed along with this thread…
How much creatine can the body use at one time AFTER the loading phase? I see some products are 2 scoops and have 10g of creatine and others are 1 scoops for 5g. Is the 10g really better than the 5g after loading or just divide it in 2 servings?[/quote]
From what I understand, more than 5 grams per day after the loading phase (if you do one) is a waste. 5 grams allows for maximum saturation. Any more will just yield expensive urine.
As far as whether the loading phase is a ploy to get you to use more creatine, why worry because creatine is dirt cheap anyways? I buy creatine online for around $25 for a 200 serving jar.
However, I never do the loading phase because it’s hard to take in enough carbs four times a day. I read years ago that you need 100 g of carbs to get the insulin response to transport the creatine into your muscles.
Here’s my post-workout meal:
immediately after workout: 1 1/2 scoops whey protein
30 min after: 2 1/2 scoops whey protein, 8 oz grape juice, and 2 scoops carb powder with 1 scoop creatine.
30 min after that: something solid and high-glycemic, such as corn flakes, low-fat sweets, etc.
This gives the creatine the transport it needs, while taking advantage of the fact that your body is primed for a large amount of high-glycemic carbs after a workout."
[quote]taxmanchris wrote:
As far as whether the loading phase is a ploy to get you to use more creatine, why worry because creatine is dirt cheap anyways? I buy creatine online for around $25 for a 200 serving jar.
However, I never do the loading phase because it’s hard to take in enough carbs four times a day. I read years ago that you need 100 g of carbs to get the insulin response to transport the creatine into your muscles.
Here’s my post-workout meal:
immediately after workout: 1 1/2 scoops whey protein
30 min after: 2 1/2 scoops whey protein, 8 oz grape juice, and 2 scoops carb powder with 1 scoop creatine.
30 min after that: something solid and high-glycemic, such as corn flakes, low-fat sweets, etc.
This gives the creatine the transport it needs, while taking advantage of the fact that your body is primed for a large amount of high-glycemic carbs after a workout."[/quote]
You’d do much better to have your simple carbs and creatine along with your whey immediately after your workout. Unless there’s some reason like stomach issues where you’d puke if you did.
[quote]jsbrook wrote:
You’d do much better to have your simple carbs and creatine along with your whey immediately after your workout. Unless there’s some reason like stomach issues where you’d puke if you did.
[/quote]
This is based on something that was published a few years back, I believe by Brett Hall. The idea is to allow the amino acids be absorbed without competition from any carbs. The body is still primed for large amounts of liquid protein and carbs for 1-2 hours after a workout.
I’ll try the carbs at the first post-workout meal and see how it affects my recovery, if at all.
Also, the other reason I have multiple meals is to try to get 800-1000 Kcal post-workout.
Alright. I’m pretty damned suspicious of the creatine “facts” bandied about in the world these days.
When I eat red meat, I get creatine, and I don’t get a lot of damned sugar with it.
The fact that creatine is involved in the energy cycle does not mean I can take a scoop and run a marathon without feeling tired.
Be very skeptical about where you are hearing about the needs associated with creatine, as it is often marketing material trying to help you determine that one product will work optimally while another will not.
So, perhaps a quicker or more complete absorption will occur with creatine consumption with carbs. Unless you are pretty damned elite, your attention does not need to be focused on something this minor.
Work hard, eat smart, grow muscles.
That said, I take my creatine with Surge PWO, though I think I’m a non-responder to it. Hey, it’s pretty cheap and it has a host of purported benefits.
There’s no competition between CHO’s and amino acids, so I’m not sure what he’s really trying to say there.
BTW-The body is ALWAYS primed for liquid protein and CHO’s!
Cheers
[quote]taxmanchris wrote:
This is based on something that was published a few years back, I believe by Brett Hall. The idea is to allow the amino acids be absorbed without competition from any carbs. The body is still primed for large amounts of liquid protein and carbs for 1-2 hours after a workout.[/quote]
I agree with everything vroom said. Wise words indeed.
[quote]vroom wrote:
Alright. I’m pretty damned suspicious of the creatine “facts” bandied about in the world these days.
When I eat red meat, I get creatine, and I don’t get a lot of damned sugar with it.
The fact that creatine is involved in the energy cycle does not mean I can take a scoop and run a marathon without feeling tired.
Be very skeptical about where you are hearing about the needs associated with creatine, as it is often marketing material trying to help you determine that one product will work optimally while another will not.
So, perhaps a quicker or more complete absorption will occur with creatine consumption with carbs. Unless you are pretty damned elite, your attention does not need to be focused on something this minor.
Work hard, eat smart, grow muscles.
That said, I take my creatine with Surge PWO, though I think I’m a non-responder to it. [/quote]
[quote]David Barr wrote:
There’s no competition between CHO’s and amino acids, so I’m not sure what he’s really trying to say there.
BTW-The body is ALWAYS primed for liquid protein and CHO’s!
[/quote]
I’m extremely new to creatine so take this for what you will, but I am book worm and careful researcher. And from what I’ve read the reason behind that theory is because when you eat red meat your body digests the creatine phosphate naturally, but in the form of creatine monohydrate it is very unstable and has a hard time making it through the digestive tract so carbs make it easier for the creatine monohydrate to be absorbed into the muscle.
This is what I’ve decided I read that a 50/50 protein/carb mix works just as well as highly glycemic drinks. So After my work out I mix 2 scoops of chocolate whey 40g/10g protein to carb, 5g creatine, and 3 tbl spoons of sugar which is 36g of carbs so that gives me 40g/46g protein to carb ratio.
Hopefully this won’t make me as sick as chugging a glass of grape juice after a chocolate protein shake, but I’ll let you know how well it works and if I get sick or not.
