I want to start taking creatine, but my brother (devil0351dog) tells me I don’t need to because I eat alot of beef and get enough creatine allready. I eat a good-sized burger almost every day, a steak every 1 or 2 weeks, and other beef through the week. The burgers are lean ground beef, not fast food, and no bun. I don’t know how many oz they are but they’re a good sized burger. So are creatine sups necessary if I allready get creatine from eating beef regularly? I’m 190 lbs right now but want to get over 200 for football in the fall.
A little (2-5g MAX) will not hurt you. I would only take the creatine with pre post workout nutrition, and on days you do not work out, do not take it. Remember to drink as much water as you can, and you should be good.
I would still take some.
From what I heard, although there is creatine in beef, you have to eat a ton to get the same amount that’s in a teaspoon of the powder.
I take a teaspoon a day, sometimes on an off day I forget or don’t bother. No big deal to me, but I wouldn’t go any more than a couple days without it.
I also heard that it doesn’t get out of your system for about 30 days once your body is saturated, but the levels decrease significantly after a few days or a week.
Anyway, I don’t have any studies or anything, just going off of what I’ve heard.
Ideally, try some before buying a tub. It may very well still benefit you, but the so-called ‘non-responders’ do tend to have diets that are high in beef/red meat. It’s not terribly expensive, so you could always just buy some, but if you can just grab enough to last you a week off of a friend, you can get an idea of whether it works for you. I noticed the effects within days. You don’t need a lot at all. Just a few grams a day on workout days should do it.
I didn’t find that creatine did anything for me… in terms of size or the ability to crank out extra reps. As far as I’m concerned, it was $50 I’ll never get back. I’ve had a hell of a lot more progress by focusing on diet and rest.
I tend to agree with #18 on Alwyn Cosgrove’s recent post.
[quote]AgentOrange wrote:
As far as I’m concerned, it was $50 I’ll never get back. [/quote]
50 bucks for creatine?
I cycle creatine so I get the most out of it.A lot of people will stop seeing results because they take it for months on end.Whenever I have the money I pick some up.It works well with me.
Psss!!
Take it with carbohydrates or sugar(not just water) before working out to get the maximum benefit.
[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
AgentOrange wrote:
As far as I’m concerned, it was $50 I’ll never get back.
50 bucks for creatine?[/quote]
Somebody got ripped the fuck off. I don’t think I have ever paid over 15-20 bucks for it and that is for a large container.
You’d need to eat obscene amounts of meat to obtain similar quantities of creatine as can be derived from pure supplemental form. However, if you’re willing to try, I would advise eating pork as it contains the highest levels of creatine per weight (don’t have a ref for this, but can recall it from a lecture on ergogenic aids from a prof who has published a fair bit of work on the efficacy of creatine in performance enhancement).
[quote]AgentOrange wrote:
I didn’t find that creatine did anything for me… in terms of size or the ability to crank out extra reps. As far as I’m concerned, it was $50 I’ll never get back. I’ve had a hell of a lot more progress by focusing on diet and rest.
I tend to agree with #18 on Alwyn Cosgrove’s recent post.[/quote]
ahahaha… . poor guy… . ok… . firstly its not going to help you “crank out extra reps” creatine contributes to a fuel source thats actually better used for maximal efforts like a 1RM deadlift… . its not going to allow you to do 12 reps with a weight you were doing 10 with… . not directly at least. …
if your gaining weight creatine may help you to make muscle by pulling extra water into the muscle cells… . personally I think it helps my 1RM lifts quite a bit but I mostly take it to help with recovery out of the gym. …
No supplement is ‘necessary’ and this includes creatine.
The vast majority of people do respond well to creatine, though.
The only way you’ll know how it works for you is to try it.
[quote]AgentOrange wrote:
I’ve had a hell of a lot more progress by focusing on diet and rest.[/quote]
You had unrealistic expectations if you though creatine would be more powerful than a good diet and recovery. It is a ‘supplement’ after all, not a magic pill.
Creatine is never necessary. But I, for one, find it beneficial when diet an training is in line. More people are responders than non-responders to creatine. Make sure your training and diet is what it should be; otherwise, you’re really not getting bang for your buck.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
rrjc5488 wrote:
AgentOrange wrote:
As far as I’m concerned, it was $50 I’ll never get back.
50 bucks for creatine?
Somebody got ripped the fuck off. I don’t think I have ever paid over 15-20 bucks for it and that is for a large container.[/quote]
That was quite a while ago, so I don’t really remember. It’s in Canadian dollars, too, (back when our dollar was so much crappier) so that will make the price look larger. I also ordered it online and got banged with a bunch of postal fees by Canada Post, so yeah… I got ripped off.
[quote]AgentOrange wrote:
I didn’t find that creatine did anything for me… in terms of size or the ability to crank out extra reps. As far as I’m concerned, it was $50 I’ll never get back. I’ve had a hell of a lot more progress by focusing on diet and rest.
I tend to agree with #18 on Alwyn Cosgrove’s recent post.[/quote]
My friend, you were fleeced out the butt. $50 for creatine is $30 too much.
Some people are non-responders, though -Jinx’s idea to try some first is a good one. If you have a friend who uses it who would be willing to let you use a few grams a day for a few weeks it’d give you a good idea.
-Dan
There are health benefits to creatine beyond aiding muscle growth in the long run.
Even if you think you are a non-responder, try some post workout, as supposedly your muscles may “supercompensate” at load up on creatine at this time.
If this is happening, even if you can’t “tell”, then it will probably offer some benefits.
Necessary? No.
Maybe the $50 creatine was like, 600 servings?
[quote]Gl;itch.e wrote:
its not going to help you “crank out extra reps” creatine contributes to a fuel source thats actually better used for maximal efforts like a 1RM deadlift… . its not going to allow you to do 12 reps with a weight you were doing 10 with… . not directly at least. …[/quote]
Personally, this is exactly what it helps me do - squeeze an extra rep or two out of a heavy set.
Let’s not forget that creatine shows to lower homocysteine levels (a strong risk factor for CVD).
Not saying it’s necessary though.
[quote]Gl;itch.e wrote:
firstly its not going to help you “crank out extra reps” creatine contributes to a fuel source thats actually better used for maximal efforts like a 1RM deadlift… . its not going to allow you to do 12 reps with a weight you were doing 10 with… . not directly at least.[/quote]
Well if you respond well to creatine, then it will definitely help you “crank out extra reps” during a set. That’s how it works best actually. With a larger energy substrate supply, your muscles, during a max set, will fatigue more slowly. And by a max set I mean a max effort set not a one rep set.