I’ve never used supplements till 3 months ago.
I’m on creatine and whey now.
The thing is, since this, my upper abs get sometimes bloated.
Let me say that I have aprox. 12% bf, and my lower abs stay totally flat while the upper portion does not…
I wonder if creatine is the responsable…
Anyone have suffered the same issue?
I did a bit of reading, but didnt found anything specific on upper or lower abs problems.
Its starting to annoy me, so maybe ill stop creatine for a while.
Btw i’ve been taking 5 mg every day, no cycling.
Creatine can cause a little bloating. Bloating is a minor side effect when you look at the strength and recovery benefits of supplementing creatine, so you probably need to decide which is more important to you. Switching to a different kind of creatine may or may not help.
[quote]Matias A. wrote:
I’ve never used supplements till 3 months ago.
I’m on creatine and whey now.
The thing is, since this, my upper abs get sometimes bloated.
Let me say that I have aprox. 12% bf, and my lower abs stay totally flat while the upper portion does not…
I wonder if creatine is the responsable…
Anyone have suffered the same issue?
I did a bit of reading, but didnt found anything specific on upper or lower abs problems.
Its starting to annoy me, so maybe ill stop creatine for a while.
Btw i’ve been taking 5 mg every day, no cycling.
I would suggest cycling the creatine though. Does it not recommend this on the label. Also like jskrabac stated, the whey can also be the culprit if you have digestive issues with it, lactose or the enzymes used.
Yes, I know how it works. I also know that some creatine products recommend the off cycle…some do not. The one I’m presently take requires a 2 week off cycle. The one I’m moving to doesn’t require cycling. From decades of use, I have found that a periodical cycling helps with some complications with supplements.
[quote]enthuzist wrote:
Yes, I know how it works. I also know that some creatine products recommend the off cycle…some do not. The one I’m presently take requires a 2 week off cycle. The one I’m moving to doesn’t require cycling. From decades of use, I have found that a periodical cycling helps with some complications with supplements. [/quote]
Cycling creatine equals unnecessary and pointless. It was an idea concocted by supplement companies to relate the effects to steroids to drive up sales.
You may have found NOT using it for a while may help if you have digestive issues when taking it…because it caused the digestive issues.
[quote]enthuzist wrote:
Yes, I know how it works. I also know that some creatine products recommend the off cycle…some do not. The one I’m presently take requires a 2 week off cycle. The one I’m moving to doesn’t require cycling. From decades of use, I have found that a periodical cycling helps with some complications with supplements. [/quote]
Cycling creatine equals unnecessary and pointless. It was an idea concocted by supplement companies to relate the effects to steroids to drive up sales.
You may have found NOT using it for a while may help if you have digestive issues when taking it…because it caused the digestive issues.[/quote]
But X, the supplement companies told him he needs to cycle and they obviously have his best interest at heart. I am sure the warning was something like:
[quote]WARNING:
You must cycle this product due to the extreme contents within. If you do not obey the cycle parameters you may become too muscular and crowds will gawk at your huge veiny muscle. ABC supplement company does not take responsibility for the car accidents caused by people staring at you in public. Please do not try to fight crime as you will inevitably look like a super hero.[/quote]
[quote]enthuzist wrote:
From decades of use, I have found that a periodical cycling helps with some complications with supplements. [/quote]
Creatine is not one of those supplements. Nor are most legal supps. I really can’t think of a supplement sold in supplement stores that I would actually consider cycling off of. maybe some stims if I felt their effectiveness waning from abuse over time. But that’s for a different thread.
Supp companies that want to market towards kids who want ‘x-treme’ supplements will suggest that their product is so awesome it needs to be cycled. It appeals to people that don’t understand the mechanism of the product.
In the case of creatine, you could be buying the exact same compound (creatine monohydrate), made in the exact same lab in Germany or China or wherever, and the label could likely have different suggestions depending on what supplement company is bottling it. Most companies suggest loading (pointless) and some suggest cycling (also pointless).
Enthuzist, the problem with you relying so heavily on supplement labels (as opposed to science) is that supplement companies have a ton of freedom in terms of their recommended use of products on their labels. The FDA is never going to argue with a supp company recommending additional limitations of the use of a supplement, which is the case here.
Professor X, you are correct when it comes to Creatine Mono for example. For me it doesn’t do well with my system, so I had to cycle. This was discovered after working with my docs, who actually use it too for their supplement stacks. I have found other forms that do not affect me the same way. I’m tempted to try the Creatine Malate on this site’s store, because of the price and reviews from others with similar problems with Creatine Monohydrate. This will make my Alpha Male the only thing in my present arsenal that has to be cycled.
[quote]Matias A. wrote:
I’ve never used supplements till 3 months ago.
I’m on creatine and whey now.
The thing is, since this, my upper abs get sometimes bloated.
Let me say that I have aprox. 12% bf, and my lower abs stay totally flat while the upper portion does not…
I wonder if creatine is the responsable…
Anyone have suffered the same issue?
I did a bit of reading, but didnt found anything specific on upper or lower abs problems.
Its starting to annoy me, so maybe ill stop creatine for a while.
Btw i’ve been taking 5 mg every day, no cycling.
[/quote]
First of all, 5mg? I hope you meant 5g, because 5mg isn’t doing anything for you.
As far as creatine goes, here what you should do:
Don’t cycle, just keep taking 5g a day and you should be good;
[quote]pajerott wrote:
First of all, 5mg? I hope you meant 5g, because 5mg isn’t doing anything for you.
As far as creatine goes, here what you should do:
Don’t cycle, just keep taking 5g a day and you should be good;
Only buy creatine monohydrate.[/quote]
Thanks for clearing that up…
I use around 15-30grams of creatine just about everyday, and only ever experienced ‘bloat’ when I switched off creatine malate and used creatine monohydrate. As far as other more exotic, expensive forms of creatine, they are a big waste of money as they have NOT been PROVEN to work any better (or even as well, for that matter) than the monohydrate or malate forms.
I use around 15-30grams of creatine just about everyday, and only ever experienced ‘bloat’ when I switched off creatine malate and used creatine monohydrate. As far as other more exotic, expensive forms of creatine, they are a big waste of money as they have NOT been PROVEN to work any better (or even as well, for that matter) than the monohydrate or malate forms.[/quote]
Wow, I haven’t heard of many people dosing this high. Have you noticed a benefit of 15-30g vs. 10g? I know recommended dose is 5g, but since bloating isn’t an issue with malate I have been using 10g.
I use around 15-30grams of creatine just about everyday, and only ever experienced ‘bloat’ when I switched off creatine malate and used creatine monohydrate. As far as other more exotic, expensive forms of creatine, they are a big waste of money as they have NOT been PROVEN to work any better (or even as well, for that matter) than the monohydrate or malate forms.[/quote]
Wow, I haven’t heard of many people dosing this high. Have you noticed a benefit of 15-30g vs. 10g? I know recommended dose is 5g, but since bloating isn’t an issue with malate I have been using 10g. [/quote]
5gm is great as a ‘general health’ dose, but you won’t get significant ergogenic, muscle building effects at that dose.
Yes, I’ve gotten great results on this protocol.
Try creatine Malate, 30 grams total for the day, in 2-3 divided doses peri workout and with any insulin spike you induce (eg dose of MAG-10 or carbs). Do this for a week and then drop back to 10-15grams per day for ‘maintainence’.
If you frequently train really hard, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the results
Note, I’m 223 pounds right now, so dose is b/w dependent. If you are say, a leanish 200pounds, go with 25 grams for a week as your loading phase dose
