Some Creatine Monohydrate - questions

[Sedoj]

Popeye's Canada is selling Allmax Nutrition Creatine Monohydrate for a decent price this weekend and I was thinking of picking up a tub to add to my current supplement regimen.

Creatine is not something I've ever supplemented with so I'm looking for your advice & opinions:

1) how does this particular product taste?
2) it mentions water retention... what is your experience with this?
3) is this something I could throw in with my BCAAs and Glutamine?
4) is there a different product you would recommend?

Any/all advice is appreciated!

 

[1bigun11]

Here is a write up I basically copy and pasted from Men's Health, but it pretty much matches with my experience too:

Creatine—typically bought in flavored powders and mixed with liquid—increases the body's ability to produce energy rapidly. With more energy, you can train harder and more often, producing faster results.

It's as simple as this: "If you can lift one or two more reps or 5 more pounds, your muscles will get bigger and stronger," says Chad Kerksick, Ph.D., assistant professor of exercise physiology at the University of Oklahoma.

Research shows that creatine is most effective in high-intensity training and explosive activities. This includes weight training and sports that require short bursts of effort, such as sprinting, football, and baseball.

There is less support to indicate that creatine improves endurance performance and aerobic-type exercise.

One thing is almost certain: If you take creatine, you'll gain weight.

It'll happen quickly, says Paul Greenhaff, Ph.D., professor of muscle metabolism at the University of Nottingham in England. While the initial gain is water (about 2 to 4 pounds in the first week of supplementation), subsequent gains are muscle due to the increase in the workload you can handle.

Because creatine is an "osmotically active substance," it pulls water into your muscle cells, which increases protein synthesis, Kerksick says.

Studies in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that muscle fibers grow when a person takes creatine.

The catch: This only happens if you take advantage of the boost in energy and hit the gym. Otherwise, it is just water weight.

 

[tightglutes]

Mono makes me very very watery. I use creatine ethyl ester. Love that so much better. I use the pills so no taste and can be mixed with any stack. but be4 and after workout is best

 

[GiantSlayer]

Most scientific studies done on creatine used monohydrate so we can be pretty sure that creatine monohydrate is effective. It's downfall is it's poor assimilation into your muscles. This is why large doses are needed to be effective. Doses are in the 5 to 10 grams per day range. A large portion of unused creatine can sit subcutaneously and attract water making you look watery. Your best defense to this is to create an insulin spike by eating simple carbs like dextrose.

 

[Sedoj]

Most scientific studies done on creatine used monohydrate so we can be pretty sure that monohydrate is effective. It's downfall is it's poor assimilation into your muscles. This is why large doses are needed to be effective. Doses are in the 5 to 10 grams per day range. A large portion of unused creatine can sit subcutaneously and attract water making you look watery. Your best defense to this is to either use insulin or create an insulin spike by eating simple carbs like dextrose.

Thank you GiantSlayer! You mentioned eating simple carbs like dextrose... do you think eating 1 or 2 Pixy Stix powdered candy sticks could create a sufficient insulin spike for someone my size?

 

[Sedoj]

Mono makes me very very watery. I use creatine ethyl ester. Love that so much better. I use the pills so no taste and can be mixed with any stack. but be4 and after workout is best

Thank you tightglutes! I'm going to Popeyes after work so I'll price out the creatine ethyl ester. Is there any particular brand that you would recommend?

 

[tightglutes]

Yes i use this one http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/sni-...gclid=CMSjr6Do57oCFcc7OgodplUAKA#.UoacrnCsiSo

 

[Sedoj]

Here is a write up I basically copy and pasted from Men's Health, but it pretty much matches with my experience too:

Creatine—typically bought in flavored powders and mixed with liquid—increases the body's ability to produce energy rapidly. With more energy, you can train harder and more often, producing faster results.

It's as simple as this: "If you can lift one or two more reps or 5 more pounds, your muscles will get bigger and stronger," says Chad Kerksick, Ph.D., assistant professor of exercise physiology at the University of Oklahoma.

Research shows that creatine is most effective in high-intensity training and explosive activities. This includes weight training and sports that require short bursts of effort, such as sprinting, football, and baseball.

There is less support to indicate that creatine improves endurance performance and aerobic-type exercise.

One thing is almost certain: If you take creatine, you'll gain weight.

It'll happen quickly, says Paul Greenhaff, Ph.D., professor of muscle metabolism at the University of Nottingham in England. While the initial gain is water (about 2 to 4 pounds in the first week of supplementation), subsequent gains are muscle due to the increase in the workload you can handle.

Because creatine is an "osmotically active substance," it pulls water into your muscle cells, which increases protein synthesis, Kerksick says.

Studies in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that muscle fibers grow when a person takes creatine.

The catch: This only happens if you take advantage of the boost in energy and hit the gym. Otherwise, it is just water weight.

This is great information, thank you 1bigun11. The article mentions that weight gain is for certain... I'm still trying to wrap my head around my offseason body and the additional water weight gain from creatine could be really discouraging. I'm going to price out the creatine ethyl ester that tightglutes recommended, it sounds like it may be a better option for me!

 

[GiantSlayer]

Thank you GiantSlayer! You mentioned eating simple carbs like dextrose... do you think eating 1 or 2 Pixy Stix powdered candy sticks could create a sufficient insulin spike for someone my size?

I'm sorry I don't know your stats. I'm 180 lbs and I use about 25 grams of dex. I'm very carb sensitive and this is plenty for me. Dex is quite effective. I don't know the content of pixy sticks. It may be sucrose. Thats not a bad thing it just means its half dex and half fructose. Fructose will not create as much of an insulin spike because it needs to be processed by the liver first. Replenishing your liver glycogen is not a bad thing but consider that you may need to consume more sugar for the same effect. I'm willing to bet just 1 or 2 sticks is not enough.

 

[Sedoj]

Sweet, thank you for the info tightglutes!!!

 

[Sedoj]

I'm sorry I don't know your stats. I'm 180 lbs and I use about 25 grams of dex. I'm very carb sensitive and this is plenty for me. Dex is quite effective. I don't know the content of pixy sticks. It may be sucrose. Thats not a bad thing it just means its half dex and half fructose. Fructose will not create as much of an insulin spike because it needs to be processed by the liver first. Replenishing your liver glycogen is not a bad thing but consider that you may need to consume more sugar for the same effect. I'm willing to bet just 1 or 2 sticks is not enough.

I'll update my profile to include my stats. I'm 127 lbs and carb sensitive as well. Pixy Stix are primarily dextrose, a form of sugar, and citric acid (7 straws of Pixy Stix contains 60 cal, 15g carbs and 15g sugar so considering I'm eating 2 at most... not as beneficial as I initially thought...

 

[tightglutes]

Sweet, thank you for the info tightglutes!!!

N.P love it and i get better pumps on it