everything they say about staying hydrated is true... and you might have an idea of what "staying hydrated" means. double that quantity. and if you can double it and still feel comfortable drinking that much water, you might need to double it again.

I used to take creatine, but it gave me pretty harsh multi-day headaches, probably due to the fact that I wasn't drinking nearly enough water. also I hear it can give you nasty kidney stones, which are also prevented by... yup, you guessed it, more H20.

that said, the stuff works.

 

Unless your diet and workout is in check, its a waste of money. When you take creatine, you need to take some simple carbs for the transportation and then water of course like everyone said.

Side effects: cramps if you try to run long distance, bad headaches with drinking too little water, s up your kidneys, creatine filled cells deplete after stoppage

Positives: Placebo effect- "If you think you can lift it, then you can", Water weight gain

FYI, I dont take anything and I bench 275 at 165lbs.

IMHO, anything besides protein shakes with BCAAs, multivitamins, and steroids is a waste of money and time.

 

Some VERY good points here.....

Here are some MAJOR ones......

1)LOADING PHASE......complete bullsh!t. Dont do it. If you need an explanation, Ill explain it.

2)DRINK like a camel....creatine floods your muscles with water....taking water away from the rest of your body....drink, drink, and drink.

Just so you know....when I was on creatine...I drank 8, yes thats 8 (eight) GALLONS of water in my 17 hour day.

3) Take protein and glutamine if you can. Muscles are very "open" for delivery when on creatine, so fill them with the good stuff

4)If you have diarreah, you are taking too large a dose....and are literally sh!tting out money. Creatine that is unused is called CREATININE, and it gets peed, and at the extreme case, pooped out. This causes you no harm, but does drain your wallet.

5) Creatine Monohydrate is regulated by the US government, so IT IS ALL THE SAME. Take 100% pure CREATINE MONOHYDRATE powder. Not the sirum or the pills....they suck (if you need reasons Ill explain that as well)

Which creatine should you buy???.....the CHEAPEST one. They are literally molecularly ALL THE SAME.

If you need any other info....I have a whole library of info on most supplements, and would love to share it.

but again, and I cannot stress this enough.......


DO NOT DO THE BULLSH!T LOADING PHASE!

 

that's some serious water intake.

any idea how quickly creatine goes bad? I've had some stored in a cool dry place in it's original packaging for a while, and I'm toying with starting it up again. I stopped because of those god-awful headaches, but I'm thinking if I just do low doses of creatine and dramatically increase my water intake (but not to 8 gal./day, holy shit man!) I won't get the headaches.

btw, NFR-- I think because of some of your previous postings, I know keep a bottle of white grape juice in my fridge. and eat a lot more bananas. (I think it was you who mentioned these... forgive me if I remember incorrectly.)

 

Yea...its was me with the white grape juice.....not so much bananas though.

Anyway....8 gallons, although sounds like a lot, actually goes by very quickly. id drink about a glass of water every like 15 minutes...(you get thirsty)...and it added up to about 7-8 gallons a day.

Headaches are the #1 symptom from dehydration......which creatine is known for.

Im glad you are doing your research before taking it, and not "taking it because it sounds cool"

I was very interested in the scientific aspect of supplements and muscle growth, so everything I say can be backed up with proof. There is so much BS going around today, that its hard to know who and where to look for info. Most magazines are payed off to sell crap...etc.

If you need help with supplements, like choosing brands, doses, which supplements, etc.....feel free to ask!

The #1 fundemental rule of supplements......

IF YOU DONT KNOW EXACTLY HOW AND WHY IT WORKS, DONT TAKE IT!

 

NFRs2000NYC is right about you needing prior knowledge about any supplement. Not everything works the same for different people and GNC just needs to sell their products. N02 is probably the better supplement if you think it suits you. I just picked up a book about it called, " The new science of bodybuilding/ N02 the 21 day transformation". I took creatine and got a huge gain in my weightlifting and a lot of waterweight mass, but it made me very tense and nervous and I was not pleasant to be around. Another side affect that can happen is burning in the throat and during urination with creatine. You ARE always thirsty and 8 gallons in a 17hr. period is not unheard of. If I don't go all natural then it will be:

GNC megamen multi-vitamins (time released)
N02
A good protien for after workouts

P.S. The book can be bought at GNC although it is a little biased, it contains some good info. It kinda strays you away from creatine eventhough the guy is one of the first to distribute it.

 

does creatine go bad after some time? how can u tell? does anybody know?

 

it sure seemed to me like i got really really weak after stopping taking creatine. I took it for about 6 weeks to cheat a little to get my bench press at 300lbs...... after doing 300lbs 1 rep two different weeks I had met my goal, so I stopped taking it.... and damn..... i went down below where i started taking creatine fairly quickly.

I thought it made my breath smell bad too (maybe part of the dehydration?). While taking it, I ran a mile in 5:45 which was probably about 15 seconds faster than I should have, so the shit definately worked....

no idea what the side-effects are other than geekstinkbreath

 

try 1AD

 

I used half a tub and quit. Did it seem to have positive effects? yeah. But seriously, for everyone that will tell you it is a naturally occuring substance, blah blah..... you are only taking more of it....blah blah. Every time in depth studies are done one this stuff it has negatives too. Go exercize and be happy. No sense it putting some pharmacuetical crap into your body that may harm you for vanity sake. I used to have the thought pattern, "I would just like to add a little extra muscle..." or "I want to reach my goal of a 300 pound bench press" ...."Just need that extra edge to put me over the top..."

Over the top of what? Who cares really. I work out to stay in shape and be healthy, women seem to dig it. If you talk to enough girls, they dont care if a guy is huge, though they think in shape is cool but these huge dudes gross out a lot of women. The extra bulk or 300 pound bench is only to to impress the other guys at the gym. Do you really want to spend money and possibly pollute yourself to impress a bunch of guys? You know, the ones who live there.

Work out, be healthy, look good. Great. The extra stuff is a load of crap and a waste of time and energy that could end up damaging you.

Andro was healthy, oh wait, no it isn't. Cromium picalinate was healthy, oh wait no it isn't. Why be a guinea pig to try to be cool with the one-dimensional gigantors who compare how much they bench and squat? Want to get attention from the girls at the gym, stay slim and smile alot. Kidney or liver problems are not worth it. My .02.