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I've been doing a decent amount of gym and short turbo sessions and feeling the better for it, although a bit knackered! My PT reckons that I should take creatine - I think the understand the benefits for high intensity exercise, but as the weather improves I'll be riding more and lifting/gyming less, so I wonder if there is any point?
What has been your experience? And anything a creatine newb should be aware of?
You will put on weight. That will be a disadvantage for endurance. Other than that it's all upside.
Was going to say exactly the same thing as 5thElefant. Depends on your goals, but I wouldn't take it.
Good point about the weight - but I assume it's either water weight (as that's how it works, yes?) or from additional muscle, which in my case could only be a good thing.
Essentially it's water. But it's fuel for your muscle, and as it's actually stored in the muscle your muscles will be bigger. So you can think of it in all kinds of ways. But it ends up as being better at sprinting and worse (because of extra weight) at endurance.
If it enlarges your muscles by storing water, what does it do to your heart?
PT recommends taking “something extra”. Does bit that seem a bit dark to you, a slippery slope ? Can I be a cynic and ask does he or a friend have a supplier ? A little extra cash on the side for him ?
You'll put on a little bit of water weight. Buy micronized creatine, far easier on the stomach and I found it to be very helpful when training hard several times a week. Apparently it helps increase your testosterone slightly too which is good.
PT recommends taking “something extra”. Does bit that seem a bit dark to you, a slippery slope ?
No. It's one of the most common workout supplements on the market, very innocuous and if you knew where to look you can buy legal alternatives to steroids. Creatine is not that.
Can I be a cynic and ask does he or a friend have a supplier ? A little extra cash on the side for him ?
You can get it Tescos, Asda, Lidl, Aldi etc etc etc etc etc
PT recommends taking “something extra”. Does bit that seem a bit dark to you, a slippery slope ? Can I be a cynic and ask does he or a friend have a supplier ? A little extra cash on the side for him ?
Tell me about it. Energy mix in my water bottle was a gateway to taking EPO.
Can make you constipated.
It made me feel awful. Thirsty all the time and like a hungover feeling.
I've got a big bag of it and take it when I remember. It kind of takes some time to build up in your system. I find it makes me 'push' more when running if that makes any sense. Like a short burst 'grrrrr' balls to the wall burnout. Not noticed any bad effects.
I found it made my calves prone to cramping. Water retention. Good for short, power-orientated efforts. Useless for endurance. I tried it out of curiosity, but honest, for cycling I wouldn't bother.
You should take creatine imo. It helps a bit, not much, but a bit. You are able to strength/power train a wee bit harder, and because it's been studied so much they've found other marginal benefits including mood, etc.
Downsides. None for me apart from cost. Even then it's very little from somewhere like Myprotein.
I mix a bit in with my general whey protein supplement in the tub meaning I get somewhere between 2g and 5g per day without thinking about it. Don't sweat it too much beyond that.
It's not a steroid, it doesn't "enlarge your heart", it's already in red meat so you're taking it anyway unless your a veggie. If it's making one constipated then you're taking too much.
Just ride more ! Simple. There is no magic to it.
I take 5g Creatine every day. One of the most researched supplements out there, safe and it performance enhancing (for some people).
My explosive power was a lot better,although the stomach cramps were not for me.
I think it's premature to call it unequivocally "safe".
I'd also question why you'd want to really unless you're aiming for the 100m sprint record.
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16px; background-color: #eeeeee;">Just ride more ! Simple. There is no magic to it.</span>
This guy gets it.
Protein/vitamin supplements if you want, but most of all else is what you put in to it.
Understood