Anyone used Creatine ?

[Highspeed]

When I get back to the UK ( tomorrow ) I'm going to start a fitness program. I want to maintain and hopefully improve the level of fitness I've gained while out here.
A part of that will be weight training. I had quite bad muscle wastage in my right thigh due to an old injury and while it's improved dramatically since I started mountain biking, it's still much weaker then the other leg. Plus I need some more muscle on my upper body too.

I keep reading about the supplement called Creatine - how it actually works and doesn't seem to have any significant side effects. Apparently it's used by the medical profession to help treat muscle wastage.

Does anyone use it ? or has used it in the past ? There's a lot of information on the net, but I'd prefer to listen to someone I 'know'

[FelixEstrella]

My gym buddy uses it. He claims it works, though "works" is superficial. He appears to have gained muscle mass in his chest and upper arms, which was his goal. Then again, my wife calls it a "steroid precursor".

Do/Would I use it? No.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, he *doesn't* use it anymore. He's still pounding whey shakes, but no more NO or Creatine. He did mention something about having a hard time sleeping.

[Aglifter]

Er... Shaking head... Straight creatine shouldn't cause any difficulties sleeping -- it is essentially useless, however (I realize it's commonly portrayed in Europe as a near-steroid, and all that is evil -- that's all crap.)

Creatine is your body's preferred anaerobic feedstock. Your body initially remains aerobic, using oxygen stored in the myoglobin portions of your cell, then switches to anaerobic using creatine, then to anaerobic processing of glucose, stored in the cell, then from fat cells, then from the liver.

The by-products of processing creatine help break down lactic acid.

All that consuming it does, is cause your body to reduce it's natural production, and limit the amount it stores in it's cells. There may be a slight bump in the levels being stored for the first couple days you take it.

It does no good, what so ever, I did not know a single strongman/lifter who continued to use it, after the initial hype, unless it was added to a drink during a competition... now, if they ever come out w. something shown to increase your ability to produce creatine, that will be another matter entirely.

If you want to make good progress you need to:
Eat good food -- meats, veggies, fruits, whole-grains and dairy -- ditch the sugar, white flour, and fruit juice.

Get a good, unflavored, unsweetened protein supply -- I got mine from ironmind.com -- mostly whey, w. some egg. You'll want a very thin shake, made w. say 3 T of protein, and a liter of water, to drink while working out, in addition to drinking water. After your work-out, make one w. milk, loaded up w. protein to a thin milkshake consistency.

Avoid artificial sweeteners -- they made me ill, after awhile -- if you really need something, use raw honey, or natural peanut butter.

At night, right before bed, eat as much cottage cheese as you can handle -- again, avoid them chemical stuff -- this may be known as curds in the UK. It's almost pure casein, which is a very good, slow-digesting protein, that will prevent your body from needing to catabolize muscles at night, and really reduce recovery times.

As for workouts -- if your "trainer" doesn't have a competition history in either Olympic lifting or Power lifting, /is currently competing, ditch him, and find someone who does -- NO ONE else ever learns how to lift properly, and I don't care how many "certifications" they have. SOME body builders Scottish games competitors, and heavy track athletes -- discus and shot put -- and strongmen know how to lift properly, but not that many -- a strongman/Scottish games competitor will know how to do events properly, which is an excellent, but difficult, means of training. (Also, many such clubs are not equipped to handle a beginner.)

The real key is compound movements, use free weights as quickly as possible, balanced development (DO NOT BENCH!), followed by either regular walking, or walking on an inclined treadmill immediately after lifting.

[Aaron]

I used creatine for about six months and got pretty good results from it. However, I was not training for strength or size at the time. Ag is perfectly correct about its usefulness for weight training. With heavy anaerobic exercise, your body will eventually produce just as much as you need and you'll no longer benefit from taking it. That happens quick enough that I wouldn't advise wasting the money on it.

However, for a largely cardiovascular regime, I noticed the increase in muscle endurance and strength (but not size at all) was significant.

EDIT: Chris beat me to the punch, also I did notice much quicker recovery.

[Highspeed]

Quality information

Ag - I'm a very new convert to the benefits of unprocessed foods, I stopped eating junk food when I was in Spain - initially because Spanish junk food tastes like crap and imported junk food is stupidly expensive. How about $6 for a can of El Paso chilli ?
I ended up on a diet of fruit, rice and chicken, homemade burgers ( I'll die rather than give up cheeseburgers ) and wholemeal bread.
The change was dramatic, probably because my diet was so bad previously, but it felt like I had about 200% more energy.

Aaron - I am training for functional strength, humping a pack around in the woods type of thing. Is that similar to what you were training for ?

[Aaron]

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Aaron - I am training for functional strength, humping a pack around in the woods type of thing. Is that similar to what you were training for ?

Well, in point of fact, yes. Still a lot of push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, flutters, and other calisthenics, but a lot of running, without weights on the road or track, a weight pack when on the trails.