Creatine

[lottalax_temp2]

Hi I'm 14 and have been taking creatine monodrate on and off for 1 month.
I definately feel the difference it makes in my recovery.
I'm wondering, should there be a certain plan or schedule that I take it?

[shiftylax]

Read the directions on the product. Otherwise you can serisouly hurt yourself. Especially at such a young age. If you didnt even load it correctly then it won't help all that much anyway. In fact, stop taking it until you can use it responsibly. You can mess your hydration up fairly easy using creatine, much less using it carelessly. I want to know who sold a 14 year old creatine...that's just irresponsible.

[BTlaxripper]

anybody can buy creatine. I'm 16 and just about to start taking it. 14 may be a little to early. But if you want to take it some advice:
take 1 pill upon waking up
2 pills after workout
DRINK LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER!
1 GALLON A DAY MINIMUM!!!!!!!
if you weigh more than 130 than even more.
trust me, last thing you want is to get a kidney stone at 14 because you wanted to get bigger so you risked your health.
I got a kidney stone last season, but not from creatine, I just wasn't staying hydrated, and was drinking soda.

that too, creatine or not NO CAFFEINE DURING THE SEASON! we're talking coffee, energy drinks, chocolate, soda especially dark sodas. especially if you're creatine loading. Not a good idea to be burning extra body water from jittering from caffeine and messing up the ph balance of your blood from too much.

And another piece of random advice.
only drink gatorade/powerade AFTER practice.
My school sells powerade and kids drink it with lun. This stuff is not a beverage intended to be consumed with meals. It's for rapid hydration. If you aren't on the field that day making your body consume the extra electrolytes and sugars and salts, you will mess up the ph balance of your blood which will lead to problems.

[anjang86]

just dont take createne... i mean thers other ways to get better, dont take the shortcuts

[lacrosse64]

First off your very young to be taking creatine. we need to know roe how tall are you how much do you weigh your Bmf your diet etc. how long have you bene working out. I ve bene cycling creatine for 1 year now. Il ike the gains except the water retention part makes us all look fat. Take the creatine post workout with carbs for an insulin spike. You should cycle it 2 on 1 off not 1 on 1 off. if your serious about getting big try some whey protien with it. Drink lots of water as stated above. Take 5 gs of creatine. Your body at best cna only absorb 5g since you arent tkaing any oher supplements such as BCAAs you cant absorb more. IF you have any qustions about suipplements or advice pm me or my aim is lacrosse64

[AXL]

listen to btlaxripper and lacrosse64, they know their stuff.

i agree though, that 14 is too young to take creatine. maybe you could take 10g of whey protien per workout if your serious into lifting (which would suprise me, at your age). At 14 there is no sense in taking the stuff, your wasting your money.

Lifting is fine, but keep the supplements out of it. Creatine is supposed to help you get past sticking points, and is intended for use by people who know which excersizes work best for them, and know the propper form to do them. For these people, creatine is great, and there is nothing wrong with it. But at your age, all you need to do is eat and sleep and you will grow plenty without creatine. The side affects arent worth it (even though very minimal if at all, they could have a greater effect on someone your age)

[BTlaxripper]

And if you haven't hit puberty, you shouldn't be lifting at all. Until you get major loads of testosterone flowing, you aren't gowing to see major growth. period.

protein is a safe bet. If you want to take that and lift (not taking my previous advice) than go ahead. Atleast that will provide a solid base of muscle for once you hit puberty.

[OcLaxer22]

Dude that stuff makes you Agro, And i mean on and off the feild, and your young it might stunt your growth. Dont risk it, work out the old fashion way and stick with red bull.

[BTlaxripper]

agro? If you mean agressive you're thinking of soy protein and hormones.

[lacrosse64]

ARGO???? YOu obviously have no clue what you are talking abut. Only pro hormones,roids, and any hormone supplements wil laffect your "ARGO" Whye protien there are many good ones. Even if you dont workout out you should still have it. ITs excellent for replenishing lost minerals and vitamins. At the age of 14 you shouldnt be doign the pyramid metod workout. You should be doing high reps low weight to prevent the possible rumor of stunted growth. Your 14 dont f up your body now.

[Petem0ss]

Creatine will make you cramp if you do not hydrate properly & I've had the $#!ts on it, but it does not make you aggressive. http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/creatine/creatine-faq.htm

I think 14 is a little young for any supplement, save your money & concentrate more on lifting & running & eating properly. Doing that will put you ahead of 90% of the other 14 year-olds.

[TheKOB]

And if you haven't hit puberty, you shouldn't be lifting at all. Until you get major loads of testosterone flowing, you aren't gowing to see major growth. period.

protein is a safe bet. If you want to take that and lift (not taking my previous advice) than go ahead. Atleast that will provide a solid base of muscle for once you hit puberty.


This has been the thinking in the past, but a lot of people seem to be debunking this theory. It's a matter of how you lift. Do more sets, less weight, and you won't stunt your growth. You still won't really see the results in muscle mass, but you will get stronger...and that's what matters.

On the subject of creatine, you guys are saying to drink lots of water. Will you constantly be thirsty if you don't, or will you not notice it really? Also, they sell creatine in pills now? I bought it back in 99 in gum form....it tasted like a used gym sock with a hint of citrus. I didn't really use it seriously, all I did was a chew a piece before practice, and I wouldn't feel tired. Before games, I chewed two. It was pretty sweet....except for the taste.

[shiftylax]

Gum? They sell it in pills, but the pills don't work as well as the powdered form. Creatine gum? Nasty, man, just nasty...

[phslax007]

ok im 15, and have been using creatine mix stuff for almost a month, and i had alrady been workin out a while before i started..but im afraid im not consuming as much water as that one person said but of course i will now, would i have been able to tell if i didnt drink enough then or are the bad effects just gonna like happen spontaneously or something, and what are the bad effects of not consuming enough water

[shiftylax]

You could get a blood clot. Or fall into a dehydration coma.

But those are extreme examples.

[[THS_Lacrosse]]

...I used to use creatine but stopped taking it since my face started to break out with acne. I didnt see a big difference with it so I liked my results with Soy Protien so I juststick with that.

[BTlaxripper]

ok im 15, and have been using creatine mix stuff for almost a month, and i had alrady been workin out a while before i started..but im afraid im not consuming as much water as that one person said but of course i will now, would i have been able to tell if i didnt drink enough then or are the bad effects just gonna like happen spontaneously or something, and what are the bad effects of not consuming enough water

worse case scenario?

kidney failure and you die or become diabetic (i think diabetes relates to kidney failure).

little less severe= kidney stone. don't want them, period. you vomit because the pain is enoguh to make you want to kill your self.

and kob, I was under the assumption that he was training for mass.

[lottaLaX]

Thank you everyone.
I have decided to lay off the Creatine for now because of what I am hearing. I simply assumed (because of what I read in magazines and online) that creatine was right for me. I am going to talk to my doctor and see what kind of advice I get. Thanks for the info guys.

[AXL]

ok im 15, and have been using creatine mix stuff for almost a month, and i had alrady been workin out a while before i started..but im afraid im not consuming as much water as that one person said but of course i will now, would i have been able to tell if i didnt drink enough then or are the bad effects just gonna like happen spontaneously or something, and what are the bad effects of not consuming enough water
the whole point of creatine is it pust water in your muscles, then when you lift this water helps displace the lactic acid(the stuff that makes your muscles burn) that builds up in your muscles. so if you take creatine, and drink only enough water to live, your not doing anything. drink water every chance you get. i dont think its possible to have too much water ever. you just piss more.

[the wister]

the best indication of adaquate hydration is the color of your urine: the darker yellow it is, the worse off you are, the clearer it is, the better hydrated.

[Cburylax]

the whole point of creatine is it pust water in your muscles, then when you lift this water helps displace the lactic acid(the stuff that makes your muscles burn) that builds up in your muscles. so if you take creatine, and drink only enough water to live, your not doing anything. drink water every chance you get. i dont think its possible to have too much water ever. you just piss more.


Actually, the increased water retention in your cell is due to the increased creatine and phosphocreatine concentration in your cells (remember cell bio). The actual reason to take creatine supplements is to increase the amount of PCr (phoshopcreatine) which increases ATP re-systhesis and allows you to prolong high intensity muscular contraction.

For those of you that failed bio, this means you can get an extra 1-3 more reps with a heavy load than you normally would. Translation: increase muscular size and strength.

[CTLaxer]

Thank you everyone.
I have decided to lay off the Creatine for now because of what I am hearing. I simply assumed (because of what I read in magazines and online) that creatine was right for me. I am going to talk to my doctor and see what kind of advice I get. Thanks for the info guys.

Your doctor is going to tell you to not do any suppliments aside from maybe a flinstone vitamin. Suppliments are rarely used/applied properly at the high school age, and even when they are you're not at a age/level where they'll do you any real good. If you want to get bigger, stronger, and look better just do this; eat a lot of food, keep fat intake low, and work out properly. You don't need any suppliments, at 14 or 15 your body has enough junk going through it's system, it doesn't need you to throw creatine into the hormonal mix. Also, make sure you're getting plenty of sleep, that's when your muscles repair themselves and when your body grows.

[BTlaxripper]

Your doctor is going to tell you to not do any suppliments aside from maybe a flinstone vitamin. Suppliments are rarely used/applied properly at the high school age, and even when they are you're not at a age/level where they'll do you any real good. If you want to get bigger, stronger, and look better just do this; eat a lot of food, keep fat intake low, and work out properly. You don't need any suppliments, at 14 or 15 your body has enough junk going through it's system, it doesn't need you to throw creatine into the hormonal mix. Also, make sure you're getting plenty of sleep, that's when your muscles repair themselves and when your body grows.

doctors are going to tell you not to take supplements no matter who it is. I asked my doctor, didn't even get the chance to tell him it was just protein and he said no. The reason doctors (and parents) are so wary of supplements is that under law they do not have to be fda approved because they are not meant to treat, cure, or prevent any disease, and they aren't food. So it's basically the perfect loophole. As long as you don't venture into fat burning pills and shady unknown company's supplements you'll be safe.

[AXL]

ya my parents told me the same thing. i told them to f*** off

cburylax i guess your right, i didnt really pay attention in bio, but i remmeebr reading that lactic acid is what makes your muscles burn, and i know creatine makes the burn lessen, so i put 2 and 2 together.

[ontheblackrock]

Alright dude. Creatine. you wanna take it like 2 grams of it 45 mins before your work out then another gram about 30 mins AFTER your work out. If you drink about a gallon to 2 gallons a day you'll be fine. If you dont drink enough water you will just get cramps, be dehydrated, and thats about it.

Many people associate creatine as a "short cut" or "cheating"... Honestly, they have NO CLUE what they are talking about, creatine is a natural substance found in fish, meat, etc. So people here are saying that if you eat meat you may get a blod clot? hell no. will you become a diabetic? hell no.

I use to take CELL-TECH, one of the best creatine supps out there, but I didn't like the amount of sugars in it so I switched to vitargo. (doenst have nearly as much sugar)

Creatine, is meant to give your muscles more endurance. While your lifting you'll experience after a little bit "muscle fatigue" which makes your muscles want to give up lifting as much. Creatine hydrates them, allowing them to work longer without failure. Again, your body already have creatine in it and you eat creatine with foods and all the creatine supps are doing are providing more of it so you dont have to go and eat fish or meat before your work out.

And that guy that said it'll make you angry, should honestly loose his speaking priveledges cuz he doesnt know what he's talking about. Creatine again will not make you angry. It's not a prohorme, a testosterone booster, etc. So no worries about that.

Also if your lifting, take your creatine on a 3 week on, 1 week off cycle. On your off days you do NOT need to take it, the lable just says that so you consume more and buy more.

If you do your research you'll find that everything I stated here is correct. Good luck with your lifting, and remember to consume at least 1 to 2 grams of protein for every Lb. of body wieght you have on you. You'll get HUGE fast if you do that religiously.

[Cburylax]

Creatine, is meant to give your muscles more endurance. While your lifting you'll experience after a little bit "muscle fatigue" which makes your muscles want to give up lifting as much. Creatine hydrates them, allowing them to work longer without failure. Again, your body already have creatine in it and you eat creatine with foods and all the creatine supps are doing are providing more of it so you dont have to go and eat fish or meat before your work out.

If you do your research you'll find that everything I stated here is correct.




Hmmmm....for those of us that didn't go to reading comprehension class, the cellular hydration is not the function of creatine but a side effect. The function of creatine is to provide a readily available source of phosphate for immediate ATP resynthesis........geez.

[ontheblackrock]

Your liver produces glycine and arginine > ornithine and guanidinoacetate which is then methylated by S-adenosylmethionine to form creatine. It gives the user a little amount of high-energy phosphate which can regenerate ATP from ADP. ATP is an energy bearing substrate that resides in muscle and is what enables your muscles to contract and generate power. < (main function)The creatine causes cell volumization; therefore, it literally draws water into the muscle cells. aka muscle hydration. Therefore the creatine hydrates muscle, (maybe a "side effect") but resulting in a fuller, rounder muscle. Your muscle is 75% water to begin with! So this hydration gives a fuller pump and helps with protein sythesis... "geez"

I had to do a research paper on creatine, and I went to a sports medicine doctor with a Phd. in medical science, i would hope he'd know his stuff...

[Cburylax]

Your liver produces glycine and arginine > ornithine and guanidinoacetate which is then methylated by S-adenosylmethionine to form creatine. It gives the user a little amount of high-energy phosphate which can regenerate ATP from ADP. ATP is an energy bearing substrate that resides in muscle and is what enables your muscles to contract and generate power. < (main function)The creatine causes cell volumization; therefore, it literally draws water into the muscle cells. aka muscle hydration. Therefore the creatine hydrates muscle, (maybe a "side effect") but resulting in a fuller, rounder muscle. Your muscle is 75% water to begin with! So this hydration gives a fuller pump and helps with protein sythesis... "geez"

I had to do a research paper on creatine, and I went to a sports medicine doctor with a Phd. in medical science, i would hope he'd know his stuff...



Nicely done, so here's a question for you. Would you get the same effect from creatine IF you didn't get the increased cellular water retention?

[faceitoff]

Where do you get this Creatine? Sounds wonderful. I'm a 5'5'' asian boy, and I ain't getting much taller. Damn my 5'1'' and 5'3'' parents.

[lacrosse64]

Hmmmm.. At a vitamin/supplement store or online.

[faceitoff]

Sexiness. Thank you.
They make you taller, right? I'm too lazy to read through the thread.

[BTlaxripper]

:lol:
I hope your being sarcastic.

some protein mixes already come with creatine in them such as Nitro-Tech or Muscle tech or whatever it's called. Made by the same peepz who make cell tech which blackrock mentioned.

www.vitaminshoppe.com
^cheapest prices I can find.

ps. Ontheblackrock, is that a blunt in your mouth?

[faceitoff]

Being sarcastic about it making me taller? No. I have no idea what creatine does, but it sounds like it makes you bigger.

[ontheblackrock]

Where do you get this Creatine? Sounds wonderful. I'm a 5'5'' asian boy, and I ain't getting much taller. Damn my 5'1'' and 5'3'' parents.

you probably have a low center of gravity... thats very good for faceoffs actually. ha, dont think creatine is going to make you any taller... maybe try a prohormone and go thru puberty again, the acne, moodswings, ahhh wut great times. haha nah there is some supp that claims to give growth in hieght, I wouldnt touch it with a ten foot pole tho... look it up.

And to CSbury, without the cellular water retention I dont think that it would hydrate the muscles... but then again creatine would just be something you consume then crap/piss out and just put stress on your liver and kidneys.... hmmm

[BTlaxripper]

lmao. Its not a hormone, it just brings water into your muscles and makes u more endurant (word?). If your looking to get taller, talk to your doctor for growth hormones although I HIGHLY discourage it.

Your organs and such are sized with your body size in mind in corollation with your DNA. So if you take growth hormones, your body gets bigger yet your heart and lungs stay the same size so they'll have to work harder and it'll get you in lots of trouble. Unfortunately many people have not realized this.

[faceitoff]

Yeah. I kind of like my low center of gravity because I wrestle. But being two inches taller wouldn't hurt. But I think I have one more growth spurt. You're a smart one, you are.

[ragnut]

If you're looking for actual, unbiased studies on creatine, check out these links:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15707376

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15615119

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15212742

[lacrosseplayer8]

u just have to take it responeable drink water non-stop...honstly i wouldnt take it what i have hurd it only incresses mass and improves recovery time

[GBaschski]

And if you haven't hit puberty, you shouldn't be lifting at all. Until you get major loads of testosterone flowing, you aren't gowing to see major growth. period.

protein is a safe bet. If you want to take that and lift (not taking my previous advice) than go ahead. Atleast that will provide a solid base of muscle for once you hit puberty.

Are you crazy? You don't think he's hit puberty by 14? It's possible, but not likely. The average age of puberty in boys is like...10 or 11, I think. I know I hit it at around 10.

[Jok3Killa]

Dont creatine at 14. Although creatine isnt as bad as it used to be you deffininately dont want to be dumping that **** into yourself. At 14 u shouldnt need creatine anyways

[dsticklax17]

Besides, its not about putting as much weight on as possible, its about lean muscle.

[Goalieman5]

the whole point of creatine is it pust water in your muscles, then when you lift this water helps displace the lactic acid(the stuff that makes your muscles burn) that builds up in your muscles. so if you take creatine, and drink only enough water to live, your not doing anything. drink water every chance you get. i dont think its possible to have too much water ever. you just piss more.

If you drink too much water it can thin out your blood and you will die.

[the wister]

Wow, honestly, I was about to lose all class just to tell you what I thought of that statement. Hahaha, it's basically impossible to drink a 'harmful' amount of water. You'd have to be force fed. Water poisioning can occur at some point obviously, but that point is far after you begin throwing it back up because you have too much in your system. For Intro to Biomed I downed 1 liter of water in 45secs for a presentation. The worst thing that happened to my 130lb body was some tremoring from the sugar additives.

[ca180sx]

There is nothing wrong with Creatine. Your body naturally makes creatine and what it does is store water in your muscles to aid in faster recovery and to keep water in your muscles. Taking creatine that young is not bad or good. Give your body time to develop. Celltech is a really good product that I take. Creatine supplements just produce more creatine in your body.

All these side effects that you all are listing are so extreme that they are out of the ordinary. Of couse they vary from person to person, but creatine is just as healthy as taking protein supplements.

Its not the easy way out, its a way to develop your muscle faster by aiding in recovery. All it does is allow you to lift more.

Drinking water non stop is not needed. 8-12 glass a day will do. I live in Okinawa Japan. Its humid as hell here. I'm also in the Marine Corps and that amount of water is plenty to be pissing clear.

[TheKOB]

If you drink too much water it can thin out your blood and you will die.

You can, but the only cases of this are fraternity hazing events when they knew they had too much to drink but kept on doing it anyways. It IS possible (and definitely something to be aware of) but not very probable. I forget how much you would have to drink to die from it, but I don't think creatine will make that happen.

[lacrosseman192]

what my personal trainer told me to do was to have 10-20 grams once when u get up and once after u lift for the first week. and in the 2nd week on do 5 grams twice a day at the same times as before

[OldGoalie]

Wow, honestly, I was about to lose all class just to tell you what I thought of that statement. Hahaha, it's basically impossible to drink a 'harmful' amount of water. You'd have to be force fed. Water poisioning can occur at some point obviously, but that point is far after you begin throwing it back up because you have too much in your system. For Intro to Biomed I downed 1 liter of water in 45secs for a presentation. The worst thing that happened to my 130lb body was some tremoring from the sugar additives.

There are certain conditions, which are not that uncommon, where drinking too much water can actually kill you. It's called "Hyponatremia," or "water intoxication." It usually occurs in long distance events like marathons and triathlons where athletes sweat a lot of salt and electroloytes out during competition, and replaceit with only water.

http://www.geo-outdoors.info/hyponatremia.htm
http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/salt.html

[Brandon303]

Everyone always looks for shortcuts to get bigger. You should just stick to lifting weights and working out. All the shakes and supplements will just take your money. You can acheive better results naturally, without the risk of seriously screwing your body up.

[ca180sx]

^ Is that so?

I think you need to get your facts straight. Creatine is natural in a lot of foods, including fish and you own body. I hope you know protein is in a lot of foods. How is it screwing his body up? You don't have a clue what your talking about.

Maybe taking supplements before your body is developed is bad, but once you get through puberty your A OK.

[Diesel4958]

Brandon, no , just simply no.... It is natural. Un-natural is if one uses anabolic steroids. It's not a short cut, you'l get it someday, maybe... Bio class is your friend.

[LaxDr]

sorry guys, just didnt know enough information, didnt want to make anyone mad

[Foxfirebass]

I can't believe all you people are taking this drug to help you get stronger or whatever the hell it does. In my mind that is stupid, I practice everyday but taking pills to get better you guys are kind of pathetic, you can still go to the gym to build muscle which is fine but no pills. Especially with all these health risks hows a 14 or a 16 year old kid supposed to follow all that when they can barely remember to clean up their room. i wouldnt want to risk my health cause i made a mistake taking some stupid pill to get stronger. 14 and 16 should not be taking drugs niether should anyone in my mind but especially the younger ones that aren't very responsible :thumbsdow

It's not a drug.

If you think it is, and that it's bad to do so, don't eat red meat, please. Red meat has creatine in it, though a decent amount of it is cooked out.

[Diesel4958]

I can't believe all you people are taking this drug to help you get stronger or whatever the hell it does. In my mind that is stupid, I practice everyday but taking pills to get better you guys are kind of pathetic, you can still go to the gym to build muscle which is fine but no pills. Especially with all these health risks hows a 14 or a 16 year old kid supposed to follow all that when they can barely remember to clean up their room. i wouldnt want to risk my health cause i made a mistake taking some stupid pill to get stronger. 14 and 16 should not be taking drugs niether should anyone in my mind but especially the younger ones that aren't very responsible :thumbsdow
Pills are absorbed horribly by the body, i recommend taking it in powder form, and CEE if possible. Knowledge is power, learn to use what you know not what you think you know.

[ca180sx]

I can't believe all you people are taking this drug to help you get stronger or whatever the hell it does. In my mind that is stupid, I practice everyday but taking pills to get better you guys are kind of pathetic, you can still go to the gym to build muscle which is fine but no pills. Especially with all these health risks hows a 14 or a 16 year old kid supposed to follow all that when they can barely remember to clean up their room. i wouldnt want to risk my health cause i made a mistake taking some stupid pill to get stronger. 14 and 16 should not be taking drugs niether should anyone in my mind but especially the younger ones that aren't very responsible :thumbsdow


Don't post in this thread without knowing what you are talking about. ^This is an ignorant comment in the fact that he has no idea about creatine or supplements.

I'll say it once again. Supplements are higher doses of what your body naturally produces. Stop hating.

[Foxfirebass]

Don't post in this thread without knowing what you are talking about. ^This is an ignorant comment in the fact that he has no idea about creatine or supplements.

I'll say it once again. Supplements are higher doses of what your body naturally produces. Stop hating.

Well, if you want to get technical, not when it comes to Essential Amino Acids...

:p

[ca180sx]

^ Your right, but creatine occurs naturally in your body.

[thaizzman]

i know someone that is a ironman triathlete, the best way to build muscle is def protein, not just pills, but eatin foods high in protein, low in fat, and def not get much fat because ull be burning fat instead of building muscle

[murderlax]

okay i'll give you a tip, stop taking the creatine and start taking whey protein. it'll help, trust me. and drink lots of water if you decide to continue with creatine. i mean LOTS of water. good luck.

[Diesel4958]

okay i'll give you a tip, stop taking the creatine and start taking whey protein. it'll help, trust me. and drink lots of water if you decide to continue with creatine. i mean LOTS of water. good luck.

I got a better tip, take both at the same time... They work very well together bud.