creatine useless?!

[Jay-X]

hi everybody, i just started to take creatine and it seems to work great. i just got an unsolved doubt: am i going to lose all the weight i've gained as soon as i stop taking it? consider that i don't take it directly, but i eat an energetic bar with 3g of creatine everyday (and they say to stop taking it after 6 weeks)... thanks

 

[padrote]

Creatine makes you retain more water and helps muscles recover faster.

You will lose the water weight you gain when you stop taking it.

 

[Alpine]

Try a search, this has been done to death.

Don't expect to be any the wiser though.

 

[Blue Phoenix]

You will lose some strength and weight, but its becuase of the absence of creatine (thus less energy and water retention).

Even though it IS worth. Creatine is great with no side effects.

 

[Double]

pretty useless. better buy more whey for the money

 

[Blue Phoenix]

Originally posted by Double
pretty useless.

yeah!

 

[Jerry Maguire]

Agreed.

 

[Jay-X]

Originally posted by Double
pretty useless. better buy more whey for the money

it's not pure creatine. i eat everyday a bar with 3g of creatine + 33g of proteins + 48g of carbs + 5g of fats + lots of other stuff i don't remember what's called

 

[TyTe`EyEs]

Creatine gives you a lot of energy. When on creatine, I always work out harder for longer. The water weight also makes you look bigger.

 

[harwell]

Originally posted by Double
pretty useless. better buy more whey for the money

Definitely not uselesss... it been scientifically proven to increase your strength and indurance while working out.

You'll lose a little strength and maybe weight, but if you've been using it for a long time and have gainned a lot of strength... we'll obviously your not going to lose all that muscle you've put on just cause your not taking it anymore.

I know it helps me.

 

[MindOverMatter]

To people who state creatine is useless:

Title: Performance and muscle fiber adaptations to creatine supplementation and heavy resistance training.

Researchers: Volek JS, Duncan ND, Mazzetti SA, Staron RS, Putukian M, Gomez AL, Pearson DR, Fink WJ, Kraemer WJ.

Institution: Department of Kinesiology/Center for Sports Medicine, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802, USA. Source: Med Sci Sports Exerc 1999 Aug;31(8):1147-56 Related Articles, Books, LinkOut

Summary: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of creatine supplementation in conjunction with resistance training on muscle fiber hypertrophy and muscle creatine accumulation.

Methods: Nineteen healthy resistance-trained men were matched and then randomly assigned in a double-blind fashion to either a creatine or placebo group. Periodized heavy resistance training was performed for 12 wk. Creatine or placebo capsules were consumed (25 g x d(-1)) for 1 wk followed by a maintenance dose (5 g x d(-1)) for the remainder of the training period.

Results: After 12 wk, significant increases in body mass and fat-free mass were greater in creatine (6.3% and 6.3%, respectively) than placebo (3.6% and 3.1%, respectively) subjects. After 12 wk, increases in bench press and squat were greater in creatine (24% and 32%, respectively) than placebo (16% and 24%, respectively) subjects. Compared with placebo subjects, creatine subjects demonstrated significantly greater increases in Type I (35% vs 11%), IIA (36% vs 15%), and IIAB (35% vs 6%) muscle fiber cross-sectional areas. Muscle total creatine concentrations were unchanged in placebo subjects. Muscle creatine was significantly elevated after 1 wk in creatine subjects (22%), and values remained significantly greater than placebo subjects after 12 wk. Average volume lifted in the bench press during training was significantly greater in creatine subjects during weeks 5-8. No negative side effects to the supplementation were reported.

Conclusion: Creatine supplementation enhanced fat-free mass, physical performance, and muscle morphology in response to heavy resistance training.

Title: Dietary creatine monohydrate supplementation increases satellite cell mitotic activity during compensatory hypertrophy.

Researchers: Dangott B, Schultz E, Mozdziak PE.

Institution: Department of Anatomy, University of Wisconsin-Medical School, Madison, USA.

Source: International Journal of Sports Medicine 2000 Jan;21(1):13-6.

Summary: Nutritional status influences muscle growth and athletic performance, but little is known about the effect of nutritional supplements, such as creatine, on satellite cell mitotic activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of oral creatine supplementation on muscle growth, compensatory hypertrophy, and satellite cell mitotic activity.

Methods: Compensatory hypertrophy was induced in the rat plantaris muscle by removing the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles. Immediately following surgery, a group of six rats was provided with elevated levels of creatine monohydrate in their diet. Another group of six rats was maintained as a non-supplemented control group. Twelve days following surgery, all rats were implanted with mini-osmotic pumps containing the thymidine analog 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) to label mitotically active satellite cells. Four weeks after the initial surgery the rats were killed, plantaris muscles were removed and weighed. Subsequently, BrdU-labeled and non-BrdU-labeled nuclei were identified on enzymatically isolated myofiber segments.

Results: Muscle mass and myofiber diameters were larger in the muscles that underwent compensatory hypertrophy compared to the control muscles, but there were no differences between muscles from creatine-supplemented and non-creatine-supplemented rats. Similarly, compensatory hypertrophy resulted in an increased number of BrdU-labeled myofiber nuclei, but creatine supplementation in combination with compensatory hypertrophy resulted in a higher number of BrdU-labeled myofiber nuclei compared to compensatory hypertrophy without creatine supplementation.

Conclusion: Creatine supplementation in combination with an increased functional load results in increased satellite cell mitotic activity compared to increased functional load alone.

Do some research instead of repeating gym hearsay. Peace.

 

[MindOverMatter]

Creatine supplementation enhances isometric strength and body composition improvements following strength exercise training in older adults.

Brose A, Parise G, Tarnopolsky MA.

Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada.

We sought to determine whether creatine monohydrate (CrM) supplementation would enhance the increases in strength and fat-free mass that develop during resistance exercise training in older adults. Twenty-eight healthy men and women over the age of 65 years participated in a whole-body resistance exercise program 3 days per week for 14 weeks. The study participants were randomly allocated, in a double-blind fashion, to receive either CrM (5 g/d + 2 g of dextrose; n = 14) or placebo (7 g of dextrose; n = 14). The primary outcome measurements included the following: total body mass, fat-free mass, one-repetition maximum strength for each body part, isometric knee extension, handgrip, and dorsiflexion strength, chair stand performance, 30-m walk test, 14-stair climb performance, muscle fiber type and area, and intramuscular total creatine. Fourteen weeks of resistance exercise training resulted in significant increases in all measurements of strength and functional tasks and muscle fiber area for both groups (p <.05). CrM supplementation resulted in significantly greater increases in fat-free mass and total body mass, as compared with placebo (p <.05). The CrM group also showed a greater increase in isometric knee extension strength in men and women, as compared with placebo (p <.05), and also greater gains in isometric dorsiflexion strength (p <.05), but in men only. There was a significant increase in intramuscular total creatine in the CrM group (p <.05). Finally, there were no significant side effects of treatment or exercise training. This study confirms that supervised heavy resistance exercise training can safely increase muscle strength and functional capacity in older adults. The addition of CrM supplementation to the exercise stimulus enhanced the increase in total and fat-free mass, and gains in several indices of isometric muscle strength.

 

[Ricky]

First time I took it I gained almost 8 lbs in 2 weeks. It was pretty incredible. Another guy i worked with got similar results (ironically he gained alot of the weight without lifting)

When you stop taking it you do gradual lose the weight. At the time I didn't do a body composition study to investigate it.

I have some and will do another round of it. I will keep better stats and post them after my next program.

 

[harwell]

Originally posted by Ricky
First time I took it I gained almost 8 lbs in 2 weeks. It was pretty incredible. Another guy i worked with got similar results (ironically he gained alot of the weight without lifting)

When you stop taking it you do gradual lose the weight. At the time I didn't do a body composition study to investigate it.

Well if you lost all the weight you gained because you stopped taking creatine then

1. you didn't actually build any muscle and that was just the water retention, or

2. you gain 8 lbs and then didn't continue eating right because your body doesn't magically eat your muscles after you stop taking it.

 

[Lifeforce]

Creatine is useless if you don't respond to it. If it works, like it does for me you'll be able to lift that extra rep.

 

[Double]

i didnt recognize any significant difference when i took creatine...so your studies are fine and stuff butdifferent bodies respond differently. peace