Creatine use going into a hunt/season

[kelly1]

Bring it along it weighs next to nothing,kelly

 

[cwitt]

@V2Pnutrition Rereading my last comment, that did come across a little more aggressive than intended. It was more directed at the folks dropping blanket statements. I also may have been a little hangry or something.. Taking a step back, I do appreciate the information because it does put creatine use in a little better context for those unfamiliar or considering if they should take it for this application, albeit not my intent with the thread.

For those of us that are taking creatine for training, have consulted or have elected to not consult with a physician, and have decided that it’s worth it/works for us, what is your advice? Is there a good protocol moving into the season? Or in your opinion is it just not beneficial for that type of activity? What are your thoughts on the system @Andouille mentioned, taking it throughout the day?

 

[K_pem]

You did better justice to the explanation that I would've- "a source of energy used during short-bursts of activity..."., ha!

You're both right. The OP apparently wasn't asking about details, but just looking to learn if folks take it or don't.

I think the other info provided can be great things to consider when other folks stumble on the thread from searching (sorry if it hijacked the thread, OP).

The ATP-PCr system gets "flipped on" for shorts bursts of needed energy. It is limited. The more of an internal store you have (via eating meat, supplementation, etc.), the more "performance" you're going to see during that type of activity. Low stores (lack of supplementation, non-meat eaters, non-responders, etc.) generally do not have as good performance in that type of activity.

With very little of that being done on a hunt (small burst of energy like you might need in a Metcon, sprint, or set of clean and jerks), there's not a big reason to think you "need" it.

But, as you've seen throughout this post, people have mixed opinions/observations/experiences with that. So, even if the "data" says otherwise, you should pack a pile of the stuff if you think it makes a difference for you.

Agreed, sorry OP for the derailment!

I don’t really know how there can be “non responders” as our energy metabolism physiology is all the same? My assumption is that some people don’t notice the effect as much (for a multitude of reasons), but because they might have a different composition of muscle fiber types. Surely though everyone uses the creatine phos system when exerting any kind of effort (at least for the first 10-15 seconds or so), but my thought process is that if you’re moving at a sustained rate; then have to suddenly climb up another 20-30ft uphill to get to a shooting position or something of the like, surely you’d benefit with those new motor units recruited (depending on what your muscle fiber composition might be) having the available extra creatine stores.

My point is though for the OP, there’s definitely a benefit associated in having extra creatine stores (you certainly won’t burn through them all in minutes), but wether that benefit is noticeable enough for you to justify carrying/staying on it is a personal call.

 

[DuckDawg22]

I use the MTN Ops creatine at home, what individual packs are you guys liking for use in the field?

 

[V2Pnutrition]

@V2Pnutrition Rereading my last comment, that did come across a little more aggressive than intended. It was more directed at the folks dropping blanket statements. I also may have been a little hangry or something.. Taking a step back, I do appreciate the information because it does put creatine use in a little better context for those unfamiliar or considering if they should take it for this application, albeit not my intent with the thread.

For those of us that are taking creatine for training, have consulted or have elected to not consult with a physician, and have decided that it’s worth it/works for us, what is your advice? Is there a good protocol moving into the season? Or in your opinion is it just not beneficial for that type of activity? What are your thoughts on the system @Andouille mentioned, taking it throughout the day?

Precisely that (see bolded above).

We constantly preach finding the balance between optimal and practicality. This almost always comes down to if a person deciding if they notice a tangible difference in their targeted outcome (performance, strength, etc.- whatever it is). The data can say all day that you get a fraction of improvement, but if that's not felt or showing up in the numbers, is it really effective?

On the flip side, no one- myself included- can ever argue with someone's personal experience. If someone thinks or feels like a certain supplement/nutrition regimen works for them, they should follow it (assuming reward outweighs risk and it's "safe"). And, creatine is widely studied and considered safe.

To more directly answer your question, you don't need trickle doses through the day. Most data supports 5g daily. Some newer data suggests even higher doses for cognitive benefits, but that's pretty new.

Like alot of new stuff, I usually let the engineers weed out the faults and wait to purchase until the updates and second iterations are out (I want to see repeatable data across big groups before I take a couple of small study samples that show promise and call it an absolute).

Protocol going into the season: I don't think you can be wrong, to be honest. If you like the effects you get from it, keep taking it. If you don't notice a difference, I would say leave it at home for no other reason than it's one more thing you have to remember to pack and manage in the backcountry.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Given the lack of good sleep I get when hunting and given the new study results of creatine effects on cognitive ability with lack of sleep I don't why you wouldn't take it.
I take creatine everyday as it was recommended by my Dr.

 

[V2Pnutrition]

Agreed, sorry OP for the derailment!

I don’t really know how there can be “non responders” as our energy metabolism physiology is all the same? My assumption is that some people don’t notice the effect as much (for a multitude of reasons), but because they might have a different composition of muscle fiber types. Surely though everyone uses the creatine phos system when exerting any kind of effort (at least for the first 10-15 seconds or so), but my thought process is that if you’re moving at a sustained rate; then have to suddenly climb up another 20-30ft uphill to get to a shooting position or something of the like, surely you’d benefit with those new motor units recruited (depending on what your muscle fiber composition might be) having the available extra creatine stores.

My point is though for the OP, there’s definitely a benefit associated in having extra creatine stores (you certainly won’t burn through them all in minutes), but wether that benefit is noticeable enough for you to justify carrying/staying on it is a personal call.

There's a variety of reasons, but alot of it boils down to my first post on the topic (and what you alluded to in your post a bit): if you already have a good exogenous creatine intake via whole foods, your stores are likely fairly full. You're already reaping the benefits during training. Study participants likely didn't notice much difference once supplemented. As we say "boiling water doesn't get more boiled the longer you leave it on the stove...".

The people most data suggests see the greatest benefit are non-meat eaters (vegetarians/vegans).

...which makes sense why they would respond better. For all nutrition, we know uptake is significantly higher when the body gets exposed to something it usually doesn't get but needs ("I haven't seen this in a while! I'm taking in as much of this as I can!").

Creatine naturally exists in highest amounts in meat. It makes sense where folks sense an improvement in short-burst activity when you give a group who never sees the stuff some from a supplement.

My biggest take-a-way from this post: we all need to hunt more to keep those stores up!

 

[K_pem]

There's a variety of reasons, but alot of it boils down to my first post on the topic (and what you alluded to in your post a bit): if you already have a good exogenous creatine intake via whole foods, your stores are likely fairly full. You're already reaping the benefits during training. Study participants likely didn't notice much difference once supplemented. As we say "boiling water doesn't get more boiled the longer you leave it on the stove...".

The people most data suggests see the greatest benefit are non-meat eaters (vegetarians/vegans).

...which makes sense why they would respond better. For all nutrition, we know uptake is significantly higher when the body gets exposed to something it usually doesn't get but needs ("I haven't seen this in a while! I'm taking in as much of this as I can!").

Creatine naturally exists in highest amounts in meat. It makes sense where folks sense an improvement in short-burst activity when you give a group who never sees the stuff some from a supplement.

My biggest take-a-way from this post: we all need to hunt more to keep those stores up!

I like where your head is at!

 

[Athor119]

Would never consider packing creatine or any supplement for a backpack hunt..

 

[chancey]

I would say if you’re taking it daily keep it going on your hunt. I try to keep things as “normal” as reasonable when on a multi day hunt. The weight/space makes it, to me, a reasonable addition.

 

[Crewman9710]

I would say if you’re taking it daily keep it going on your hunt. I try to keep things as “normal” as reasonable when on a multi day hunt. The weight/space makes it, to me, a reasonable addition.

Especially if tapering off creatine reverses any strength/endurance boost it may have lent...