Does anyone still use creating?

Will_m

WKR
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
998
I had testicular cancer 15 years ago, I believe the source of the cancer was the impurities in the cheap creatine that I took in the late 90's.

Anything in particular that caused you to make this connection?
 

bukshot01

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Aug 18, 2019
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MattB355

Lil-Rokslider
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Mar 14, 2020
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Creatine works for recovery and stamina for weight training. The key is to be hydrated and drink lots of water while on it. I have not used it for 15 years but had great weight/power lifting results. It will make you gain water weight via water retention and make you slower with cardio due to this effect. Proper diet will negate any need for creatine supplementation.
 

Badseed

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Jul 10, 2020
Messages
545
Check out con crete creatine HCL. It is a micronized version of creatine that doesn’t have the same bloating and cramping effects of most creatine monohydrate. I have used it for years and haven’t had any reason to switch back. You only use about a teaspoon to get the necessary dose. Word of advice, the non flavored version actually has a tart lime like flavor to it.


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*zap*

WKR
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N/E Kansas
Creatine helps supplement your atp supply.....I take 5mg with my begin the day supplement drink every day. It also helps keep your cells hydrated.
 
Joined
Jun 30, 2020
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Been using creatine for years without any perceivable negative effects. Occasionally I'll try another brand but keep going back to Optimum Nutrition.
 
Joined
Sep 11, 2020
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Creatine is one of the most studied performance supplement. Not everyone experiences the same results and or side effects from its usage. I've used it off and on for 3 years and never experienced cramps, bloated feeling, or diarrhea as others might mention. Also its probably important to research the brand you choose with so many companies selling/manufacturing it and the supplement business being what it is. https://labdoor.com/rankings/creatine
 

akearns82

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Sep 30, 2020
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Location
Indiana
Creatine is one of the supplements that actually works. I have found it really beneficial in short to moderate rep range strength training. I have not notice any effects in long endurance type workouts. I also tend to add 4-5 lbs body weight when i take it regularly for a few months.
 

Stefan

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Jan 27, 2016
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181
The Army started seeing issues with soldiers and creatine usage since we did more of an endurance type event with some explosive type strength movements. Creatine does not help for endurance from what I have read and the risk of becoming a heat casualty outweighed the benefit for extended operations..

Below is an interesting article for you.

"I decided to answer a question I have been receiving, for over ten years, from people using my workouts to prepare for military and Special Forces training.


"Your training programs are effective. I have been following the routines and can do a rather large amount of situps and pushups! The question I would like to ask is - would this program be more affective if I took creatine while doing these workouts? And would you see a difference in a short period of time?"




During the early 90's, creatine supplementation hit the scene and gyms, nutrition stores, and supplement companies jumped on the creatine explosion. Creatine, like all other supplements sold online or in nutrition stores, is unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The reason is that creatine - like protein, amino acids, and vitamins - occurs naturally in our food and is NOT a drug. Creatine is actually found in the meat we eat. Taking a daily-recommended supplement of creatine is equivalent to eating more than ten steaks. In my mind, that goes against all that I have taught with respect to moderation - whether you are trying to lose weight or gain weight. Besides, the long-term effect of creatine supplements has yet to be fully determined.


Creatine has been (and still is) being promoted as a way to enhance muscular performance in just about every athletic activity there is. So why not supplement to perform better in military physical fitness training. Right? WRONG.


Take a look at the testing procedures of military or Special Operations troops. You are required to perform for several minutes of high intensity at pushups, situps, and pullups. Then almost immediately, you are required to swim, run, or ruck march for miles. The military person is a cross between an endurance athlete and a gymnast. The requirements of several hours of endurance activities, along with short explosive body weight movements, make taking creatine detrimental to the military person (if you want to be able to perform a wartime mission). If you want to be a bodybuilder or bench press a truck - go for it - creatine can help you.



Physiology of Creatine in Exercise


Without getting too technical, creatine is best used by the muscles when performing short, high-intensity, explosive exercises like power-lifting, sprinting, and other anaerobic sports. Creatine can help the body grow muscle mass that is only able to do short bursts of 6-10 seconds of full-exertion movements. Once you step into the aerobic or cardio zone with longer, slower runs, creatine offers little assistance.


In fact, while preparing people for SEAL Training, with long 24-36 hour days of constant activity, the military members taking creatine were "locked up" - experiencing deep muscle cramping in the major muscle groups of the body (thighs, hamstrings, glutes, and lowerback). These were typical athletes - football players, track sprinters, power lifters, and people who liked to lift weights to look good. In a nutshell, they did not make the cut and were released from the program. Their muscles did not allow them to finish. It was always entertaining to see the look on these athletes faces when three to five mile runs were next on the agenda. Even the 1.5 mile run, which is really a spring, is considered long distance to an athlete training with creatine.


Training with weights is NOT the enemy. In fact, it is good to have some muscle fiber capable of short bursts of speed and strength in the military. However, you must couple that with higher repetition training and longer distance running. And studies have not produced any positive results on the use of creatine in endurance athletes.


Since I am not a doctor, I found one. His statement confirms my reservations about the supplementation of creatine. Mark A. Jenkins, MD at Rice University states, "Creatine, and other such supplements, are not regulated by the FDA. No published investigation has been conducted on creatine to determine what impurities might be present in creatine supplements, and what their long-term effect might be. The bottom line is that no one can confidently state that prolonged creatine supplementation is safe, and its use would best be avoided until more data can be compiled. Prolonged administration is, in essence, an uncontrolled toxicity study and might yield harmful results. Is it worth the risk? Remember, it\'s your body!"


I am sure to receive many responses from people disagreeing with me on this one. My philosophy has always been "everything in moderation" when it comes to weight gain, weight loss, and training. I have not taken any supplements other than vitamins for the more than twenty years of training. I have power lifted and bench pressed more than twice my bodyweight and run a sub 18:00 three-mile run. You can do both types of exercises. I am merely stating that creatine supplementation does not allow you to do both very well. This is my opinion, formed from years of witnessing the negative performances by creatine-supplemented athletes in challenging military training. ("Challenging" includes the standard military PFT as well as 1.5 mile, 2 or 3-mile runs).


Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you are interested in starting a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle - check out the Military.com Fitness eBook store and the Stew Smith article archive at Military.com. To contact Stew with your comments and questions, e-mail him at [email protected]." from Military.com
 

*zap*

WKR
Joined
Dec 20, 2018
Messages
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Location
N/E Kansas
I am 64, take 1.5 servings of this stuff every morning (raised over time, started @ .75 servings daily) and have no problems that I can associate to it. Actually my training hours totals for the months have gone up since I started and I am dropping body fat to the tune of around 2# a month but that is from LISS and my nutrition program. Definitely no weight gain from creatine use for me that I am aware of.
 

DOESLAYER

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Feb 10, 2020
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Illinois
I only take it in the ON preworkout, i try limiting my caffeine intake more after i turned 40.
 
Joined
May 9, 2019
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Use creatine mono hydrate. It 100% saturates the muscle. Either 3-5g/day has been heavily backed by research


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ElMuercielago

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Nov 30, 2020
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Nevada
Creatine works for recovery and stamina for weight training. The key is to be hydrated and drink lots of water while on it. I have not used it for 15 years but had great weight/power lifting results. It will make you gain water weight via water retention and make you slower with cardio due to this effect. Proper diet will negate any need for creatine supplementation.
100%. Don't forget hydration! On the other note, I have a pretty solid diet but I have still noticed creatine being beneficial for me. What is your general diet plan?
 

MattB355

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Joined
Mar 14, 2020
Messages
141
General diet is 1-1.5 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight (whey protein supplementation is how I am able to get to this amount as I am 215 lbs.) Lots of raw vegetables, egg whites, elk meat, lean turkey burger/chicken. I still eat carbs and the ratio is 40% carbs and 40% protein and 20% fat (olive oils, some saturated from the meat fat, nuts). On a side note, I just started on some creatine HCL to try to build upper body muscle about 2 weeks ago--I tore my labrum in my shoulder 15 months ago so I started running and atrophied my upper body. In trying to build muscle over 40, I figured I would give the new creatine HCL a try. The trainers at my gym said the new HCL creatine does not retain as much water weight so I figured I would give it a shot.
 

Clarktar

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Joined
Aug 30, 2013
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Location
AK
General diet is 1-1.5 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight (whey protein supplementation is how I am able to get to this amount as I am 215 lbs.) Lots of raw vegetables, egg whites, elk meat, lean turkey burger/chicken. I still eat carbs and the ratio is 40% carbs and 40% protein and 20% fat (olive oils, some saturated from the meat fat, nuts). On a side note, I just started on some creatine HCL to try to build upper body muscle about 2 weeks ago--I tore my labrum in my shoulder 15 months ago so I started running and atrophied my upper body. In trying to build muscle over 40, I figured I would give the new creatine HCL a try. The trainers at my gym said the new HCL creatine does not retain as much water weight so I figured I would give it a shot.
Going in for shoulder surgery this Friday. A torn labrum is part of the issue for me. Curious how your recovery went (how long you could not use shoulder, if use was metered over time). Were you able to modify any sort of upper body workout?

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MattB355

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Mar 14, 2020
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141
First off, good luck on your shoulder surgery this week and hope you have a speedy recovery.
I am still in recovery mode for my shoulder and it is not 100% at all (I'd rate it at ~70%). My injury occurred in Aug of 2019. I am not really sure how it happened but it was at the gym (I am thinking it was either heavy dumbell incline presses or heavy bent over rows). My shoulder pain was pretty bad but I was pushing through it until it was so painful it affected my sleep. Anyway, I waited until Jan for it to recover and did no upper body at all as it was very painful. I finally got fed up and went to the Dr to get an MRI. The MRI showed a torn labrum in the glenohumural joint along with arthritis. I went to physical therapy for a few months and it helped tremendously. It was a lot of band work with high reps and low weight to bring the shoulders back as they were pulled forward from years of heavy lifting. The PT person also did trigger point massages on the muscle bands of the rotator cuff on the scapula and that worked great for reliving the pain at night. I continue to use a lacrosse ball and massage cain to do my own trigger point massages as well as a series of shoulder and chest stretches 4-6 times per week. I now have all the PT equipment at home for stretching and massaging and exercising the shoulder to relieve the pain (exercise bands, body blade, massage cain, lacrosse ball, stretch band). A lot of the exercises and stretches can be found on youtube (check out bob and brad or athleanX and search for shoulders). I started back on shoulder and chest workouts about 10 weeks ago and it is tough but the pain is not getting any worse and I am gaining some strength again (I am about at 50-60% of were I was at before the injury). I do lighter weights very slow and will stop with any signs of shoulder pain-there is a little aching but no sharp pains. I would start with dumbell floor presses if you are able as they support your shoulder at the bottom of the movement and worked well to tranisition me to regular bench press by allowing me to build some shoulder strength.

The most important things are frequent band work to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles and frequent stretching of the chest and shoulders. If things are tight, use a lacrosse ball to massage them out before stretching.

Hope this helps.
Matt
 
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