To supplament with creatine or not

I’m trying to have one shake (tangent is it a shake if it looks like fruit squash?) in the afternoon for a couple of reasons: I’m 90% vegetarian so should prob add to my diet and also drinking something that fills me up stops the snacking in the afternoon.

There seem to be wildly different opinions on creatine for cyclists with pros and cons, clearly from other my posts I’m not at the sharp end of anything so a bit of water retention and associated weight isn’t the end of the world (I still need to get head around my weight but more kettlebells and being strong is helping). If I stop the random snacking in the afternoon as the protein satiates me then even with water weight I’ll prob going to end up in a better place with a lower body fat.

I know (or at least think I know) that you should be taking this after a workout for best use but I do some kettlebells before work/breakfast and ride after work before dinner so I think keeping enough protein/carbs to repair in a not perfect time is better than not at all?

I’d want a clearer indication that I am deficient in something before starting to supplement on it.

Yes, creatine is a no brainer supplement for everybody. The most well researched supplement, very safe, with tons of benefit besides increased strength (even less mental issues and higher iq)

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Yeah it should help with hunger and recovery. If it keeps you from snacking and fits your routine, go for it. Just see how your body reacts!

It is the most researched sports supplement, has very very few negative side effects (impacting a small number of people) and costs pennies. It should be a no-brainer for any person doing sport.

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I’ve been taking it since the beginning of the year (roughly) and I think this is the first time I’ve taken it.

I can’t attribute all changes to the creatine since I also decided I wasn’t going to drink (alcohol) at home around the same time. My main positive take away, which may be just drinking more water in place of a beer in the evening, or it may be that the creatine is actually finally making my body tell my brain to drink some water! I am definitely more hydrated (according to my scale water %) than I have been previous years. That means I went from a migraine every 2-3 weeks and one that knocks me out for a day every other month, to only one migraine I can remember so far this year. And that was the end of the week we had our vitamix out for repair so I kept forgetting to take my creatine.

You will find mixed information on cramping, some saying studies say it isn’t a problem and then 1000s of people saying it is. For me it seems to be and I kind of want to stop to test but also afraid of the migraines. I have NEVER in my life had cramping issues in my legs like I am now. Occasional foot cramp in bed or swimming sure, but these are bad and nearly daily. I’ve had hamstring cramps so bad I’ve collapsed. I can flex my legs and feel one coming on if I kept flexing at just about anytime.

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I tried creatine for a long while. I didn’t notice anything and my FTP didn’t go up.

I know that creative is the most studied sports supplement but I don’t think those studies really show much if any benefit for endurance sports.

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Creatine needs to be dissolved complete otherwise you can get cramps. Micronised Creatine dissolves more easily and regular Creatine monohydrate dissolves more easily in hot water. If it isn’t completely dissolved you can indeed get cramps

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Definitely going to need a source on that.

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I disagree that creatine is “a no-brainer for any person doing sport.”

I believe:

  • Creatine is safe for use by most anyone.
  • Creatine can improve your strength for moving maximal loads which can help make you stronger provided you are lifting weights regularly.
  • Creatine has a few other benefits outside of strength.
  • Creatine causes you to retain water in your muscle cells (which is why your % water went up).
  • The above is also why you gain weight with creatine and look bigger.
  • Creatine itself doesn’t make your muscles bigger - it’s the water (and any hypertrophy from the weight lifting).
  • Creatine has no measurable benefit to endurance performance.
  • Creatine might actually hinder endurance performance in situations where lower overall body weight is advantageous.

There are reasons to take creatine. Improving endurance performance is not one of them. So as with all things, the question is “Why do you want to take Creatine?” In most cases, I do not recommend creatine to my athletes. Many have asked if they should, I ask them why, and in every case the answer to this point has been “not recommended.”

So get clear on WHY you want to take it, and then ask the question if it’s going to really help with that. There are several great reasons to take it in my opinion.

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I noticed my recovery from hard workouts was better once I started supplementing with creatine. My weight may have gone up 3 to 5 pounds but if I recover better and have more quality workouts that is a good trade off in my opinion.

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Road work isn’t my only focus, I enjoy the act of throwing Kettlebells about and muscling a MTB about so a few extra grams of water weight isn’t going to effect that.

Plus let’s be honest I’m so far away from the sharp end I shouldn’t care about weight (but I do struggle with that thought). If I look more muscled then considering I’m definitely middle aged I’ll be happy and it might actually improve the crushing “I’m fat” thoughts.

So after reading this I’ve gone for the option with it, in a very artificial blue raspberry flavour! Quite tasty really.

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If one is lifting then they should give it a try. But don’t expect miracles!

Relevant article by Alex Hutchinson here:

Yep. My n=1 is that it’s good for an extra rep or two, especially on something like lateral raises or biceps curls. So if you’re doing silly things like finishing your work out with a lateral raise drop set Armageddon it’ll make a difference.

So, if having decent shoulders is a priority, fill your boots.

:smile:

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Just throwing in another n=1 that I experienced weight gain and cramping.

I’ve been taking creatine off and on (mostly on) since the late 1990s when it first came out. I’ve never had any cramping or stomach issues. If I stop and then start taking it again, I gain anywhere from 5-8 pounds. Since drastically reducing my red meat consumption a couple of years ago, I plan to take it for the foreseeable future.

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I’ve taken it fairly regularly, no cramping ever for me during all my endurance work, and I’ve cycled off before and didn’t notice any weight loss or gain when I cycled back on. If there was any, it was in my normal margin for weight up/down due to carbs / etc.

Just cycled off again, but am not going to be watching weight after the next couple days because I’ll be on the road.

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I’ll make it easy for you - it’s a waste of money unless you are training for a flat road race or TT event.

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Creatine is never a waste of money, unless you eat around >1.2-1.5kg of meat per day and the benefits of Creatine go way way beyond just lifting a few more kg or a few extra reps. Everyone that cares about their general health and well-being and eats less than 1.2-1.5kg of meat should supplement

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