So I’m about to enter the max strength phase of my weight program, following Friel’s guidelines in Triathlete’s training bible and since Friel talks about Creatine positively I’m toying around with the idea of trying it. My quads have historically been comparitively weaker than the rest of my muscle groups and I’m having trouble meeting Friel’s MS weight targets (squat 1.3-1.7 x body weight). Frankly I could take it or leave it, but since there appear to be no serious side effects, and demonstrated results, I’m definitely considering it. I’d like to hear any experiences people have had with this.
I used it a few years ago (at the time I was doing body for life not tri training) and it will make you stronger, but you will retain water and gain weight. Once your off the stuff, you will deflate has the excess water go so dose your strength. In general I liked but I don’t use it now.
The first thing, is that Creatine does not work for every one. I tried it years ago and did not like it. Jeff Everson, also has stated it is not for all. And once you stop using it what benifits there were will go away. As far as strenth goes do 6 sets 0f 6 reps for the squat and deadlift, you have to work both sides of a muscle…
I have used it off and on for over 10 years. I love the stuff. My body is a high responder and really notice a difference in strength when I’m on it for about a week. Yes, you will gain some water weight, but that doesn’t bother me a bit. If you load too quickly, your GI may let you know by flushing the excess out so you may experience some interesting episodes the first week. Also, be vigilant with your hydration for your longer workouts as some have experienced cramping. I think it works best after a tough workout and taken with a high sugar index drink like orange juice.
I’m sure everyone’s different, but I respond to using creatine well. With that said, I just use it during the winter months (off season), when I am lifting and trying to gain muscle. I tend to get best results by taking about half hour before I lift and some right after I lift. Like some others said it does tend to make you urinate more, so be sure and hydrate a little more than usual.
Building strength takes time, especially when you want to build strength that lasts, so maybe you just didn’t give your quads enough time, especially since you mention that they were always weaker.
Squats are also fairly technical exercise, and one that taller people (I should say people will long legs I guess) will have issues with (lever length, just like for chinups/pullups).
As for creatine, go for it, at least to see what it does to your body.
Don’t do it as a shortcut to meet a weight lifting target set by someone else.
And spare me the “it can be found in meat” or “gatorade must be cheating then too” nonsense. Boosting creatine in your body to unnatural levels to improve performance is no different than boosting EPO or testosterone to do the same.
Creatine is legal in the US but it is banned elsewhere because of the health risks it poses. Taking it gives you an unfair advantage over your fellow competitors who are banned from doing so.
Cheating is a real stretch. You are merely loading your muscles with an energy source that your body uses for short term energy boosts. It is no different than a high carbohydrate meal to load your muscles with energy used for longer duration exercise. Would a guy in a bench press contest be eating a huge spaghetti meal before competition? Unlikely because this is not the source of energy he is depending on. Would an Ironman benefit from creatine loading? Maybe only marginally, but there are no arguements that it is wisest to load up on longer term carbohydrates and not short term phosphates. There is research out there that indicates that creatine allows one to carbo load more effectively so that is why I say creatine may have a benefit for Ironman athletes. All one can do is try it and see if it can work for them. The overwhelming evidence supports creatine as a safe supplement.
“You are merely loading your muscles with an energy source that your body uses for short term energy boosts.”
EPO
You are merely loading your blood with an O2 carrying agent that it naturally produces anyway for short term boosts in energy
TESTOSTERONE
You are merely loading your body with a hormone that it produces naturally to give you a boost in protein/muscle mass development.
Creatine is banned in France among other places. If you beat a French athlete in a race because you are artificially boosted by Creatine have you really beaten him?
As an athlete you’re responsible for everything you put in your body and the resulting consequences. Anything that artificially boosts a substance in the body to highly unnatural levels with the aim of boosting performance is cheating in my book. Its no longer athlete v athlete but athlete v pharmacology.
And just because Creatine has not been banned by the FDA or any governing bodies does not mean its safe…Vioxx, Celebrex, Aleve…how many more are out there?
You’re entitled to your opinion. According to the relevant agencies, using it does not constitute cheating, so I’m not sure whom you’re speaking of when you say “fellow competitors who are banned from doing so”. Is there something I don’t know? Furthermore, if it’s banned elsewhere, and I don’t race elsewhere, why does it matter? Everyone where I race is able to use the same legal performance enhancing products. That’s fair in my book.
The discussion about what’s cheating and what is not cheating is a slippery slope. If you remove legality, then you ultimately wind up with a reasonable argument for eliminating ANYTHING that improves performance (Gatorade, vitamin supplements, recovery drinks, caffeine, et cetera).
Wow, you really don’t see the difference? The maltodextrin I add to my drinks to provide me with more sugar is derrived from a food source and concentrated in a can. (legal right?) The creatine monohydrate one uses is a natural food component concentrated and put in a can. It is manufactured the same way your multivitamin is made (legal as well, right?). Now last time I checked, no food contains EPO, or even any natural substance that boosts red blood cell production. If there were a food that boosted rbc’s directly we’d be eating it like crazy. EPO is an artificial substance. I also haven’t come across a food contains testosterone, although I know there are “supplements” that may help create it and some illegal ones that contain it. That is a different story when you want to start messing around with hormone levels. Creatine has NOTHING to do with significantly altering hormone levels by itself, but the"extra" work that you perform while supplementing w/ creatine may lead to natural and healthy hormonal changes. Why is it illegal in France? I’m not sure and I don’t really know that it is. I’d be willing to bet that a quick decision was made early in the “life” of the supplements popularity and I’m willing to bet that there is a huge camp that is trying to inform the governing bodies of the preponderance of research done since the decision. By the way, what is your stance on coffee or Pepsi?
What’s funny is that Peter Reid was telling me last spring that he can’t buy CarboPro (pure maltodextrin) in Canada because it doesn’t yet meet Canada’s labeling requirements. So is an American who uses CarboPro cheating if he beats a Canadian?