Does creatin work?  Is it worthwhile?
924335
Yup...it does work.But keep in mind that u have to drink alot of water and for optimal muscle gain , keep the portein intake high too.Also cretain is best absorbed by muscles when used in "cycles".\nThanks,\nColin.
375310
Creatine does not build muscle mass, it simply adds water to the muscle.  It does enhance some strength parameters but it is not anabolic.  It has also been associated with bloating and cramping of the muscles.  Creatine is most likely useful only for high-intensity interval anaerobic sports that don't depend on body mass (like volleyball).\n\nFor working out, first, weight gain will depend on your age.  If you haven't hit puberty yet, you are missing some of the essential hormones needed to bulk up (androgens).  Working out will still make you stronger because the nerves learn how to stimulate the muscles better.\n\nTo bulk, you want 8-10 reps 3-4 sets for each exercise with 2-3 exercises per body part.  Work your core (stomach/back/butt) to improve your lifts.  You can use a 2/0/3 tempo, which means 2 seconds pushing the weight up, no pause on top and 3 seconds lowering the weight.  The weight should be heavy enough so you tire out between 8 to 10 reps (if you can go to 11 the weight is too light).  Make sure you have a spotter, especially if you are just beginning (someone to watch the weights and prevent you from dropping them on yourself).  Make sure to only rest 1 minute between sets.\n\nFor diet, eat 1.2-1.5g/kg body weight of protein.  Don't waste your money on supplements.  Just add it to your diet (meat products, soy, whole grains, some vegetables, milk, other dairy, nuts).  Watch out for too much fat though, because a lot of protein sources also have fat.  Choose leaner meats and fish so you don't up your fat intake stays at a healthy level.  It's good to eat something with some protein in it right after a workout (like yogurt or something else that is easily digested).\n\nAnd please, for the love of all things good, work your legs and your back.  You want a balanced, healthy and strong body, and don't want to walk around looking like an ape. Balance chest exercises with those for your upper back (rowing exercises and pulldowns/chin-ups).  Please work your legs, you use them every day and when you work the legs, you work the butt and ladies like a nice butt!\n\nHave fun and good luck!
344217
Creatine is a cell enhancer and helps you with your ATP's, it doesn't help you lose weight, probably will add some water weight. If you want to lose weight, refer to a good diet that fits your fitness goals. Hight protien, low carb if you are working out, more balanced 40/30/30 if you are not
611804
Creatine "Ethyl Ester" will promote a more leaner muscle where as Creatine" Monohydrate" promotes a bigger albeit more bloated type of muscle. There are some good articles at the website below, also they have great prices on all the best stuff. Personally i like the creatine made by Cellmass and also that made by AST.
986060
As lame as it sounds, I have tried a bunch of different ones, and followed directions carefully. The only one that I had lasting and noticeable results was with NV.\n\nTry it, it's just one pill in the morning and one in the afternoon, and within a month, you'll notice a huge difference! I've lost 25lbs with it already! Of course, I have also cut my caloric intake and increase my cardio to 4-5 times a week, but I was working out steadily with the others as well. This one works.
168186
It does work if you ensure that you drink plenty of water, but use caution.... after you discontinue use, even if you continue to lift weights that you will lose muscle size.  Once you start using it, you have to continue using it or lose what you achieved with it.  Here's a tip, use D-Bol and Winni-V.  It is a form of legal steroid.  It is much more expensive, but the affects are much better than that of creatine.
562403
chances are you are simply wasting money \n\nyour creatine needs to be pure and mixed in an acidic solution and is effective if you use it around workouts \n\nonly about 60% of people respond to creatine so unless you are one of them you are wasting dollars\n\nnitrotech probalby does nothing more than a far cheaper whey supplement
1096305
Patience, there is no quick miracle.  Long term health is what your looking for.  Creatin is safe but educate yourself on it.  But patience is key, fitness is a life time of work.
623342
Your trying to compare apples and oranges.  They're two very different supplements with very different mechanisms in the human body.  \n\nWhey protein is loaded with both essential and non-essential amino acids and is primarily used to accelerate muscle development and aid in recovery.\n\nCreatine is designed to increase the production and availability of ATP, specifically for the first few seconds of intense activity.\n\nIt is probably the only supplement on the market that can actually help you increase your loads, power and size in a realtively short period of time. \n\nPROS\n- Increases the availability of energy for first 6-10s of power related movements\n- It increases muscle strength and power\n- May improve some endurance and delay fatigue. \n- Forces water into your muscles (cell volumization), making muscles bigger and firmer. Do not confuse this with water retention that happens outside the muscle cells, making the muscles look smooth. \n- Gain weight quickly (if that is a desired goal) 4-8 pounds is common in the first three (mostly due to increase of body fluids in the muscles). \n- Gain muscle faster since your able to lift greater loads longer due to reduced fatigue and leverage.\n\nCONS\n- Weight, strength and power gain are quickly lost approx 2-3 weeks after termination of last cycle\n- There have been some outrageous claims of Creatine causing everything from high blood pressure to cancer, but these have never been proven. There are no scientifically proven side effects from moderate Creatine supplementation.\n\nhttp://preventdisease.com/news/articles/creatine_and_teens.shtml\nhttp://preventdisease.com/news/articles/creatine_boosts_brain_power.shtml\n.\n.
235393
Jordan is almost there! \n\nOK to really answer this question you have to come from 2 sides. They all work.\n\n1/ Un-natural\n\n- Safe, with a doctor monitoring you - Anabolic Steroids\n- Safe, with a doctor monitoring you - Human Growth Hormone\n- Safe, with a doctor monitoring you - Testosterone\n\n2/ Natural\n\n- Whey protein - basic building block (best one)\n- Creatine Monohydrate - a cell volumiser\n- Glutamine - replenishes amino acid stores / volumiser\n- L-Arginine - linked to natural release of growth hormone\n- Amino acids - building block\n\nThese all work
1034002
Yes and no.\n\nProtein powders are exactly what they say on the tin - protein.  If your diet, for whatever reason, is lacking in protein then they have their place for you.  Just the same as an anaemic may take iron supplements.\n\nHowever, the body can only synthesize so much protein at a time, so if your dietary supply of protein is sufficient for your needs, the surplus is (to be blunt) pissed back out.  I can think of more enjoyable ways to piss your money away.\n\nA cheap way to make an equally effective source of protein in the form of a shake is to add powdered milk to your drink - about 2-3 tablespoons per pint.  A tin of marvel costs about a quid.  It's pretty much the same thing.\n\nCreatine is a different matter and the jury is still out on it.  Most of the studies done on creatine have been funded by...guess who?  Yep, the people who make and market it.  \n\nCreatine phosphate is a molecule involved in energy release in the body.  It is used to make more adenosine triphosphate when it is being burned at a high rate.  The idea is that by taking artificial ammounts, you will have extra energy and your muscle's supply will become less depleted meaning they grow more quickly after exercise.\n\nOf the relatively independent studies, the muscle growth has been shown to be pretty much a load of rubbish.  Your body simply stops producing as much of its own creatine phosphate when you have the artificially introduced stuff.\n\nThere is one genuine, relatively long term and independent study which has shown that olympic standard squash players showed a 1% performance enhanced effect due to creatine.  If you're training your cardio system as hard as an olympic standard squash player, then yes, it appears worth it.\n\nThe long term effects of creatine supplementation cannot yet be known, as it has only been on the market for around fifteen years.  Already there are suggestions that it can cause digestive and kidney problems - which doesn't bode well.  Later research suggests that this is more due to the powders that the creatine is carried in, so the liquid forms should be safer.\n\nWhat about all the testimonials from sports personalities?\na) Would you admit to taking steroids?\nb) Here's a hundred grand to say you use our milkshake...deal?\nc) Sports persons have a very high calorie requirement - shakes or another plate of pasta in between your running?\n\nThere is also the placebo effect to take into account.  Various studies have shown that placebo groups make improvements because the people think they're getting a special pill to make them bigger, stronger, faster, whatever.  So they're more motivated, so they train harder, which (guess what?) leads to improved outcome.\n\nSo even if they do nothing for you, if you believe they do, they actually will...oddly enough.
1071980
YES IT WORKS!\n\nSince every diet needs to be tailored to your needs, this plan works.\n\nmy friends parents sell it, and I have never heard of a dissatisfied customer. try it
905675
I have tried creatine and the only effect it had on me was to reduce my bank balance.  It is also worth pointing out that it is not considered a doping drug (i.e. athletes can take it).  This suggests that it doesn't have a big effect on performance.  Whey protein is about the only worthwhile supplement, everything else is really for the professionals who want to gain a tiny advantage.  I have tried most supplements and have come to the conclusion that they are just money making fads.  \n\nLifting heavier and heavier weights is the only way to pack on extra muscle.  Obviously this becomes more difficult as the weights get heavier as you need spotters.  On the spotter point, I train on my own, yet I never have a problem getting a spotter on my heavier sets.  Just ask another gym member, normally they are only too willing to help out.\n\nAlso, are you eating enough?  The quickest way to put on muscle is to have periods of bulking and ripping.  Personally I bulk up twice a year and then aim to get ripped at Christmas time and then again in the summer.  In the bulking periods I eat and eat and normally put on an extra 15 or so pounds.  My strength goes rapidly up during these periods as my body has everything it needs to repair and pack on muscle (i.e. extra calories and plenty of vitamins).  I do this for about 6-8 weeks then I cut my calorie intake down to BMR - 500.  In about 6 weeks I am then back to my normal weight + a pound or two of extra muscle.\n\nHope this help.
85913
I have to disagree with lots of what the last guy said but he is correct when he says stick to a healthy diet. Remember, suppliments (The Natural Ones) are just that to suppliment your already existing diet. Whey protien is good, also creatine naturally occurrs in your body and that suppliment will help your performance. L-Glutamine will help your muscles repair themselves. Other than those as long as your diet is balanced then a multivitamin can not hurt.
4860
It destroys the liver.  I dont suggest you take it if you have a bad liver.  I wouldnt even take it even if I had good liver.  Because a good liver can become a bad liver.  It has resulted in many deaths, so you should steer clear of creatine.
27560
Creatine and other supplements are not necessary but they do help. Well, at least some do. Creatine is the only supplement that I have taken that has actually done anything noticeable.
428180
when you do any exercise your muscles breath aerobically. after a while, if you can't get enough oxygen your body breathes anaerobically. you produce lactic acid leaning to cramps.\nboth of these methods are not 100% efficient and both produce ATP (energy). creatine "resynthesises" the ATP to produce more energy. therefore you can go on for longer, lift more weights etc.\ncreatine is found in all meats, please ignore a lot of the people who just blindly rant  about how rubbish and dangerous it is, if it were it would be illegal, like steriods.\nthe best advise that i can give you is this, go to a gym for about 3 weeks, so you have a good idea of where you are physically and how much you can lift. then take creatine and see if you notice a difference. if you don't like it; stop. if you're not 100% sure about wanting to take it, then don't\ni have been using creatine for years, and will swear by the results, so will most top sportsmen (not that i'm one). that doesn't mean i'm trying to force you to take it. it will help you build more muscle because you will be stronger. but try it and see for yourself, its not addictive so you can stop whenever you want.\n\nas a note if you decide to use it you should use it for 6 weeks at a time then stop for 4 weeks. repeat. the first week should be a loading phase (you take twice the dose to flood your body)\n\nthis link might help you:\n\nhttp://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/likness2.htm