Is Creatine the Key to Muscle?

While creatine has been found to be a safe supplement, I neither approve nor disapprove the use of this supplement.

I will tell you of my own personal experience with it.

When I did a loading phase, I ran to the bathroom every 10 minutes. Too much creatine in the body wreaks havoc on the GI system. I have discovered that only doing the maintenance phase give the exact same results with no side effects, it just takes a little more time.

Taking creatine powder with juice will not only make the creatine more paleatable, but also helps with absorption. Creatine capsules work too, but are more expensive and have a coating that must be digested first. However, capsules are much easier to take. Powder leaves a bitter, gritty aftertaste, even with juice.

I gained about 8 pounds of muscle. My lifts increased considerably. For example, before I took creatine my maximum for Bent Over Rows was 175lbs x 6 reps. With creatine, it is 225lbs x 6 reps.

It’s important to drink a lot of water because taking creatine will dehydrate you.

What about whey and creatine?

Researchers from Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia, recruited 33 men in their mid 20’s, all well trained bodybuilders, for a 13-week experiment.

The researchers divided their volunteers into four groups, giving each athlete the same calorie extra per day: a flavored drink containing a gram of supplement per kilogram of bodyweight. One supplement contained just carbohydrates, another just whey powder, and the last two a mix of creatine with either carbohydrates or whey. Neither the athlete nor the scientists knew which supplement any volunteer received until the experiment was over.

Throughout the experiment, the bodybuilders trained three times a week, and all experienced strength gains. However, the bodybuilders who supplemented whey made bigger gains than those getting just extra carbohydrates did. Adding creatine further enhanced gains, with the whey-creatine supplement providing the biggest strength enhancement.

Otis Lee
For The Achiever In Us All