Creatine and Strength loss

[Bulldog75]

Hey, I'm a football player and mostly looking into powerlifting to get big for football so I have a better chance at a scholarship. I'm a sophomore and I take a lot of protein and am on a pretty good workout and eating plan. My only problem is whether or not I should use creatine. I took creatine last year, but it seemed like even though the muscle gain was great, when i went off I couldn't lift close to what i had been. Was that just mental or does creatine lose its effects when you go off? I need to know because I'm primed to start next year on the d-line and if i go into the season weaker then i would have been just natural/protein then that could screw me over

Thanks

 

[jsp0785]

u should build muscle while on creatine which would make ur gains stay. but u probably lose some strength because of the extra energy and endurance the creatine produces. when u got off did your strength go all the way back to where it was before or did u take like a 2 steps forward 1 step back kind of thing

 

[dpfisher]

Creatine gives you more strength while you are on it and you can build more mass in turn but yeah you will lose strength when you stop of course, but your strength shouldn't go to lower than it was in the first place or anything

 

[russy_russ]

Creatine gives you more strength while you are on it and you can build more mass in turn but yeah you will lose strength when you stop of course, but your strength shouldn't go to lower than it was in the first place or anything

Creatine is simply an energy molecule. With increased energy, you can increase strength.

 

[jsp0785]

Creatine is simply an energy molecule. With increased energy, you can increase strength.

no it's not. it also creates water retention in the muscles which is a good thing

 

[russy_russ]

no it's not. it also creates water retention in the muscles which is a good thing

Yes it is. You should look into the phosphagen system.

Creatine is just a place holder / carrier for an inorganic phosphate for the rapid conversion of ADP + Pi --> ATP in the phosphagen system during anaerobic exercise. Creatine becomes hydrolized and the inorganic phosphate group is cleaved off and an ADP molecule is phosphorylated to ATP. When ATP is bound to the myosin head the muscle becomes relaxed, and once the ATP becomes hydrolized to ADP and ADP is bound to the myosin head the muscle is contracted. Type II fibers have an abundance of the enzyme (creatine kinase) to catalyze this reaction. Therefore, they are capable of generating a lot of ATP molecules rapidly and given the name 'fast' fibers. Type IIx is faster than Type IIa for the reasons previously stated.

 

[MrBrightside]

I wouldn't really call it an "energy molecule", but you are correct on the fact that it is responsible for ATP generation and regeneration. And to the OP, that's perfectly normal, it happens to all of us. It shouldn't be a massive decrease in strength, but it will be noticeable.

Solution? Stay on creatine. I rarely cycle off.

 

[mxmatt15]

Ive taking creatine a few times and have nothing to say but that it kicks @$$. Its pretty cheap but it deff works but bench has gone up quite a bit after taking it and when i cycled it off i never lost any strength

 

[russy_russ]

I wouldn't really call it an "energy molecule", but you are correct on the fact that it is responsible for ATP generation and regeneration. And to the OP, that's perfectly normal, it happens to all of us. It shouldn't be a massive decrease in strength, but it will be noticeable.

Solution? Stay on creatine. I rarely cycle off.

Carrier / place holder for inorganic phosphate which, as you said is used for the regeneration of ATP. :15: