Creatine Question

[jumpshot903]

Alright i know about creatine how it just adds water weight to your muscles making them appear fuller but once you stop taking it that effect goes away. I know your supposed to drink 1-2 gallons of water a day to reach the benefits but my question is this. I have an occasion coming up in about 4 weeks and i want to look well as full as possible. Ive been off creatine for the good part of well like 8 months and just started taking it daily about 4 days ago. But my question(s) are as follows

If i were to take say 5 grams a day with 1-2 gallons of water and then if i were to up it to 2-3 gallons would i see a difference? Or would i subsequently have to add more grams say 10?

To sum up that question does the more water you take in effect how much water weight you can gain?

-Thanks

 

[dmillz224]

if youre just using creatine mono then you should load it at 20-25 grams a day for about 5 days and then use about 5-10 grams aday to maintain and its a lot more than just adding water to your muscles its about creating and anabolic environment for your muscles to grow and also increases ATP which increases endurance and energy if you want to get the effects quickly do the loading phase you can acheive the same result without loading it just takes longer to saturate the muscles

 

[Rosie Chee]

Alright i know about creatine how it just adds water weight to your muscles making them appear fuller but once you stop taking it that effect goes away. I know your supposed to drink 1-2 gallons of water a day to reach the benefits but my question is this. I have an occasion coming up in about 4 weeks and i want to look well as full as possible. Ive been off creatine for the good part of well like 8 months and just started taking it daily about 4 days ago. But my question(s) are as follows

If i were to take say 5 grams a day with 1-2 gallons of water and then if i were to up it to 2-3 gallons would i see a difference? Or would i subsequently have to add more grams say 10?

To sum up that question does the more water you take in effect how much water weight you can gain?

-Thanks

Actually, the role of creatine is NOT to fill your muscles with water so that they appear fuller, but to saturate your muscle creatine levels, and therefore to aid in the replenishment of ATP (i.e. energy). However, creatine CAN hold intracellular water, yes.

Once you stop using creatine, your muscle creatine levels fall, and will have returned to baseline if you haven't been using it for 8 weeks. To saturate them to the muscle creatine threshold, you can either load at 20g/day for a few days, or just take 5g/day (takes ~3 weeks to reach saturation point this way). Either way, you cannot increase your muscle creatine levels once they reach threshold, however much you use, or how much water your drink.

Your water consumption does NOT play any part in how fast you reach your muscle creatine threshold.

As far as water weight is concerned, drinking more does not mean that you will gain more weight. Remember that the more you drink, the more hydrated your body will become, and generally, you go to the toilet more.

If you want your muscles to look full, then just manipulate your carbohydrate, sodium, and water intake.


~Team APPNUT

 

[jumpshot903]

I guess part of me neglected to remember those things i know them all but for some reason or another i had the false sense that what i said was all creatine did. Awell i'll bump up the creatine to 20 grams for the next 5 days or so then bump down.

 

[Rosie Chee]

I guess part of me neglected to remember those things i know them all but for some reason or another i had the false sense that what i said was all creatine did. Awell i'll bump up the creatine to 20 grams for the next 5 days or so then bump down.

No need to go to 20g per day. Just stick to 5g daily, and make sure that you drink at least a galleon of water a day. More is NOT always better (actually, in most circumstances, less IS more).

~Team APPNUT

 

[Distilled Water]

No need to go to 20g per day. Just stick to 5g daily, and make sure that you drink at least a galleon of water a day. More is NOT always better (actually, in most circumstances, less IS more).

~Team APPNUT

Rosie Im usually 100% with you on all your advice because its the bee's knee's. However, here i'm not. I love creatine at 15-20gr/day and notice a huge difference when using it like this vs. 5-10gr a day.

 

[iDShaDoW]

Even after the initial loading phase you continue to dose it at 15-20gr/day?

Well, you are a helluva lot heavier too so I suppose that would come into play.

 

[Distilled Water]

Even after the initial loading phase you continue to dose it at 15-20gr/day?

Well, you are a helluva lot heavier too so I suppose that would come into play.

Yea i stay at 15-20gr/day for the entire time i run it. Which is usually 12weeks+

 

[Rosie Chee]

Rosie Im usually 100% with you on all your advice because its the bee's knee's. However, here i'm not. I love creatine at 15-20gr/day and notice a huge difference when using it like this vs. 5-10gr a day.

Well, as mentioned, once your muscle creatine threshold is reached, dosing higher daily is NOT going to saturate them any more, and is essentially a waste. However, if you feel better doing it thus, then that is up to you.

Even after the initial loading phase you continue to dose it at 15-20gr/day?

Well, you are a helluva lot heavier too so I suppose that would come into play.

Loading is NOT necessary - it is just a faster way to reach your muscle creatine threshold faster.

As for bodyweight - that is irrelevant; everyone has about the same creatine muscle threshold (I covered this in another thread sometime last year), regardless of size.

~Team APPNUT

 

[iDShaDoW]

Loading is NOT necessary - it is just a faster way to reach your muscle creatine threshold faster.

As for bodyweight - that is irrelevant; everyone has about the same creatine muscle threshold (I covered this in another thread sometime last year), regardless of size.

~Team APPNUT

Yea, I figure, take it 5g/day a day for 4 weeks or get a quick loading phase at 20g/day (and possibly reap the benefits of reaching threshold sooner) for about a week then drop down to 5g/day.

Went with the loading phase, don't think I'm gonna be cycling it either. The Creapure I picked up is pretty cheap too so I'm not too worried if my body wasn't able to absorb all of it during the loading phase and just passed it through.

Gonna go do some more reading too but figure I might as well ask here since you probably know the answer. Will creatine supplementation effect blood creatinine serum levels?

My old blood work showed me at 1.37mg/dL (0.50 - 1.50). Probably a pointless question but I'm always trying to learn something new.

 

[Rosie Chee]

Yea, I figure, take it 5g/day a day for 4 weeks or get a quick loading phase at 20g/day (and possibly reap the benefits of reaching threshold sooner) for about a week then drop down to 5g/day.

Went with the loading phase, don't think I'm gonna be cycling it either. The Creapure I picked up is pretty cheap too so I'm not too worried if my body wasn't able to absorb all of it during the loading phase and just passed it through.

Gonna go do some more reading too but figure I might as well ask here since you probably know the answer. Will creatine supplementation effect blood creatinine serum levels?

My old blood work showed me at 1.37mg/dL (0.50 - 1.50). Probably a pointless question but I'm always trying to learn something new.

Yes, cycling creatine is personal preference. There's no need, IMO.

Personally, the ONLY type of creatine that has raised my creatinine levels (for years, I had bloods done WEEKLY) was creatine ethyl ester - and I will never use it again, as it rasied them so much, that although I knew what the cause was, caused the doctors to think I was having renal failure. However, everyone is different, and although creatine products do not affect MY creatinine levels, that's not to say that they won't affect other people's creatinine levels, since creatinine IS a byproduct of creatine. IMO, the best bet is to use something like Kre-Alkalyn or CreaPure, or another creatine that uses pH-correct (i.e. buffered) creatine monohydrate.


~Team APPNUT