generally with heavy bulking, those things are desired... increased water retention is a good thing when you're putting a much greater stress on your body, joints etc (or else, you know... why take creatine?)... so I say one thing at a time anyway, unless you need a little preworkout boost... no reason to comsume product X for desired benefits over here, and then simultaneously consume product Y to negate the benefits of the other... but this is also the difference between products like T1 and Pro, diff ratios of 1test and 4ad depending on what you want...