Is creatine worth it?

Mimbuild

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I’ve heard so much good and bad but all from google so I’m curious what y’all have to say.

I’m looking for supplements to add that will give me energy, help me recover, and help me put on muscle mass. I’m not looking to get shredded yet I just want bulk mass and plan to cut after I have put on maybe 20 pounds or more :p

is creatine gonna help with muscle mass signifigantly? Is it worth the possible side effects I’ve heard about (kidney stones, etc)?

thanks!!
 
The Solution

The Solution

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Creatine is the #1 studied ingredient on the supplement market for:
- Performance
- Endurance
- Recovery
- Strength

Creatine will not give you energy.
While Creatine can help you with your size gains, it can also be extremely beneficial in a dieting phase. Any trainee should take creatine for the benefits it provides and for how cheap it is.
Take 3-5g a day
No need to load or cycle.
Just grab a basic monohydrate and you can take it any time of the day.
There is enough PubMed research to show you how great the supplement is.

 
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muscleman

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All the above is widely accepted.
I even came across a Pubmed study showing creatine having positive results in the treatment of depression and other psychiatric conditions. Personally I don´t notice any immediate mental effects but it is affection both physical and mental processes in the body and some even say it is nootropic in that sense although probably not immediately noticed by most.
Quite immediately I notice some water weight gain with creatine. If I have been drinking too much caffeine and take too much creatine personally I have felt a minor strain in my kidney. Nothing serious and I have just cut back down and come to think of it thats the reason why I didnt just keep on taking it. But want to take it again because I am mostly vegetarian in my diet, well some whey protein, eggs and occasional fish but no red meat that cotains the moist creatine naturally. And I think some depression was linked to people with less meat in their diet and also lower creatine levels.


I am not sure if it still popular to believe that taking creatine with some quick carbs acts as a shuffle to get the creatine into your body?
I know in ayurveda medicine it is believed that helps transport herbs into the different layers of our bodies and when I take for example tribulus terrestris or ashwaganda and even rodiola rosea I normally rinse them down with a spoon of good natural honey for good measure, Not as sure as honey would be as effective together with all kinds of amino acids but maybe somem haven´t thought about or studied that yet,
 

Nodus1

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Short answer: Yes.

It makes weights feel lighter/me feel stronger. Once your muscles saturate with creatine, it becomes the new normal. 5 grams every day, for the rest of your life. Simple.
 
cheftepesh1

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For the cost to benefit ration it is definitely worth it. A good couple of months of creatine costs about $20 and as listed above the benefits are worth it.
 
Kronic

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you could always just eat more steak for a natural creatine source
 
Smont

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Pork, tuna and salmon also have creatine but again there like 1gm per raw lb. You're not going to get enough through your diet to matter
 
Kronic

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Bruce Lee used to put red meat in a blender and drink it 🤮🤮🤮
we should all reconsider cooking everything!
pasturized milk may even lose a lot of something

check out pottenger's cats study
 
Mimbuild

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When I see questions like this I can't help but thinking the person is between the ages of 12 and 15
Sheesh 😅 I’ve just never taken any supplements other than protein powder honestly and never learned or cared to take anything better. I’ve recently started taking my health and fitness a lot more serious and have established a permanent workout out schedule as well as a better diet. I also started TRT to help me have more energy and feel better. I figure the next steps are adding some beneficial supplements is all and I’d rather not waste my time if others don’t think it’s really “worth it”. :)
 
Mimbuild

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Sheesh 😅 I’ve just never taken any supplements other than protein powder honestly and never learned or cared to take anything better. I’ve recently started taking my health and fitness a lot more serious and have established a permanent workout out schedule as well as a better diet. I also started TRT to help me have more energy and feel better. I figure the next steps are adding some beneficial supplements is all and I’d rather not waste my time if others don’t think it’s really “worth it”. :)
I just wanna look jacked like you one day Smont… 😢
 
Smont

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Sheesh 😅 I’ve just never taken any supplements other than protein powder honestly and never learned or cared to take anything better. I’ve recently started taking my health and fitness a lot more serious and have established a permanent workout out schedule as well as a better diet. I also started TRT to help me have more energy and feel better. I figure the next steps are adding some beneficial supplements is all and I’d rather not waste my time if others don’t think it’s really “worth it”. :)
I'm on trt, I lift weights 5 days a week and boxing 4-5 days a week. These are my every day year round supplements.
Creatine and essential amino acids (I take these intra workout with some dextrose powder)
Multi vitamin/mineral
V-D3
Vitamin c
Tumeric
NAC (not just for liver health)
Zinc
Magnesium (just started recently)
Boron

If I'm going on a cycle or have extra money to spend I add in things like
Ubiquinol
Astragalus
High quality fish Oil
Vitamin e
Tudca

If I really got money to burn
Pre workouts and fringe supplements
 
LeanEngineer

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I'm on trt, I lift weights 5 days a week and boxing 4-5 days a week. These are my every day year round supplements.
Creatine and essential amino acids (I take these intra workout with some dextrose powder)
Multi vitamin/mineral
V-D3
Vitamin c
Tumeric
NAC (not just for liver health)
Zinc
Magnesium (just started recently)
Boron

If I'm going on a cycle or have extra money to spend I add in things like
Ubiquinol
Astragalus
High quality fish Oil
Vitamin e
Tudca

If I really got money to burn
Pre workouts and fringe supplements
Awesome list here that I definitely agree on. My base supps are a quality multi, extra Vitamin C, ZMA, fish oil, and creatine monohydrate. I think i've take those daily for the past few years now.
 
Smont

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I just wanna look jacked like you one day Smont… 😢
I'm like 1/4 of the way I wanna look.
If I can give any advice, it's 90% diet. We here it all the time and I wish I believed it sooner. I got my fattest on a full blown steroid cycle because I ate crap and got in my best shape and most muscular ever on trt. Now that I finally got diet down pretty tight I should start making some serious muscle gains, ( hopefully lol).
Another big mistake I was making was starting my bulks and trying to build muscle when I already had too much body fat to begin with. After I finally if the bullet and did some real dieting and got to a point where my abs were very visible, everything started working better. I lost a lot of strength on the way but it's all coming back fast and now as I gain weight slowly it looks like muscle being gained, or in recomp mode I'm looking a little bigger and leaner with my body weight staying about the same.

All of the progress seems to just come quicker when you start with a lower body fat percentage. When I used to do this at higher body fat percentages I would just seem to put on fat faster than muscle.
 
Vitruvian Man

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When I use creatine I never notice it.

When I come off for a bit then add it back in I can tell almost night and day. Every time I’ve cycled off and restarted over the last few years my close friends will always compliment that I’m looking more jacked/fuller.

Strength has always been minimal for me. But the fullness I can tell within a week (obv not like steroids or anything and I bodybuild and am generally pretty cut up so that may be a part of it).

Long term, neuro, and other supposed benefits aren’t drastic enough to notice. But it’s cheap, studied, and proven — so why not?

A lot of pre’s nowadays contain 3-5g (sufficient dose), so that’s something to consider as well.
 

alvin1

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For me ElevATP always give me better strength gain than creatine.
 
Power-Lift

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No one ever became a beast on creatine. May help you "minorly".
I look at it as a 'must' though for heavy/lifters, hard-trainers.

The 'cable-guys' and 'phone-pumpers', not much will help you...
 
GQdaLEGEND

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i love creatine
 

ironkill

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there are some studies that show creatine can cause hair loss, but I think it only effects people who are prone to hair loss
One study out of hundreds, I wouldn’t put much stock in it
 

JYD

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What are some solo brands that are worth it? What about creapure?
 
Smont

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For me ElevATP always give me better strength gain than creatine.
No, I don't believe there has ever been 1 credible study where creatine caused hair loss. I mean I'm sure there's some study that does but not 1 I would put any faith in. Millions of ppl have used creatine and you don't hear anyone crying creatine made them go bald.

Also, elevated dht is only going to make you go bald if your already going bald or it's in your genes to go bald. If you're not predisposed to male pattern baldness then elevated dht isint going to make you bald.

If your father is bald and your grandfather was bald then there is a extremely high chance your going to be bald regardless of what you take.
 
Smont

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I can't believe this is a thread in this day and age. We knew creatine was a top notch natty supplement with pretty much zero negative side effects 20 years ago.
 
Smont

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I would feel completely comfortable giving creatine to my 7 year old niece and my 90 year old Grandma. That's how confident I am in Creatines safety
 
BigSWOLE25

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I think I saw a study using creatine for alzheimers awhile back. Stuff is safe and the 3-5 grams a day is good.
 
GQdaLEGEND

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historically, supplements cost me very little money, I only used things I thought would give a minor boost, maybe some recovery.
Creatine basically and some Protein.

Protein was always good to have around for one meal/snack/shake. Like having a treat each day, I have a bit of a sweet tooth.
Pro-Powder, whole-eggs, oats, bananas, peanut-butter - can get it all in with a great drink.

Never rely on the **** as they are just "supplements" to a good / real-food diet. And there are very few that might help...
I see morons post today about the 500.00 a month they spend on everything (Protein, Andro, Amino's, PWO's, SARMS, Peptides, etc) and they still look like garbage.
(Dont know how to eat or train).
i agree with some of your theory as essentials you listed are good to go.

but you cant call someone a moron and say they look like garbage .. how do you know they arent trying their butt off and are relying on andro's, sarms so they can look better in the mirror.

maybe those "morons" you call havent figured out the diet part or maybe they have bad gentics and have to cheat and cant get ripped on creatine & whole foods.

sorry not being negative on your post, i just dont like when someone calls others garbage or they dont know how to train or eat .. its a learning curve, not all have the same knowledge and will power .. if we all did fast foods/garbage foods wouldnt be running america
 
JohnnieFreeze

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I'm a non-responder to str8 Creatine, at least with the 2 I've tried-Mono and HCL. However, I've had great results in the past with the old Phosphagain formula. So, I guess I do respond if the formula is right and not creatine alone. Is there anything out there similar today that's similar to the old Phosphagain?
 

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