Vickie what are your thoughts on Creatine?
 

Vickie what are your thoughts on Creatine? I got this from a website and it SEEMS that if you are weight training to gain size and strength it is a good thing. Is there a down side to Creatine?

What is Creatine?
Creatine is a substance found naturally in your body. Every time you perform any type of intense exercise (e.g. weight training) your body uses creatine to provide your body with energy. Unfortunately, creatine stores only last for a maximum of around 10 seconds. That's why you can't train "all-out" for very long, as your creatine stores become depleted.

What are the benefits of Creatine?
Adding creatine to your diet raises the levels of creatine in your body. With more research than any other supplement, creatine could help you pack on muscle size and strength fast, when combined with your exercise regime. There's an exciting body of research to show that creatine can be used to support your muscle and strength goals. Creatine is great for helping you achieve your physique goals, it's the most popular supplement with bodybuilders and elite athletes, alongside protein and energy drinks.

Should you use it?
If you are seeking muscle size, strength and power you could benefit from creatine. Anyone involved in strength and power-based sports, bodybuilders and regular gym users will notice greater gains in both muscular size, strength and performance.

Hue,

I know you have directed the question to Vickie and I apologize for stepping in, but as I enter my 3rd decade of medical practice I have been asked this question a zillion times, so I thought I would give you MY 2 cents and then step out.

Creatine is a dietary supplement used for increasing muscle mass and improving performance in short-duration, high-intensity exercise. It has been popular for about 15 years.
It is not banned by the Olympic Committee or any other sports organizations to my knowledge.
Creatine is made naturally in the liver and stored in your muscles. In your diet it is found in red meat. As a supplement it is usually sold in powder or tablet form.
When muscles contract they burn up a substance called ATP and break it down into ADP (Yes, this is the Krebs cycle from high school biology coming back to haunt you!) Creatine helps turn the ADP back into ATP, thus renewing the energy source for your muscles. This tends to work for short bursts of exercise such as weight lifting, sprinting,football, but has not been shown to be beneficial for endurance type activities such as swimming or cycling.
Creatine increases the amount of water stored in the muscle and increases the muscle volume--yes, you will look great in your golf shirt! You will also gain a little weight (5-10 pounds) in about 6 weeks. It WILL make you bigger, but not more skillful or agile. Of interest, for some reason, creatine does absolutely NOTHING for about 25-30% of the people who take it. No one knows why.
Side effects I have seen are stomach upset and some muscle cramping. If you plan to try it I suggest you keep very well hydrated.
Risks of long-term use of creatine are NOT KNOWN!!! Some articles I have read over the years seem to indicate potential kidney damage, but this is not certain.
My PERSONAL opinion is that you are better off eating a balanced diet(yes, an occasional steak is ok) and getting regular exercise as per all of the excellent suggestions by Vickie in this forum. Sorry again for butting in, but as a team physician for a local high school I have developed a bias against stuff like this. And now, if it has finally stopped raining, I'm going to G.O.L.F. Stay healthy folks---the information in this forum from Vickie is absolutely FIRST CLASS and we are very fortunate to have someone with her credentials sharing her knowledge.
Dr Dave
"That which does not kill me just postpones the inevitable!"

The Treasure Trove
 

Another great post in Fit For G.O.L.F. , Dr. Dave. When we created this forum, and, most of all, when Vickie Lake agreed to serve as Moderator, I knew we could have something special.

But, I must admit that I had no idea just how successful this treasure trove of information would become. And it is guys like you, Physioguy, Hue, Tongzilla, and all the other regular contributors who are making it happen for the rest of us. Thank you all for your time, energy and enthusiasm. You're terrific!

Creatine is one of the few muscle building supplements that I have tried that actually worked as advertised when I was competing. It had an interesting side effect for me, though: During a round of golf my forearms would get a tremendous pump when I was taking it. Having tight and pumped forearms is NOT conducive to a good short game! I'd get a case of hammer hands late in the round because of it. I don't take creatine any longer because of that psuedo-pump it gave me, but it really did work. Good luck!

Leegee38,
As you found out it is probably not something that will help your golf---but I'll bet you were "buff" in your golf clothes! Huge muscles are not much help in some endeavors such as swimming, golf,etc. I have always wondered whether Keith Clearwater had any regrets about all of his bodybuilding ---you never heard about him after he got big. Ted (Luke the Nuke) Fort absolutely pulverizes the ball, and I've seen him---he's an average sized guy. All in all, I think you are better off without the stuff. Just my 2cents. Have fun. Dr Dave
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CHANGE--When the winds of change blow hard enough even the most trivial of things can turn into deadly projectiles!

Hello, hello,

Man I almost like missing a couple of days to see all of the great responses to quearies. Dr. Dave has it going on and I hope to see many more responses. I appreciate the confidence and compatibility with my philosophies but the questions are really directed to the moderator. I am proud to be a part of this great site and glad to learn and contribute from every piece of information that is shared. leegee38 also provided some real life experience that as we all know is invaluable.

Hue, You started by asking specifically about gaining size and strength. You have read from the previous expert witness that these facts are true. Whether it help your golf game, which you didn't ask about, is more a factor of the other aspects of your game, mainly where was your strength before. I have found as leegee38 has referenced that extreme strength and power pale in comparison to alignment technical ability. But it never hurts to look good in your golf clothes.

With that said, uhhmmm, I agree with the good doctor that you only want to supplement after you have a natural foundation; for best results from the supplement and for your money, creatine is not cheap. Remember, all of the great data comes from physique freaks (ie:bodybuilders) and remember our poor maligned batting friends that were criticized before the steroid exposures. That means that you have people that have a lot of support in making sure their nutrition, health supplements, rest and training schedule create the most receptive biological terrain for the supplementation of this product that is in your body and in your foods. Most people who are trying to grow train quite heavily and rest appropriately. We know that the best way to build lean muscle and not fat is to eat frequent, small meals that are balanced and please please include whole food carbohydrates, including rice and potatoes. Calories are another word for energy and also a significant resource for the water your body needs in increasing amounts with the effects of creatine. Sr. Dave mentioned this when he talked about a very frequent side effect for 'novice' supplementers who don't get enough water from their water sources including food. The muscles will demand and take the water up leaving the stomach and intestines starving; yes constipation is also a side effect in natural bodybuilding on the lower, less experienced levels. I love red meat and eat it atleast twice a week in appropriate quantities for my size and training, around five ounces per serving. Based on your body composition you should adjust the portion size.

Leegee38 is also making some great points. Once you are saturated with your creatine supplement you can receive a post workout (or any major muscle use pump) muscle pumpfeeling that can restrict you motion. For this reason I recommend to my 'range of motion' atheletes that they use creatine for the months between their seasons of competition. A special challenge for recreational golfers because season is base on permitable weather. Depending on your local, we Georgians will take off after Christmas for a while, this would be a time to use the supplement to boost your physical gains. If you train correctly, most of the gains (after the 5th week) can be permanent. If you don't, then you'll loose 80 percent of the gains within about 6 six weeks after discontinuing your intake.

There are many new products on the market, some don't require a creatine load. That means you don't have to take in appx 30mg (in 5-6 doses) for a week and then cut back to 10 during your training cycle.

Did I say cycle? I love cycling everything. I cycle my training exercises within a cycle and cycle my training focus every 12-16 weeks. I also wouldn't use a performance enhancing supplement more than 12 weeks before I took a 2-6 week break. This allows you to review your goals, your results, and also the interraction with the rest of your health regime. The concept of cell-volumizing (pumping up the muscle with water) can be misleading. Again, if you're getting everything else right you may not need to cycle. But what we know about creatine is that when you resume you can get great results, again, and with the cycling experience you may come to it with more success.

Let me please agree again with Dr. Dave. I don't think teenagers should use these supplements. I realize that this is the period when many of these kids are scouted for college and beyond. There needs to be a pure period of developing personal body confidence. Adults should have some discernment about their health that could easily escape even the most exceptional teenager. I do think teenage atheletes should eat well, take supplements to support the enormous physical requirements of competition, and rest . . .alot. I have a 17 year old and he has no problem with the rest part.

Finally let me say that I have seen great physical gains in size and strength with creatine. The people who don't get the results don't have the foundation in place. I use a very holistic approach with the clientel I have developed but I have to tell you . . . the stuff can work with the right protocol.

Keep us posted and pm me if you have questions about the various products, powders, liquids and capsules. Not every company packages the ingredients listed on the package.

Vik

Thanks for the post :D . I learned a lot from it .

Hue,
Glad to help.

Vickie,
Great post---my experience with creatine is limited to high school wrestlers and football players (who also ask me for steroids believe it or not!). I know the "medical aspect" of this supplement , but your post put it into "real life" experience. I learned some interesting things, as I always do with your posts. Thanks for sharing your information. You seem to have an awesome knowledge base and present it in a clear and concise manner. I know I speak for everyone --THANK YOU!!
Stay healthy kids. Dr Dave

Vickie and Dr Dave: This information would indicate that the main real gain in using Creatine is from super-charging the ATP cycle which means the muscles get less tired during training which leads to the ability to have a longer workout and consequent gains. The water retention thing in the muscles is of no real benefit.

Hue, Cell volumizing is really another way of saying cell hydration; not to be confused with water retention which is under the skin (ie: subcutaneous). There is some speculation (but no peer reviewed conclusions) that the volumized muscle may accelerate the synthesis of new protein and help minimize protein wasting or catabolism. But you are right to put the most focus on the fact that you can recover faster between sets and therefore, presumably, you can train harder for a greater portion of your workout. More work means more muscle, period. The rapid loss of some size when you stop taking creatine monohydrate is the loss of the cellular hydration and therefore the loss of the volumized appearance. But if you use the product well and train hard enough you will retain the muscle you created, as long as you keep it up. Typically, once you've increased your aerobic threshhold with the supplement you can continue to train at that level. Many bodybuilders never go off the supplement because they don't want to lose the pump. Sounds like you think along the same lines as I do; I want to know the results of the training and am not so glamorized by the pump. To each his own. What say you Dr Dave? Vik