Hey all, i was just curious on the creatine useage around here. If you do use it, which brand do you prefer and how much do you take and when? Im mostly asking this in light of BSN's law suit with their NO-Xplode product that I myself used at one time. Do you use it on/off cycle, both, or neither? Thanks for your help and suggestions!

helps aid in recovery of muscle breakdown --good to use anytime your training

I've used it for years

I used it for about 7 yrs on and off. After a while I found it to rob my appitite some what, and no longer use it. Maybe I should give it another shot.

Do people REALLY use creatine? I thought that's just what we TOLD people we used lol.

if i use it i use alot of it like 20grams per day. seems to work a bit better. may just be in my head. i dont use it that much tho.

Do any of you have any specific brands? I hear monohydrate is old news, too much water retention, etc. Whats the latest? and how many grams/day? Thanks all!

I do not use creatine very much anymore. I will say that i got decent results off of creatine ethyl ester though and it did not give me as much gas or bloat as reg. creatine. Regular creatine often made me very nauseous. Mostly though i do not use creatine because it elevates my creatinine levels too much. I am actually curious as to how much of this increase in creatinine levels is dose dependent though. While using CEE unfortunately I did not get a chance to test my creatinine levels, so i am not sure if they were elevated as high or any at all.

Although they say creatine is safe, i really cannot see how elevated creatinine levels for long periods of time can be healthy for anyone. Apparently CEE and other new forms of creatine such as Kre-alkalyn either convert very little to creatinine or not at all. I believe that it is due to better stability and absorption, which equals less waste (ie conversion to creatinine).

It is interesting though how dosing recommendations for creatine have evolved over the years. From 20-30 gram per day the loading phases to 5-10 grams per day and now some researchers say that even lower doses such as 2-3 grams, taken 2 times per day (before and after training) with a highly glycemic drink, is all that is needed to achieve good results.

I am actually thinking of trying one of the newer forms of creatine soon, nothing from BSN though. If i am paying for CEE, i want CEE not regular creatine.

Wheat wrote:Do any of you have any specific brands? I hear monohydrate is old news, too much water retention, etc. Whats the latest? and how many grams/day? Thanks all!

When taking creatine ethyl ester (CEE) or Kre-alkalyn (or Purple-K) take 1500-3000mg once or twice per day. Take the pure caps not the formulas...cough, cough BSN..lol. If taken twice per day the protocol should be 60-90 minutes before training and immediately after training with a high a glycemic carb drink. If taking it only once per day, take immediately after training with the carb drink of your choice.

awesome, thanks for all of the infor Gus! Really helpful. How do the creatine caps compare to the powder that you mix yourself? Does one seem to work better than the other?

Wheat wrote:awesome, thanks for all of the infor Gus! Really helpful. How do the creatine caps compare to the powder that you mix yourself? Does one seem to work better than the other?

The caps and the powder work the same. But the caps do cost more than say CEE would be in bulk powder (500-1000g). It is just that the caps are just so damn convenient. Plus the caps only cost 20-30 dollars per bottle, if you look for the right brands. Two caps before and after you workout with powdered gatorade (what i use, contains dextrose...you can buy it at any supermarket) and you will get pretty good results.

Tikaelkcin wrote:Do people REALLY use creatine? I thought that's just what we TOLD people we used lol.

LOL, yeah true dat. Kinda like I built my body using only muscletech. lol

I use it when I'm off from time to time but its not one of my staple supps that i use b/c I dont see the real benefit from it imho. I would rather put my money into Glutamine and other supps.