[FONT=Arial Black]If I Were to take creatine, how much would it help my times anyway? what about accelerade? will this help my endurance in the 200m more than creatine? if not, what will? is endurance even my problem? or do i need oxygen enhancers for my muscles? Does anyone even know?! [/FONT]
Your times will come down just by racing. Way too young to be taking any supplements. People have already answered this question before; simply put, at 13 years old, the last thing you should be worrying about are what supplements will help bring your 200m time down. The times will come.
If you’re luck, a supplement like creatine might improve performance by maybe 1%. Therefore, this is really just an academic point until you’re already running 10.2-10.3. At that point 1% makes a big difference.
Just as a follow up, other than base nutrition supplements (e.g. vit/min, protein), you will get much, much greater return on the dollar by spending your money on massage rather than supplements. If you learn that lesson now it will yield huge benefits both immediately and in the long term. In retrospect, I wish I had spent about 90% of the money I spent on supplements on massage therapy instead.
Listen to Flash!
Flash, perhaps you can provide the link where you describe the sessions you had done and the difference you saw! I can’t recall the name of that thread…
It would be a good example though…
I can’t remember the specific threads you’re referring to, but the best example I know off the top of my head was training with Charlie last year. Granted, a big part of the performance boost was from the technique changes Charlie made, but a lot of it also came from all the soft tissue work he and Ty Ashcroft performed on me. Between Monday and Saturday I literally became a different runner.
So if you’re looking for an immediate boost in performance, you’re more likely to find it on a therapy table, not in a bottle.
How can you forget this! 
It’s an interesting read/example, I think…
http://www.charliefrancis.com/community/showthread.php?t=7174
Flash/Nikoluski
So massages are really a great asset to training then eh? I’m looking into some suppliments or protein shakes currently, however, I’m also looking at starting a weekly massage routine. Is it really that helpful? If so, what is a reasonable number of massages to get, once per week? per two weeks? And when is a good time to get a massage? after training? on a day off? Thanks for any help:)
Oh, I thought you were referring to some workout log.
I’m not trying to duck the question, but do a search. There is a ton of information about massage on this forum. If you read any of Charlie’s books you’ll learn that he places almost as much importance on massage as he does training, because the amount and quality of your massage/regeneration work determines the amount and quality of your training. Think of it as a pre-requisite to high level training and performance rather than merely an afterthought.
Massage is more effective the more frequently you get it, but obviously there are time and money constraints. If you can be consistent about getting massage once a week you should notice a significant difference after a couple months of regular work (provided the therapist is good).
Thanks, you answered my question, but I’ll go do a search and read up on it some more
so what will a massage do to increase my performance during a meet? and will someone answer MY question? does accelerade, or any other substance work, for the 200 meter?
Massage will aid in recovery from your workouts, improve muscle tonus, among many other things.
Do the substances you mention work for the 200m? Probably, but it will have more of a placebo effect (search) than anything.
Accelerade is basically glorified sugar water. It might be useful for keeping you hydrated and maintaining blood sugar during long workouts, especially in hot weather.
If you want a quick boost in performance for a meet drink something with caffeine. I recommend tea. It has a lot of caffeine and no sugar (unlike most “energy drinks”).
Only do this at meets. If you use caffeine regularly for workouts your body will become resistant to it and it will lose its effectiveness. You might also overtrain if you’re constantly jacked up during your workouts and consistently push too hard in practice.
The less frequently you consume caffeine, the more effective it will be when you need it.