Protein Intake

I seen nothing in that link to provide any proof of the “2500 cases of side effects and 79 deaths that have been documented.” Where are all of these studies available?

Much of the material from that link appears to provide only conjecture/guesses.

I didn’t write the article, simply posted it, thought some would have a larf.

I have used creatine as well as coach athletes who have used it, we all got stronger and looked more athletic, unfortunately no one improved by any great amount so no longer use it.

If I was asked for the best way to describe it I would call it male makeup, makes you look good and will not smudge with sweat or on rainy days.
:slight_smile:

i remember reading something about “false strength gains” somewhere about creatine… what exactly would this mean?

It probably meant you lose the strength you gained while on it when you stop taking it.

Im not positive, but I don’t think that happened to me. If anything, going off of it may make your next gains more difficult, making you become a little dependent on it.

Creatine has never been directly implicated in any deaths of healthy individuals. Go on pub med and follow peer reviewed studies, not some anecdotal crap on the web. I remember the one wrestler dying(U of M) and they tried to say it was creatine in the press. They never mentioned that the kid did extensive cutting in rubber suits in a sauna. He died of cardiac arrest likely from electrolyte imbalance. I think whey protein or BCAA along with some form of carbohydrate(dextrose, maltodextrin, or vitargo being preferred choices) are imperative post workout if you want to recover quicker. I do think many athletes over eat protein. Most well fed athletes(carbs, fats, and calories) don’t need to over indilge protein due to fat and carb being protein sparing. In times of carb and calorie restriction, upping protein is necessary. For your dad, go on pub med and you will see hundreds of university based, peer reviewed studies talking about decreased DOMS and enhanced recovery. Good luck.

I meant indulge

If your dad is worried about it just tell him you are going to eat raw stake instead - a couple of grams of creatine and 25g of protein! Job done.

it is irrefutable that creatine works. i think creatine is the most beneficial supplement to enhance speed and power based on firsthand experience. and about the false gains, i’ve never lost gains that i made on creatine once i stopped taking it.

thanks for the input guys, ill check out that pub med thing. i was thinking about doing creatine over the summer, and i probably will

im only 17 and my body isnt very mature yet, does this change the circumstances for using creatine at all?

I don’t see a problem with a 15 year old taking creatine. Make sure you know what you are doing. Drink plenty of water and don’t abuse it.
I started taking creatine in eighth grade when I was 14 years old so I don’t see a problem with you taking it. But don’t think that it will magically make you stronger. It helps you by giving you a greater ability to train. It doesn’t help you on its own. With out the extra training that it will allow you to do, you won’t have greater gains than you would have without taking it.
I noticed immediate gains when I started taking it. My bench went up 10 pounds in a week. I feel like creatine has allowed me to make more consistent progress over the years. I used it all of my ninth grade year when I was 15 and my bench went from 185 to 265. I’m not saying that was all because of creatine, but it definitely helped…I took it all year.

False gains would mean you gained something that you wouldn’t have gained without using creatine. It also means that once you quit taking creatine you won’t be able to do what you could while you were taking it. I disagree with the second statement.

Probably worthwhile just training for a year or two first as you will get stronger all the time as you grow anyway. No creatine works if you are 17 or 70 - it’s just not a priority for someone your age.

ive been weight training for almost a year at this point and want to add a lot of strength over the summer so i can have a good track season as a sr in high school. i wouldnt say im necessarily an experienced lifter, but at this point i no pretty well what im doing and i can squat over 2x my bw, so i might just try it over the summer to see if i feel like i benefit from it

creatine isn’t in any way affecting hormones or anything that has a feedback loop. 5 grams post workout is good. It gives more phosphates for ATP production and some increased tissue leverage. I have all my football players use it off season.

would your advice be the same for an 18 yr old female using creatine as it is for a male?

If you already squat 2x your bw, how’s “adding a lot of strength over the summer” gonna make you a better sprinter?

My coach says 3 grams post workout and no loading phase. I started recently with the above dosage (3 to 4 times per week), and it hasn’t affected my weight at all.

most of my body is pretty weak except for my squat and my clean is okay too (~1.5x BW). its my understanding that squatting isnt the only exercise important for sprinting

All things being equal, wouldn’t it make him faster? That is assuming that other training aspects aren’t neglected, exess bodyweight isn’t gained, etc…

I mean 2x bodyweight is pretty strong, especially for anyone still in high school but I still think he could benefit from further strength gains as long as they didn’t compromise his speed training. I know throughout high school career, as my relative strength in the squat went up, my times dropped. And I was pretty strong since 10th grade.

10th grade-365 for 2-3 reps above parallel…and I ran 15.56 110 hurdles
11th grade-not sure of parallel cuz i squatted ATG 355 for 5x5…and I ran 15.00
12th grade-430 for 3 sets of 6 at parallel, 405x9 below parallel which would give a projected max of 521…and I ran 14.5

I weighed 175-180 sophomore year, 185 junior year, and 195 senior year.