[RexImperator]

The bulksupplements brand sold on amazon is pretty good in my opinion. It's micronized and disperses nicely in water.

[Moses_]

Has anyone tried the brand Purple K? I've heard good things from friends.

[Oz.]

It has been almost a year since my initial post, reporting some changes. Although I continue to take creatine I have decreased the dose to 5g every other day as oppose to everyday.

The main reasons are due to water intake, somedays I just cannot gulp down all that water. Is it even necessary for the body to intake so much water? I have found that even though I have basically halved the dose, all the benefits of creatine are still present and of course none of the gains have been lost.

[PrettyBoyAJ]

Good thread. I started taking the Gym seriously last month and started taking Creatine 5mg everyday. I have noticed muscles have started getting bigger. It's very hard to drink a sole gallon of water in a day for me but I can easily get around half. Theres no scientific research that suggests Creatine is bad for you if you get enough water. The only issue for me is getting that water. I can play games of basketball and still not drink that much.

But anyway I'm glad I started taking creatine. I should've been took it. Also, I've never cycled it ever. I've taken Creatine Powder 5mg everyday.

[Razor Beast]

I wouldn't bother with it. Maybe you add a couple pounds on your lifts while you take it then lose it when you go off. A lot of people are non-responders anyway. Who knows if it can hurt you (probably not) but science is rarely settled on anything. You could be getting protein powders sourced from China that are tainted with melamine, heavy metals, artificial sweeneters/flavorings/coloring, why bother with supps when they barely make any difference (in some cases no difference) in the first place? You could be putting your supplement money into better quality whole food. If you want a good respectable body you don't need supps or steroids. Just time, good diet, good training, and consistency. If you want an jaw dropping body you can only get that with steroids. Supplements are pure marketing.

[Fortis]

I like Creatine. I take it daily and I don't drink a gallon of water a day. I honestly think most "gallon a day" shit is nonsense. I say that living in what amounts to rain forest weather, too.

Some people don't like creatine, but it's so cheap that you can afford to try it and decide for yourself.

[Steelex]

(04-17-2018 04:04 AM)Razor Beast Wrote:  

I wouldn't bother with it. Maybe you add a couple pounds on your lifts while you take it then lose it when you go off. A lot of people are non-responders anyway. Who knows if it can hurt you (probably not) but science is rarely settled on anything. You could be getting protein powders sourced from China that are tainted with melamine, heavy metals, artificial sweeneters/flavorings/coloring, why bother with supps when they barely make any difference (in some cases no difference) in the first place? You could be putting your supplement money into better quality whole food. If you want a good respectable body you don't need supps or steroids. Just time, good diet, good training, and consistency. If you want an jaw dropping body you can only get that with steroids. Supplements are pure marketing.

I would agree that for the most part, supps are crap.

Protein works... But only in conjunction with an already solid diet.

There are a few that can help you stay healthy (or healthier I should say) while using steroids.

But as far as supplements to increase muscle growth drastically... Fuck no. Total marketing.

[kosko]

Creatine is the only supplement that is been verified to actually work. If you are non-responsive that sucks (but then also try to up the dose) but the stuff works to fill out the muscles. I look very flat with no creatine and it is very noticeable.

Protein is not a supplement, it is essentially just a meal replacement to sub-out harder to digest proteins.

The only stuff I found does anything:

Creatine
L-Citrulline
ZMA

I also try to sub in L-Leucine as that is core Amino for muscle rebuild (but it is not needeD).

Beta-Alanine and Arginine help but they are not needed.

To be honest, the rest of the stuff is all pixie-dust. Better off taking stuff to help balance hormones or to boost male vigour (Maca, Zinc, and/or Tribulus), or sleep (ZMA).

[Konstantin]

5 mg per day is perfect dose for most. Studies have shown that there is also no need to load up. There is also no need to cycle it. So just keep taking it every day as a daily supplement. There is also very little evidence that taking it as a pre or post workout has any difference of performance. So simply have it whenever it fits in your macros.

Important when buying creatine:
Get MICRONIZED creatine.

Micronized means it will dissolve easily in just about anything. It will also be much easier on your stomach. When creatine is not fully dissolved, it can cause a heavy feeling in your gut.

[General Stalin]

[Rhyme or Reason]

Lots of conflicting info on whether or not to front load it during the first week or so.

I just bought some two days ago, the Six Star brand of Creatine Monohydrate. A buddy of mine picked up the Cellmass kind which I've read some weird things about.

[Rhyme or Reason]

I've been taking it lately before and after workouts, and I piss twice as often as before. I second those saying it makes you need to drink way more water.

[Dalaran1991]

Just got my Creapure along with my new protein supply, quite excited to take it now. Think I'll load it because I'm an impatient mofo, and September has so many back-to-training activities some extra energy couldn't hurt. Will report back.

[Richard Turpin]

I've lifted for nearly thirty years. Tried all sorts of supplements, especially when I was younger and easily influenced by the adverts I saw in FLEX and Muscle & Fitness! Tubs of Branch Chain Amino Acids anyone!? None of it was worth the money. Except maybe Whey Protein if you are struggling with meals.

When I started Judo years ago I made an effort to put on weight as the big boys were knocking fuck out of me and I'd read a lot about how Creatine was the real deal so I decided to give it a go. I took 5g of supermarket Creatine Mono every day and as I keep a training diary and weigh myself regularly it would be easy to see any results.

I'm not a big eater and I'm guessing my body was crying out for the stuff because I responded to it like crazy. I put on nearly a stone in five weeks, my lifts all went through the roof and my Judo pals were all convinced I was taking steroids. All of a sudden I was able to hold my own with the heavyweights. My arms grew an inch and I felt strong as a bull. Yes, I may have been a tad less defined and vascular but the difference was minimal and well worth the lifting and size gains.

If it wasn't for becoming injured and stopping Judo, together with my love of running and cycling I'd still be taking it now as it flat out works and is cheap as fuck. And as far as I can tell from internet research it's as safe to take as your everyday food.

So yeah, it definitely, definitely works. I wish I'd took it years earlier than I did. There's a few young lifters at work and they are always coming to me with their crazy new supplements they've found on some daft website (just like me with my Flex magazines back in the day!). I just politely stop them in their tracks and tell each and every one of them in deadly earnest that they must ignore everything else they read on the subject and just go out and buy some Creatine Monohydrate this very minute and start taking 5g of it a day and they need never worry about supplements ever again.

They keep ignoring me and coming back to me weeks later with this new supplement they've found and are ordering online! Sigh ....

[Noir]

Also pro-creatine monohydrate.

My only worry is balding due to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) increase but I can't really find concrete information about this.

If anyone has any experience, research etc, it would be appreciated.

I don't take it anymore as I am happy with my lifts/body/energy but really curious about this.

[Dalaran1991]

(09-19-2018 09:27 AM)Noir Wrote:  

Also pro-creatine monohydrate.

My only worry is balding due to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) increase but I can't really find concrete information about this.

If anyone has any experience, research etc, it would be appreciated.

I don't take it anymore as I am happy with my lifts/body/energy but really curious about this.

Interested in this too but I've resigned to the fact that I'll be bald since my dad is. Talk about blaming the parents

I've been researching this the last week but can't find anything credible enough. Guess I'll run the test myself

[kiwi12]

(05-01-2018 06:42 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  

(09-19-2018 09:27 AM)Noir Wrote:  

Also pro-creatine monohydrate.

My only worry is balding due to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) increase but I can't really find concrete information about this.

If anyone has any experience, research etc, it would be appreciated.

I don't take it anymore as I am happy with my lifts/body/energy but really curious about this.

(09-19-2018 09:54 AM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  

(09-19-2018 09:27 AM)Noir Wrote:  

Also pro-creatine monohydrate.

My only worry is balding due to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) increase but I can't really find concrete information about this.

If anyone has any experience, research etc, it would be appreciated.

I don't take it anymore as I am happy with my lifts/body/energy but really curious about this.

Interested in this too but I've resigned to the fact that I'll be bald since my dad is. Talk about blaming the parents

I've been researching this the last week but can't find anything credible enough. Guess I'll run the test myself

There are links to studies in video posted by General Stalin. Check the video description if you don't want to watch.

[Buddydowrongright2]

(09-19-2018 09:12 AM)Richard Turpin Wrote:  

I've lifted for nearly thirty years. Tried all sorts of supplements, especially when I was younger and easily influenced by the adverts I saw in FLEX and Muscle & Fitness! Tubs of Branch Chain Amino Acids anyone!? None of it was worth the money. Except maybe Whey Protein if you are struggling with meals.

When I started Judo years ago I made an effort to put on weight as the big boys were knocking fuck out of me and I'd read a lot about how Creatine was the real deal so I decided to give it a go. I took 5g of supermarket Creatine Mono every day and as I keep a training diary and weigh myself regularly it would be easy to see any results.

I'm not a big eater and I'm guessing my body was crying out for the stuff because I responded to it like crazy. I put on nearly a stone in five weeks, my lifts all went through the roof and my Judo pals were all convinced I was taking steroids. All of a sudden I was able to hold my own with the heavyweights. My arms grew an inch and I felt strong as a bull. Yes, I may have been a tad less defined and vascular but the difference was minimal and well worth the lifting and size gains.

If it wasn't for becoming injured and stopping Judo, together with my love of running and cycling I'd still be taking it now as it flat out works and is cheap as fuck. And as far as I can tell from internet research it's as safe to take as your everyday food.

So yeah, it definitely, definitely works. I wish I'd took it years earlier than I did. There's a few young lifters at work and they are always coming to me with their crazy new supplements they've found on some daft website (just like me with my Flex magazines back in the day!). I just politely stop them in their tracks and tell each and every one of them in deadly earnest that they must ignore everything else they read on the subject and just go out and buy some Creatine Monohydrate this very minute and start taking 5g of it a day and they need never worry about supplements ever again.

They keep ignoring me and coming back to me weeks later with this new supplement they've found and are ordering online! Sigh ....

Dang. Thanks for sharing your experience. This is helpful to know as I stopped taking it for half a year or so because I wasn't lifting (due to illness and injury) and am starting back on it for combat sports.

[Richard Turpin]

(09-19-2018 10:52 AM)Buddydowrongright2 Wrote:  

Dang. Thanks for sharing your experience. This is helpful to know as I stopped taking it for half a year or so because I wasn't lifting (due to illness and injury) and am starting back on it for combat sports.

If you respond to it as much as I did, the only thing you will have to be careful of is moving too far up in weight classes if you compete! I'm a natural middleweight and would have struggled against some of the 'naturally big' fellas no matter how big my biceps got!

Also, (and before Traverlerkai comes in to admonish me!) technique should always come first. There's a danger of relying on your new-found strength and losing out ultimately by not learning anything. I was guilty of this a lot in Judo; trying to muscle my way through problems.

But if you've taken it before, I'm sure you know what to expect, so best of luck!

[General Stalin]

Thanks for the testimonial, Richard. I'm planning to start taking it soon once I'm fully recovered from my recent surgery and can get back into lifting full bore. I just got a hormone panel done and my natural creatine levels are at 1.14 (normal range is 0.76 - 1.27 mg/dL) so I'm on the higher side but after all the personal research I've done and reading anecdotal data like yours I think it's definitely worth supplementing to see what it does for me.

[Dalaran1991]

So I've been looking at the whole creatine and hair loss thing a bit more but the general conclusion is that there's none.

This piece sums up what I've found on a dozen pages:
https://thebaldgent.com/creatine-hair-loss/

Quote:

So, if you have a family history of premature baldness or a receding hairline, you could find that sustained exposure to creatine supplements expedites the process of shedding hair around the crown and temples.

Interestingly, this means that ceasing to take creatine would do absolutely nothing to prevent the progression of male pattern baldness (even if it did slow the process slightly).

Basically unless you are already losing hair, no need to worry about creatine. And even then, there's nothing really concrete saying that creatine (or rather DHT) accelerates hair loss.

Well I have the bald gene and in the last week since taking creatine I've noticed losing a bit more hand when showering, but this might just be perception based on confirmation bias.

Regarding the creapure itself, it really does taste like sand and does not mix well with anything. It's ok when I mixed it with my protein shake but when I take it by itself with milk it gives me some light headedness.

Too soon to comments on the positive effects, but will keep you posted.

[the-dream]

I know nothing about creatine but it's fairly common accepted knowledge that DHT is the cause of men's balding.

[Greyman]

So I started with some new creatine consistently and holy hell...

cold/canker sores (oral) from hell...
Got it from GNC; brand is Beyond Raw Creatine HC1.

I know most of the physiology behind it and one of the main ingredients in creatine is Arginine which coupled with any strain of HSV causes an uptick in outbreaks. It's a shitty subject I know but as I've always had canker/cold sores since I was a kid I guess I can blame it on a big ol' smooch from a fuckn' relative or something..?? Is what it is....

Anyway... A couple questions... is the amount of Arginine consistent in micro dose vs. monohydrate?

I WAS using Body Fortress from Target or Walmart I believe, the 750mg micro scoop dose, and didn't get anywhere near the reaction....

Any clue or reviews as to why this is occurring other than maybe BF is crap (haven't been able to verify if its snake oil in google searching or not....) and the GNC stuff might be legit and I am seeing the difference in the two by the crap side effects?? Just throwing it out there to discuss (and warn others) as I know I ain't the only dude that may have see correlating signs and side effects. Again, there are a *few resources out there on this but I haven't seen any that tries to determine if there are alternative creatines out there, differences in dosing so as to not trigger an undesirable reaction but get your swoll on...etcetcetc???

Is there anyone else that did a loading phase and noticed an uptick in outbreaks?

[Rhyme or Reason]

Do you guys cycle it on and off? I'm doing 4 weeks on, 2 weeks off.

[Benoit]

(10-16-2018 02:15 PM)Rhyme or Reason Wrote:  

Do you guys cycle it on and off? I'm doing 4 weeks on, 2 weeks off.

There's no point in cycling, you can't build up tolerance to creatine.

Anyway, it takes 30 days to clear your system.

https://examine.com/supplements/creatine/#faq