Sticking to the subject of creatine....I spotted this new review, with the whole paper available.
All this has persuaded me to start experimenting with creatine again. 1 teaspoon / 5 g a day at the moment....
Creatine is one of the most popular and widely researched natural supplements. The majority of studies have focused on the effects of creatine monohydrate on performance and health; however, many other forms of creatine exist and are commercially available in the sports nutrition/supplement market. Regardless of the form, supplementation with creatine has regularly shown to increase strength, fat free mass, and muscle morphology with concurrent heavy resistance training more than resistance training alone. Creatine may be of benefit in other modes of exercise such as high-intensity sprints or endurance training. However, it appears that the effects of creatine diminish as the length of time spent exercising increases. Even though not all individuals respond similarly to creatine supplementation, it is generally accepted that its supplementation increases creatine storage and promotes a faster regeneration of adenosine triphosphate between high intensity exercises. These improved outcomes will increase performance and promote greater training adaptations. More recent research suggests that creatine supplementation in amounts of 0.1 g/kg of body weight combined with resistance training improves training adaptations at a cellular and sub-cellular level. Finally, although presently ingesting creatine as an oral supplement is considered safe and ethical, the perception of safety cannot be guaranteed, especially when administered for long period of time to different populations (athletes, sedentary, patient, active, young or elderly).
All this has persuaded me to start experimenting with creatine again. 1 teaspoon / 5 g a day at the moment....
Comments
I ask because I'm around 70kg and have always used 5g when using creatine - perhaps I should be using slightly more?
Anonymous - be careful with the sodium bicarbonate. It can cause gastric distress. More here: http://www.reddit.com/r/AdvancedFitness/comments/rwhxe/supercharging_creatine_with_baking_soda_study/
Tom - 5g is more than enough. As the recommendation is 3-5g, you should be fine.
brand recommendations?
Thanks for the post.
Bryce
No idea - I've just gone for the basic creatine monohydrate from MyProtein which is pretty cheap in bulk
However, I am willing to follow your lead in this endeavor and experiment with creatine myself.
My questions for you are 1) are you supplementing with creatine? Creatine monohydrate? or a "micronized" form of either? 2) Are you doing a loading phase: 20 g/day for 5 days, 10 g/day for 10 days, or 3-5 g/day for ~ 1 month? 3) Are you going to cycle on and off (i.e. 2 months on, 2 weeks off)
Thanks.
Thanks
I am just using a basic Creatine Monohydrate as I say above with a link to the product. I'm not doing a loading protocol just a heaped teaspoon / 5g or so each day. I'll take a week or two off after a couple of months.