Creatine, who are you?

[Eman]

I don’t expect any visual changes, except bloat (minus with pure hcl

What do you mean by this?

My routine has consisted of a pwo with 1.5g of creatine hcl, and 4g of a blend of creatine monohydrate and hcl within 30 minutes of finishing a workout.

5.5gr is most likely more than enough. However, you will see benefits faster if you load for a week or two. This has been shown to increase muscle creatine content and the 5.5gr dose is a maintenance level dose. You can also just stay consistent and levels will eventually increase.

It doesn't really matter when you take it however, it does go well with carbs and it's important to drink plenty of water while using it. Which may make it fit well around the time you're using it.

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

Excellent post. Thank you for sharing! I don’t expect any visual changes, except bloat (minus with pure hcl), the muscles being a tad fuller was just a plus that was noticed.
Were you supplementing before working out, or in the time after? My routine has consisted of a pwo with 1.5g of creatine hcl, and 4g of a blend of creatine monohydrate and hcl within 30 minutes of finishing a workout. Though on the random weeks where I didn’t supplement, I didn’t experience a notable difference in sets to failure. Maybe more is needed pwo?

5g with gatorade or juice(gatorade is easiest. Just put it in my gym bag next to my shaker) pretty standard stuff.
For the future when i get involved in GH and Insulin i see an even greater role for creatine in my arsenal. Obviously insulin manipulates glucose. So does creatine. Match made in heaven. Ive listened to podcasts from Meadows and Bpak on the subject.

I notice that creatine allows me to perform much deeper, harder contractions longer in to the workout. Where id normally run out of juice it keeps me contracting optimally.

 

[PrinceLambo]

What do you mean by this?



5.5gr is most likely more than enough. However, you will see benefits faster if you load for a week or two. This has been shown to increase muscle creatine content and the 5.5gr dose is a maintenance level dose. You can also just stay consistent and levels will eventually increase.

It doesn't really matter when you take it however, it does go well with carbs and it's important to drink plenty of water while using it. Which may make it fit well around the time you're using it.

Monohydrate gives me some bloat after consumption, but I experience none with creatine hydrochloride.

I’ve been using it for a few months now, I think it’s been maintenance lately, though I don’t know how much is lost in those random weeks.

But we may have a new experiment! I’ve been operating on a low carb diet for quite a while, and that may be the booster for creatine.

 

[PrinceLambo]

5g with gatorade or juice(gatorade is easiest. Just put it in my gym bag next to my shaker) pretty standard stuff.
For the future when i get involved in GH and Insulin i see an even greater role for creatine in my arsenal. Obviously insulin manipulates glucose. So does creatine. Match made in heaven. Ive listened to podcasts from Meadows and Bpak on the subject.

I notice that creatine allows me to perform much deeper, harder contractions longer in to the workout. Where id normally run out of juice it keeps me contracting optimally.

I will have to look up more info on its relationship with glucose.

 

[Eman]

Monohydrate gives me some bloat after consumption, but I experience none with creatine hydrochloride.

This would be unusual because creatine monohydrate and hydrochloride both form free creatine in the stomach, they are pretty much bioequivalent.

However, hcl is more soluble in water than mono.. which may make it sit better in your stomach. How do you know which is bloating you if you're taking a blend of both?

An important note, monohydrate is CURRENTLY proven to be the best bang for your buck form of creatine. Most all of the others are marketing gimmicks that are the same but more expensive. There are a few that are actually much worse than mono like ethyl ester which degrades quickly... And a few that are promising to be an improvement over mono, one is being investigated for it's ability to prevent water weight.

 

[Eman]

I will have to look up more info on its relationship with glucose.

Creatine supplementation and glycemic control: a systematic review. - PubMed - NCBI

Creatine supplementation affects glucose homeostasis but not insulin secretion in humans. - PubMed - NCBI

 

[Eman]

5g with gatorade or juice(gatorade is easiest.

Lol, this takes me back to highschool... There was a time when Gatorade didn't taste right to me if it didn't have the grainy texture of creatine floating around in there... Haha.

I still remember the one football player that was adamant I was taking steroids. 16 year old Eman: "No motherfucker, I'm just stronger than you and I drink way to many protein shakes because I don't know any better." Oh if he only could see me now... That cell tech creatine was like the trenbolone acetate of the highschool locker room as far as we knew. If only I knew then what I know now, god damn.

 

[PrinceLambo]

This would be unusual because creatine monohydrate and hydrochloride both form free creatine in the stomach, they are pretty much bioequivalent.

However, hcl is more soluble in water than mono.. which may make it sit better in your stomach. How do you know which is bloating you if you're taking a blend of both?

An important note, monohydrate is CURRENTLY proven to be the best bang for your buck form of creatine. Most all of the others are marketing gimmicks that are the same but more expensive. There are a few that are actually much worse than mono like ethyl ester which degrades quickly... And a few that are promising to be an improvement over mono, one is being investigated for it's ability to prevent water weight.

I started with just creatine monohydrate, but ditched it after a friend recommended hcl after I complained of bloating. Shortly after I found a pwo containing it, and found the blend as well. The blend contains a majority of monohydrate, and I experience some bloat.

 

[PrinceLambo]

Creatine supplementation and glycemic control: a systematic review. - PubMed - NCBI

Creatine supplementation affects glucose homeostasis but not insulin secretion in humans. - PubMed - NCBI

Will check this out in the morning, sleep fog is kicking in. Thanks for the links!

 

[Eman]

I started with just creatine monohydrate, but ditched it after a friend recommended hcl after I complained of bloating. Shortly after I found a pwo containing it, and found the blend as well. The blend contains a majority of monohydrate, and I experience some bloat.

I would try it with a meal! It may be exasperated by whatever else is in the pwo also. If you still have trouble, then hcl probably is better due only to the increased solubility. I think it's significantly more expensive which is one reason I've always avoided it, plus mono has always just been my go to. Hope it subsides for you!

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

Lol, this takes me back to highschool... There was a time when Gatorade didn't taste right to me if it didn't have the grainy texture of creatine floating around in there... Haha.

I still remember the one football player that was adamant I was taking steroids. 16 year old Eman: "No motherfucker, I'm just stronger than you and I drink way to many protein shakes because I don't know any better." Oh if he only could see me now... That cell tech creatine was like the trenbolone acetate of the highschool locker room as far as we knew. If only I knew then what I know now, god damn.

Small world. I remember hanging with my best friends sisters boyfriend after school. I noticed he had a tub of creatine laying around and he was always jacked. I was looking at the tub of creatine with visions of pumping iron in my head. Truth lol

 

[Hawkins]

Lol, this takes me back to highschool... There was a time when Gatorade didn't taste right to me if it didn't have the grainy texture of creatine floating around in there... Haha.

I still remember the one football player that was adamant I was taking steroids. 16 year old Eman: "No motherfucker, I'm just stronger than you and I drink way to many protein shakes because I don't know any better." Oh if he only could see me now... That cell tech creatine was like the trenbolone acetate of the highschool locker room as far as we knew. If only I knew then what I know now, god damn.

Cell tech! They got me too.... thought I was going next level.