You are not wrong man. There is a huge scam going on in the supplement industry and thank God I realized it relatively soon before spending a fortune on uselss stuff. Creatine monohydrate is cheap I know, its like 30 Euros in Greece for 1000 grams but still, I can think of better stuff to do with 30 Euros ( 40 dollars). :)

If we're talking philosophy on this one, to your point what happens if you stop eating as much, if you stop training as much?

 

Nothing is permanent if you stop 'doing it', the body is an adaptation machine. The changes you receive from heightened performance while supplementing creatine can contribute to hypertrophy or hyperplasia via an increased workload capacity, if you halt the supplement and maintain the gains through maintenance lifting you are still all-told ahead even if there is some drop off.

Thanks for the input Kostas. I understand where you are coming from.

 

For me, the creatine definitely helps. Yeah we get it naturally, but maybe I am not eating enough of the foods to boost th CP in my system naturally.

 

I mean, the skeletal muscles can only hold so much! :)

 

But I don't think we can put it on the same line of steroids as far as "natural". You will build muscle with steroids whether you lift or not. The same doesn't apply to creatine.

 

Well... unless you are juicing your brains out but tell everyon you just take creatine.. lol

What's up Nation!

 

I feel like lately I am looking better than ever. I am hitting traps and calves multiple times a week which I am seeing impressive gains. Not where I want to be yet, but the changes are noticeable so that is a start.

 

Aside from hitting each part twice a week, I have really stepped up my creatine and BCAAs. I used to take them here and there to be honest, but for the last month I have been HARDCORE about BCAAs in the morning and during my workouts and taking creatine before and after my workouts.

 

Just incase you are wondering, I use @BSN AMINO-X (BCAAs) and CELL MASS (Creatine)

 

Even if I get to the gym feeling sluggish and tired, I can take a shot of cell mass and it just kickstarts my body.

 

What are your thoughts Nation? I think it would be great for beginners to see what results some of the other seasoned Hermanites in our community have been getting with these products as they seem to be the most talked about next to protein and mass gainers.

Scott, my doctor actually told me the reason i was in the hosptial was because of using creatine. Sounds so crazy!!!

Most supplements take a small grain of scientific truth and extremely exaggerate the importance to the human organism and 'gains'. For example, Glutamine is very much so involved in synthesizing our body's amino acids and protein as well as helping to clear ammonia from our system. That's a tremendously important function, in fact, without it we'd DIE!

But the reality is that supplementing it would offer no benefit beyond that which a healthy diet would. We already have all of what we need glutamine-wise. Many supplements take advantage of our inborne rationale that "if some is good, then more is better!" to heavily over-consume things that we do not need to see peak performance. In short, most supplements are a money sink.

My personal 'stack' is Creatine Monohydrate, A multivitamin, Vitamin D / Vitamin C and fish oil. That's it. Here's my rationale behind each one.

Creatine Monohydrate: Aesthetically, you will retain more water in the muscle and have a fuller look. Performance wise, in your immediate energy system exercises (IE: Weigh training or sprinting), you will have an increased capacity to develop force due to a full reserve of creatine-phosphate in your energy reserves. This does work, science etc.

Multi-Vitamin: This is strictly out of superstition that I somehow will miraculously not attain all the micronutrients I need in my diet. Call it a failsafe. While we as trainees and athletes typically eat a fairly healthy diet rich in nutrients, most of the world does not. It works.

Vitamin D: I live in Winnipeg Canada, it's -50 celcius for 6 months of the year and I'm a hermit otherwise that lives in gyms. I do not get enough sunlight (and most people do not for that matter) to naturally produce enough vitamin D and there are several training related benefits.

Vitamin C: See also -- Multivitamin reasoning. I train hard, work long hours and typically my work environment is exposed to TONS of people and dirty conditions (gym life). This serves an immune booster, also typically as a placebo.

Fish Oil: Simple put, a healthy blood profile and joint health.

 

My 'stack' is very simplistic. The overarching theme here is that anything that promises extreme results, fat loss, or dramatic change is absolutely lying to you for money. It will either be unsafe (in the case of fat burners) or simply untrue or very untested. There are supplements out there that have proven effectiveness, but proven effectiveness does not make it a mandatory addition to your diet. The amount of times I get the question "I'm working out not (often JUST cardio), do I NEED to be on a protein shake?" is staggering. It's a supplement, IE: in addition to your regular diet if / only if you cannot get it otherwise. You do not NEED anything. It's a bonus.

That's my mini rant, I could get even deeper into it but I don't want to start pulling up studies and papers ;)

 

Hope that helps.

Great post @impulse

 

I think I need to look more into taking Vitamine D. Seriously, ever winter I get depressed and sluggish.. no sun. I notice a major difference in my overall attitude and appearance with plenty of sunlight.

 

Thanks for the response @jmboiardi

 

How do you feel about "Creatine Hydrochloride", they say it has virtually no conversion to creatinine. That is what is used in con-crete creatine which is in @BSN CELL MASS.

If we're talking philosophy on this one, to your point what happens if you stop eating as much, if you stop training as much?

 

Nothing is permanent if you stop 'doing it', the body is an adaptation machine. The changes you receive from heightened performance while supplementing creatine can contribute to hypertrophy or hyperplasia via an increased workload capacity, if you halt the supplement and maintain the gains through maintenance lifting you are still all-told ahead even if there is some drop off.

Eric,

 

Agreed but I am more coming from the standpoint that your body already has the pathways and ability to produce its own creatine just like with cholesterol. It can't produce essential amino acids at all and is 100% dependent on diet to get these building blocks. Creatine is not an ESSENTIAL nutrient. It can be created from other essential nutrients. I am just not sold on supplementing something that isn't an absolute nutritional requirement. Case in point: We don't need carbohydrates to live. We need protein and fats because all normal healthy cells (unlike cancer cells) throughout the body have the ability to burn ketone bodies thru the Krebs cycle as an energy source. Ketones come from fat metabolism and glucose can be derived from proteins (I know it is more metabolically costly but it can be done). While it is true we have more efficient and desireable pathways to burn glucose from carbs, it is not a life-or-death requirement :-)

 

John

Scott,

 

Vitamin D is critical to so many functions in the body and science is learning more and more each day of how critical it is. It is really a steroid hormone called calcitriol rather than a vitamin. Since it is a fat-soluble vitamin, it needs plenty of healthy fat intake to be metabolized and used in the body. Most people are moderately to severly D defficient and don't realize it - I was. Vitamin D affects moods and is a catalyst to the formation of neuro-transmitters that cause happiness and well-being like Dopamine. It is natural to have the "winter blues" for this very reason. This is why people feel happy and less depressed on sunny days than cloudy days. It wouldn't hurt to have your Vitamin D levels checked next time you get a physical. If your levels are fine (>= 40ng), you don't need vitamin D supplementation. Like anything, too much Vitamin D can lead to calcification of your organs and other non-desireable side effects.

 

John

Amen Kostas. I have never been a fan of Creatine for all the reasons I have stated in the past and the ones expressed here. To me, supplements should provide permanent results not temporary ones. If you eat right and take in the right amount of protein - via diet and supplements - do you not achieve permanent results in muscle size and strength? When you stop creatine, you lose size (do to water loss) and any of the strength you gained while using it. Maybe I am wrong, but that is exactly what happens when you stop taking steroids. Hmmmmmmmm......

 

John

haha I love that pun at the end John. Always poking a the "natural" athletes

 

@Impulse, I KNOW I responded to your post like a week ago.. I must have been logged out.. Damn me for keeping so many TABS open at once on my Fire Fox... lol

But I pretty much supplement the same as you.

John, completely agree. Vitamin D3 is crucial to anyone who is striving for ultimate body composition and health. Great post.

I am getting me some Vitamin-D because of @jmboiardi's post. I bet it will work wonders for me.