I want to gain muscle and have heard good things about creatine, but, i hear them from men. Are there any women out there who can share their experiences with creatine? 

I think it is okay for women to use creatine. It has nothing to do with hormones or something. 

Hey MeganHawk,

Creatine is a naturally occuring substance in your body and this includes men AND women.  So you already have it in you.  All it does is restore your ATP (energy while lifting).

It DOES NOT buil muscle.  It gives you the ENERGY so you can push your muscles harder and longer which will in return allow you to even train with heavier weight for better results.

How much muscle you gain or how lean you get is all dependent on your meal plan.  You will never get huge like a man if you eat like a woman so to speak.  My meal planner can really help you out if you haven't yet tried it :)

If you use creatine, no need to load or cycle.  You can take it once a day, everyday, forver if you wanted to.  Just make sure you drink plenty of water! :) #HTH

I have taken creatine before. There are no scientific reasons that prevent women from taking creatine. The only thing I have to say is that I did see water retention. So I gained about 3 or 4 lbs of water and that scared the heck out of me! The one I took, had creatine mixed with other supplements like protein and energy sources. My recommendation is that you take a pure straight up form of creatine without bells and whistles. Hope that helps!!!

Thanks a bunch. I'm afraid of the water retention. 

I've been wanting to try it again since I am looking for muscle gain. I will let you know what happens with pure creatine!

Dont worry about water retention what so ever. As long as you train regularly you will stay lean and sweat enough to not retain water. :)

I definitely notice an increase in strength (specifically explosive power) for lifts such as bench presses, shoulder presses, squats, and dead lifts.

while taking creatine that is.

Thanks Nate! I definitely want strength so I can lift heavier. I just bought some yesterday! Let's see how it goes!!!!

For sure Erica! Keep training with Scott, keep your meal plan in check, and you will definitely be getting stronger. Be sure to stay hydrated. #HTH 

Great input man!  As always :)

MeghanHawk,

Scott is spot on here.  I, myself, am not a big fan of Creatine and here is why.  As Scott mentioned, it is a naturally occurring substance your body produces from the foods you eat.  Some foods, like red meat, are high in it.   Creatine is safe and probably one of the most studied supplements on the planet.  It does boost energy reserves and can help you have longer/stronger workouts.   Why am I not a big fan?  A few reasons:

Your body's pathways for using and processing Creatine are like your heart and muscles - it needs training to make it stronger and more efficient.   Using Creatine could cause your body to rely more on the supplement than getting better at extracting it from the food you eat.  Kind of like what steroids do to one's hormonal pathways.

Creatine does cause water gain.  Part of how it works is to cause the muscles to absorb more water.  Creating is hydrophilic and your muscles are 70% water.  This water gain aids contraction and strength and makes the muscles fuller.  While this is good, the potential for injury increases because you can push more weight faster than your tendons and ligaments can adjust. 

Creatine taxes your kidneys a lot because of the water gain and the need to flush out water to keep your system in balance.  I don't think Creatine has been around or studied long enough to know what the long term effects are on the kidneys. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it is 100% safe.  

If you want to try Creatine, I would do as Scott suggests.  Don't do the "loading" phases and use it for 4-6 weeks then stop then use it again  after some time off.

John

I've been using creatine monohydrate for several months and I love it. I have been able to push out more reps and lift heavier weights. I only use 3mg not the full 5mg and it seems to be enough. I felt a fullness to my body when I first started it but that went away with time or I got used to it, I actually didn't mind the feeling. My bodyweight did increase a few pounds but my bodyfat % decreased so it wasnt a fat gain. As long as I drink plenty of water I do not feel any water retention from it. i am not a slave to the scale though so seeing those numbers going up doesn't bother me as long as my bf% is not increasing. I have had good strength gains using it. 

Oops thats 3g & 5g not mg :)

Thanks everyone for your input! It really helps!