Creatine?

Okay, so my bf's friend has asked him to follow this work out program he wrote, and in exchange for being his guinea pig he's giving my bf free supplements. These include whey protein and creatine. So...I'm wondering what is creatine? Is it actually necessary and is it even safe? I usually don't like supplements, I just use whey because I'm vegetarian so getting enough protein at all is an issue for me....Oh and this friend also warns not to get cheap brands that just "pump your muscles full of water." So what does that mean? I'm all for my bf getting fit and being healthy and looking good, but I don't want him putting a bunch of crap in his body...so...what are your thoughts?

I have used a very good creatine supplement in the past.  I found that it didn't pump my muscles full of water, but my strength increased considerably.  The reason why I used it was because I was competing in Shot Put at the time.  Personally I don't think it's necessary, especially for those who are training for physique only.  I view Creatine as a Sports Performance supplement.

Supplements don't come cheap, and if you aren't competing in a sport I don't see the need to fork out extra money on creatine.  I've even read on a lot of Powerlifter forums that many of them don't bother with Creatine either.  I know your BF is getting it for free, but if he gets results no doubt he may want to continue to use it after his free supply has finished.

As far as I know Creatine is safe to use, I didn't have any problems with it, but it's always good to do your own research. 

This is the best "easy read" article I have read that deals with creatine.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE

Here is a quote about concerns:

Some concern has been raised regarding the effects of creatine supplementation on kidney function. The body seems to be able to dispose of the extra creatine without any problem (Poortmans et al., 1997). The extra creatine is eliminated mainly in the urine as creatine, with small amounts broken down and excreted as creatinine or urea. No study has shown that creatine supplementation results in clinically significant increases in liver damage or impaired liver function.

It has also been suggested that creatine supplementation could suppress the body's own creatine synthesis. Studies have reported that it takes about four weeks after cessation of creatine supplementation for muscle creatine (Vandenberghe et al., 1997) and phosphocreatine (Febbraio et al., 1995) content to return to normal. It is unclear whether muscle the content falls below normal thereafter. Although more research is needed, there is no evidence that creatine supplementation causes a long-term suppression of creatine synthesis when supplementation stops (Balsom, Soderlund & Ekblom, 1994;Hultman et al., 1996)."

Thanks guys I feel a lot better now. I'll show him that article, legaleli. And littlesimongeorge, I felt the same way. He's just training for physique, and everything I read about creatine was talking about using it for athletic performance, so I don't really get the point of coughing up all the money for it.

But yeah I feel way better now.

Properly used Creatine is safe, there is also different types of creatine - 

Don't abuse it, and drink plenty of water - It is very expensive stuff, so if you can get it free - Good on you.

If your BF is a EndoMoprh Genetic body type i wouldn't recommend it - the effects can be counter productive.

Original Post by littlesimongeorge:

I have used a very good creatine supplement in the past.  I found that it didn't pump my muscles full of water, but my strength increased considerably.  The reason why I used it was because I was competing in Shot Put at the time.  Personally I don't think it's necessary, especially for those who are training for physique only.  I view Creatine as a Sports Performance supplement.

Supplements don't come cheap, and if you aren't competing in a sport I don't see the need to fork out extra money on creatine.  I've even read on a lot of Powerlifter forums that many of them don't bother with Creatine either.  I know your BF is getting it for free, but if he gets results no doubt he may want to continue to use it after his free supply has finished.

As far as I know Creatine is safe to use, I didn't have any problems with it, but it's always good to do your own research. 

 AGREED......and this crap has TONS of sugar.....so I would recommend Kre-alkaline creatine instead of the drinks....unless being diabetic is cool.... :)