Fitness/Workout thread

"DonShula84 wrote:

I found this thread pretty helpful at the other place and thought I'd start it up again. My main motivation however is to get some insight into Creatine. A friend of mine who was really the catalyst in me finally hauling my ass into a gym picked me up a thing of it and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with it. Any one experience any negative side affects, did it work etc? Any help's appreciated.

I'm no expert by any means, but I can assure you of one thing from my personal experience. Make sure to drink plenty of water. I found that it was very easy to get dehydrated for whatever reason while I was on this stuff.

I've had mixed results with creatine personally. There are so many different brands out there that use different ingredients and there are also a few different forms of creatine(monohydrate,CEE, KreAlkalyn,etc..) What kind are you thinking about using?

Here's some more basic info.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatine

Good idea to start up this thread BTW.

"Firesole wrote:

I'm no expert by any means, but I can assure you of one thing from my personal experience. Make sure to drink plenty of water. I found that it was very easy to get dehydrated for whatever reason while I was on this stuff.

Thats basically how creatine works, it carries more water to your muscles. So you definitely need to up the water intake. Gallon a day for most people when taking creatine regularly is ideal.

"Motion wrote:

Thats basically how creatine works, it carries more water to your muscles. So you definitely need to up the water intake. Gallon a day for most people when taking creatine regularly is ideal.

I took it for a lil while while I was in the Army. That didn't turn out to be a good idea at the time, since I was basically in my alcohol drinking stage at the time. So I'd work out in the morning with the unit during PT, work through the day, then work out in the afternoon in the gym or playing sports, then top it off with a night of drinking. NOT A GOOD MIX indeed.

"Motion wrote:

I've had mixed results with creatine personally. There are so many different brands out there that use different ingredients and there are also a few different forms of creatine(monohydrate,CEE, KreAlkalyn,etc..) What kind are you thinking about using?

Here's some more basic info.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatine

Good idea to start up this thread BTW.

The one my friend got me is micronized creatine

http://www.ast-ss.com/Products/ProductPage.asp?ProdID=10

"Firesole wrote:

I took it for a lil while while I was in the Army. That didn't turn out to be a good idea at the time, since I was basically in my alcohol drinking stage at the time. So I'd work out in the morning with the unit during PT, work through the day, then work out in the afternoon in the gym or playing sports, then top it off with a night of drinking. NOT A GOOD MIX indeed.

:lol: I would imagine that would be alittle rough.

Don, what's your main goal for using Creatine? Are you just using it to get more strength or are you using it to bulk up?

I STRONGLY beleive in Ester Creatine. I have dabbled in a few different brands and types of creatine, but found much quicker recovery and good mass relatively quickly. CE2 Ester Creatine is my favorite. 2 tablets in the morning, 2 more in the evening.

One thing for sure DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!

Also, need to make sure to cycle..go a month or four then none at all. Read instructions as most products get pretty in-depth to length of cycle

"Motion wrote:

:lol: I would imagine that would be alittle rough.

Just a tad. It was really rough on those 12 mile march days, where you march in full battle dress for 12 miles in the heat. THAT is when you do not want to get dehydrated!

"Firesole wrote:

Don, what's your main goal for using Creatine? Are you just using it to get more strength or are you using it to bulk up?

My overall goal in working out is to drop a little more weight (down 30 lbs since the last thread was started :up:) and bulk up. I'm not a very tall guy so I'm not looking to get jacked.

"Firesole wrote:

Just a tad. It was really rough on those 12 mile march days, where you march in full battle dress for 12 miles in the heat. THAT is when you do not want to get dehydrated!

Yeah no doubt. That is a pretty tough regimen for sure.

Creatine isnt gonna help you lose weight DS!

I will tell you that after having knee surgery about 1-1/2 years ago, I was instructed to start riding my bike for recovery.
SO, I went out and bought a nice new Mountain bike, nothing too serious, spent about 350 on it I think. Man, I lost quite a bit of weight, and mostly fat. My BFI went from about 16.5 to 14 in a matter of 5 months..

Also, another thing for losing weight DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!!!

See a re-accuring theme here ?

"azfinfanmang wrote:

Creatine isnt gonna help you lose weight DS!

I will tell you that after having knee surgery about 1-1/2 years ago, I was instructed to start riding my bike for recovery.
SO, I went out and bought a nice new Mountain bike, nothing too serious, spent about 350 on it I think. Man, I lost quite a bit of weight, and mostly fat. My BFI went from about 16.5 to 14 in a matter of 5 months..

Also, another thing for losing weight DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!!!

See a re-accuring theme here ?

I wasnt expecting the creatine to help with weight loss, I was just stating the overall goals. I feel like you're trying to tell me something about water, but I'm not sure.

"DonShula84 wrote:

I wasnt expecting the creatine to help with weight loss, I was just stating the overall goals. I feel like you're trying to tell me something about water, but I'm not sure.

:pointlol:

I will say that I notice considerably quicker recovery from workout. That is the burning you usually try to achieve when lifting isnt as prolonged, and the fatigue between workouts of particular muscles is shorter..that is, If I work chest Monday, I wouldnt have any issues working it again Wed...even though I tend to spread closer to 3 or 4 days between particular groups

Does that make any sense?

"azfinfanmang wrote:

:pointlol:

I will say that I notice considerably quicker recovery from workout. That is the burning you usually try to achieve when lifting isnt as prolonged, and the fatigue between workouts of particular muscles is shorter..that is, If I work chest Monday, I wouldnt have any issues working it again Wed...even though I tend to spread closer to 3 or 4 days between particular groups

Does that make any sense?

Yep. Thanks for the info.

anybody recommend a good cutter? hydroxycut maybe? i need to shed a quick 15

"DonShula84 wrote:

My overall goal in working out is to drop a little more weight (down 30 lbs since the last thread was started :up:) and bulk up. I'm not a very tall guy so I'm not looking to get jacked.

You probably already know this, but you cant turn fat into muscle. So your lookin at droppin all that weight then adding on some muscle. If I were you I'd try to do a lot of cardio initially to cut down some of that weight and at the same time start doing some lighter lifting to get your muscles prepared for heavier workouts. Then after you get acclamated and lose a lil weight (say maybe 3-4 weeks depending on how fast you progress) then start lifting heavier (less reps at a heavier weight).

FYI creatine will def make you gain some weight so if I was you I'd wait to start on that till after you lose some of what your trying to get rid of. Then start the creatine when your starting your heavier workouts and it'll help build you some mass.

Hope this helped a lil and if you have any more questions I'd be glad to give you any info I can.

I have used creatine on and off for many years in all forms. I would have to say that I would not recommend it to anyone. Yes it will pack on a few pounds or more of weight and increase your overall strength but it does nothing positive in regards to your overall health imo.

"azfinfanmang wrote:

Creatine isnt gonna help you lose weight DS!

I will tell you that after having knee surgery about 1-1/2 years ago, I was instructed to start riding my bike for recovery.
SO, I went out and bought a nice new Mountain bike, nothing too serious, spent about 350 on it I think. Man, I lost quite a bit of weight, and mostly fat. My BFI went from about 16.5 to 14 in a matter of 5 months..

Also, another thing for losing weight DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!!!

See a re-accuring theme here ?

Creatine won't help you lose weight, but it really won't hurt you either. You might put on some extra pounds to do the the fact the creatine and saturating your muscles. I've used creatine blends, but never monohydrate. I'll probably start a cycle of that sometime soon. I had to take a month off because I screwed up my leg playing basketball (and kept playing every day to make it worse) so I lost a little bit of strength, not a whole lot but nonetheless.

I wouldn't expect to lose a lot of weight fast either (just adding to this point), probably try to make a goal to lose 1/2 to 1 pound of fat a week by limiting your calorie intake and drinking a lot of water. Your diet is really what matters when it comes to losing fat and what not...

Creatine is actually a compound you body produces naturally, specifically named Creatine Phosphate. This is broken down by an enzyme called creatine kinase to produce more energy specifically for muscle use. If you take in more creatine, you'll be able to use an extra source of energy for your muscle. It won't make you stronger per se, because you aren't building more muscle fibers that will be recruitable during contraction to increase force generation.

If you want to lose weight, you want your body to burn the fat reserves, not new reserves of energy you're ingesting. It's good for weight gaining or for anabolic goals, not catabolic goals.

Those cutter things like Hydroxycut DO NOT WORK. They are scientifically null and are nothing more than placeboes w/high levels of caffeine. If you want to lose weight, drop you caloric intake to 2000 calories and exercise daily, even if its just playing basketball.

"Lab3003 wrote:

Creatine is actually a compound you body produces naturally, specifically named Creatine Phosphate. This is broken down by an enzyme called creatine kinase to produce more energy specifically for muscle use. If you take in more creatine, you'll be able to use an extra source of energy for your muscle. It won't make you stronger per se, because you aren't building more muscle fibers that will be recruitable during contraction to increase force generation.

If you want to lose weight, you want your body to burn the fat reserves, not new reserves of energy you're ingesting. It's good for weight gaining or for anabolic goals, not catabolic goals.

Those cutter things like Hydroxycut DO NOT WORK. They are scientifically null and are nothing more than placeboes w/high levels of caffeine. If you want to lose weight, drop you caloric intake to 2000 calories and exercise daily, even if its just playing basketball.

Thanks Doc. I was gonna mention that your body actually produces Creatine and it is found naturally in steak and other red-meats....right?

Also, the only thing I know about the Hodroxycut product lines, they definately do NOTHING for me. I have tried a few, very few..but as mentioned most are just FULL of caffiene. If I want caffiene, I will just drink coffee.

i see. used to take ephedra back in the day. that helped by curbing my appetite. went from 190 to 160 in 4 months

"azfinfanmang wrote:

Thanks Doc. I was gonna mention that your body actually produces Creatine and it is found naturally in steak and other red-meats....right?

Also, the only thing I know about the Hodroxycut product lines, they definately do NOTHING for me. I have tried a few, very few..but as mentioned most are just FULL of caffiene. If I want caffiene, I will just drink coffee.

Yeah creatine is found in red-meats, but it's not very much creatine so it won't do anything for you. And the Hydroxycut products are more or less a combination of caffeine and aspirin. I don't take them and likely never will.

"MelbournePhin wrote:

i see. used to take ephedra back in the day. that helped by curbing my appetite. went from 190 to 160 in 4 months

Good luck getting ephedra nowadays.... Gotta dig deep for that stuff. :lol: