Lasting Effects

[MAURER]

i just want to take supplements that will keep benefitting me even if im not taking them. like i don't want to stop using a supplement and then see that im getting weaker due to not using it. for example, if i take protein shakes, i will not get weaker if i stopped taking it is my guess, since its just like getting more of a nutrient in my body. but if i take creatine, will my strength go down after i stop taking it?

[Lee J B]

Yep.............

[s.eichers]

I lost NO STRENGTH or notable size when I cycled off of creatine for the first time. Non-responder? Maybe. I don't think it had much of an effect on me. We'll see how the second cycle (if you can call it that, lol) goes. ~Steve

[DaRkAnGel]

You lost strength and or gains lee?

[Lee J B]

I personally lost niether, since I dont use creatine . But theory has it that if creatine is holding around 30% more water in your muscle tissue cells then the second that 30% is lost, your going to lose whatever that went towards in the way of strength.... whether that's noticable or not is another matter, but most certainly when your creatine levels return to normal so do the water levels in your cells which gave you that 'edge' that some say.

[DaRkAnGel]

Do you lose strength though? This topic does concern me because i dont want to lose all the things that i worked for? Losing water doesn't bother me, but strength and muscle does.

[heibrin]

You might lose some strength when you discontinue creatine use, but you will definitely gain strength and hopefully size or development on top of your condition prior to when you started using it.

This is because you artificially increased the creatine volume in you muscles, thus when you discontinue using it the levels will fall back to its original state...but...

it is during the time of increased creatine volume in your system when you increase muscle growth and/or stamina and these benefits is what you will keep after discontinuation. You give your body a break for a few weeks, and you repeat the cycle. Every time you gain a bit and in the end it all adds up to whatever level/limit you push yourself up-to. The same principle applies to steroid use - users gain a lot of strength and volume, and lose some of it when they stop using it...but they do keep abnormal gains.

For this reason it is usually difficult for someone to use steroids 'just this one time' - they usually seek that edge again and again, and if they do it properly and with great caution they usually get it.

Chris

[DaRkAnGel]

So what is a better method of training in the long term. With or without the use of creatine?

[MAURER]

yeah like i would like take something that will cause me to increase strength but i want it to stay, i don't want it to be jsut the supplement making me stronger so that stopping usage will make me turn to the same strength i would be had i never taken it.

[Gooseneck]

I say use it. It helps build muscle a little bit faster than without. The psychological part of losing gains is what deters people, but if you know what it does and how your body utilizes it, than you should be able to look past the initial concerns. Creatine, Multi-Vs, Protein, and food is the best form of ingested supplements you can go with. As far as others, well you can tweak your body here and there with some, but for a basic lifter, thats all you need.

Creatine works, period.

[Lee J B]

If you don't want to put yourself into a state of false believing then I'd not use creatine, it doesn't work good enough for me to justify the cost so I'm lucky. But it's a bit like coming off cycle - your always going to lose some strength, and when that happens you can lose a hell of a lot of motivation.... obviously this is in a much smaller context with creatine, but yes bro your gonna lose some strength when you drop the creatine, you'll keep your mass as long as you keep eating to sustain it.

[heibrin]

Maybe I should try to put it in different words.

See yourself as someone who's aim it is to get as high as possible into the sky by using a lot of boxes (I can see you frowning, but just try to see it in anyway). Ok, so you are standing on the first box and you are holding another in your hands. You jump into the air and place the box you had in your hands underneath your feet and on top of the first one. Obviously you are going to come down, but you are going to land on the second box and as a result you'll be higher-up. If you repeat the process you can get pretty high, logically.

You should not get put off just because you fall down a bit after every jump...every time you make a jump you gain some and that is what you need to focus on.

On the other hand, see protein and vitamins as fuel in the tank of a car. You car will not go faster if you fill the tank up, no, the engine can only use a certain amount at a time and nothing more. If you run out of fuel you will definitely have problems and logically your car will not perform optimally. Thus having fuel in the car will not increase performance, but without it you are screwed.

Your body can only use x-amount of vitamins and protein, the rest goes down the toilet. I take them both, but I do realise that they will not improve my performance dramatically... then I also know that if my body is to run out I shall definitely feel it.

[MAURER]

my mom said people die from creatine im like what?!?...........