What brands for creatine and direction. (L)

[Storm]

First post so go easy on me, I will be sticking around and will try to write up a journal of my next 6 weeks.

First some backround. I am 6.0 175 pounds (right now) and I have no clue what my body fat is but I am of medium build.

I used to play tennis every day or run up to 8 miles a day but after no success after almost 11 months of workouts, I gave up. My body fat did dropped dramatically but my muscle mass and general strength had never gotten up to its full potential. I had been doing medium weights for 1 hour two times a week. All this happened about 2 year ago. Then I got one of those high stress jobs and well it all fell apart. During this time I never did any research which in retrospect was stupid or took any suplements. This time around I will be but I need some help.

So now I have taken a large break from the hectic life and have decided its time to get back into shape as quick as possible. I have 6 weeks to get back into some resonable shape and then I will have about 2 hours a day to mantain.

Which means for the first time some serious research and I will be using chemical help this time around.

Now I am still getting into the whole suplement scene and have done a good bit or research and feel comfortable using any whey protien product, creatine, and glutimen (sp). Now I have used the whey powders on occation before. But with the creatine I have only found powder, now I have heard that it will simply break down in water so how in the heck do you take the stuff. I figure mix it and then swollow as fast as possible. (I figure I can do the sugar / gatorade idea if I get the pure stuff.)

I have read the thoughts on loading and I will more then likely do a half dose for the first two or three days then load for two weeks and then go back to the standard dosage for the last 4 weeks of my little test.

So on that topic what would you suggest as a good brand of 100% pure creatine. I have heard the prolab stuff seems to be the best bet right now but something new might have some along.

As for the glutimen I have no clue as to what is the best but any suggestions.

Well beyond that I would like some help finding a very agressive weight training system. I am in decent shape right now and I work out about 3-5 times a week by playing tennis or swimming.

I don't think that I will be using anything more controversial or possible dangerous but I will be trying to fill out the bottem end of my diet with the whey shakes, using fat free milk. Also if you have any suggestions for vitamins then speak up. I intend to make a very heavy push as I am already on the light to medium workout load.

And if anybody has a shop that they like in San Diego drop a note for them.

And yes I know about the water issues and caffine problems I will simply have to cut what little I have out of my diet. I will try for a few days to get my water intake up to at least 1 gallon before I start on my system.

Wow lots of questions, sorry for the length.

[Lee J B]

Hi and Welcome !!

First off, what do you mean how do you take it? if you buy prolabs creatine monohydrate powder (which is very good) you should mix it with water or grapefruit juice. Prolab also do tubs of glutamine, which is also very good, but can be expensive... you need to take about 5g of this after workout i think. Second if you havent the time to knock up a training plan of your own, take a look at my new workout in the workout journals it was designed because i am just starting back up after injury, so its good for people who are just getting back into it as well. Also do not over train, for example if you were doing your weights twice a week on the days in which you did an 8mile run .. well lets just say its no wonder you werent seeing results, cut out the heavy cardio and move onto intense weight lifitng. Muscle burns more fat than anything, so the more you build up the better . But in direct answer to your question, get the problab creatine, they have a good offer on over here now, buy 300g bottle of it and get 300g free along with a t-shirt... ok so the t-shirt is extra large but hey thats life. And as a good simple protein drink, look out for a product by EAS called "Simply Protein" this is cheap but is effective and good quality whey protein.

Hope that helps,
Lee

Hi Storm, welcome to the board. Buy from a big name company until you are comfortable with your knowledge of sports supplements. You will be pretty much assured of getting a good product that way. When you buy creatine, look for 100% pure creatine monohydrate. It should say that on the label. Some people like to buy German creatine becuase the Chinese version supposedly isn't as pure as the German. However, the brands made with Korean creatine are as pure as the German. Mix it with GRAPE juice, not grapefruit juice. There will be bad interactions if you mix it with the latter and you will not be happy with the results. Use a good quality whey powder post workout (as soon as you can after each workout). Whey isolate powder is better than whey concentrate, but both will get the job done. Also, take some protein before bed. For that, I prefer a meal replacement, but that is my personal preference. Use some anti-oxidents like vitamins C & E along with a good multi-vitamin/mineral pill. Add some essential fatty acids (from flax, or hemp oil - a blend of differernt oils is much better than using just one of those types). Lee was right about dropping the long distance running. It will kill any gains you get from the weight training. I'm sure you will have lots of questions so feel free to ask. Look around the board as there are many informative posts.

[Storm]

It's good to know about the juice, I was told that the highly acidic things like orange juice and grapefruit juice would destory and chance that the creatine would ever even get absorbed.

As for the running I know that it was killing my chances of getting anywhere but I needed the endurance training for my other favorite sport backpacking.

I will be following your journal plans as they are quite helpful. I will still run in the morning but will cut down to 1 mile or so and work on more of a sprint then cool sprint sort of thing.

Heres the plan for time scales. Wake up get ready take creatine at ~7:30. Wait approx 45 minutes. Then run sprints and stairs for 1 hour. (come back for a whey shake) This will be 7 times a week. Then the second dose around 2:30, wait 45 minute and then lift for 1 hour, will lift 4-5 times a week. More then likely 3 days then one off for recovery with some other style of workout to supplement.

As for the other stuff I have no clue when to take it. As for the protien shakes exactly as one would think, right after the workout.

Well I am off. I finnally have a digital camera so I think that I will be keeping track of the progress over the next 6 weeks. I will start the journals as soon as I figure out how to get my body fat measured. I believe that you can get a small meter or one that is intergrated into a scale. Any clue as to how acurate this things are on a day to day thing. I would really like to keep track.

Storm, you are going to be real close to overtraining with that kind of schedule. I know you under a time constraint and want to get into the best possible shape in the next 6 weeks. If you are determined to keep up that kind of blistering pace, try to get a nap in between your running and afternoon workout. This will aid in your recovery. Also, seriously consider taking at least one day off per week. Runners have a saying -- a rest is as good as a run. Give your body time to heal.

[Storm]

I intend to rest quite a bit between every run and workout, my next contract does not start for almost 2 months so I just have a whole bunch of free time. I really love being on contract work lifestyle. Work for 8 months take a fwe off work a few more take some more off. I really recommend it if you can deal with working for a different company every 8 months.

I am off to get my creatine and a book or two on more concentrated biologic information. I am having trouble figuring out my caloric intake requirments. Just knowing myself I will not be happy (body wise) on anything less then 1800 a day.

Other then that I need to clean out my garage and get my bench and bells back into one place. Will keep you guys updated. I will try to keep my dairy up to date and included pictures and measurement data so other people like myself have some basic starting data.

[ShortGuy]

Originally posted by Lee J B
Hi and Welcome !!

First off, what do you mean how do you take it? if you buy prolabs creatine monohydrate powder (which is very good) you should mix it with water or grapefruit juice. Prolab also do tubs of glutamine, which is also very good, but can be expensive... you need to take about 5g of this after workout i think. Second if you havent the time to knock up a training plan of your own, take a look at my new workout in the workout journals it was designed because i am just starting back up after injury, so its good for people who are just getting back into it as well. Also do not over train, for example if you were doing your weights twice a week on the days in which you did an 8mile run .. well lets just say its no wonder you werent seeing results, cut out the heavy cardio and move onto intense weight lifitng. Muscle burns more fat than anything, so the more you build up the better . But in direct answer to your question, get the problab creatine, they have a good offer on over here now, buy 300g bottle of it and get 300g free along with a t-shirt... ok so the t-shirt is extra large but hey thats life. And as a good simple protein drink, look out for a product by EAS called "Simply Protein" this is cheap but is effective and good quality whey protein.

Hope that helps,
Lee

hey LEE, where can i buy that Creatine.. i want the Tshirt TOO

[Storm]

Well I got my supplies and another book on how to do the calculations that I need for the cal intake. It looks like I will be hitting about 400-500 right before dinner. So I get to eat what I feel like within reason. I am at 0 Fat intake right now for breakfast and lunch and will keep it that way.

I also found something rather neat and I bought it at the store. I bought my L-glutimine in phospric form. It bubbles like alka selser (sp). It has not wait time it just gets into your system fast. As for the creatine its a special type, it is already premade so your body does not need to formulate it whicih means no loading. You take 5 grams you get 5 grams. This is a good and bad thing as none knows the true asbsorption rate for this stuff. But you get exactly what you put in, so one you can use less and in the current formulation it will not pass through the liver. Well its all speculation that it works like its supposed to but I am a chemist and it works on a molecular level that way at least from the very limited info they give with the product. I will do some more searching.

As for my first time trying both, they work plain flat and true. Never would have made it home in under 1 hours at least with the distance I ran without the stuff. It takes about 60 minutes to kick in and when it does man it works. no burning no nothing just simply go out and run up a hill. For the first week I was told by a friend as well as the store I bought it to double my dosage of the L-glutime, so instead on 2 doses a day one before wach workout, I take a dose a hour before I run, then basically run up and down my big hill for a hour or so until I am dead tired. Come home take a half dose and then start again before the weight training. So I have taken a single days dosage in about 2 hour time, no trouble with the stomach which mine is sensative and so advirse anything else. Other then the lovely benefits of running just a bit longer then I should be able to. But after I run I also take a meal replacement shake. Two scoops of protien powder 1 cup of fat free yorget and one banana. will take one after I get down with my lifting tonight about 2 hours before dinner. 4:30 start with the whole glutime creatine shuffle as well.

Will see how well this goes.

[Lee J B]

hey shortguy, i got mine from my local GNC in a place Called Victoria Centre..

You can get it from all GNC stores plus any other GOOD health stores i should think.

Later bro