Creatine
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UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
I wouldn't imagine it being good for triathletes OR cyclists....except maybe match sprinters, but their race is only 10-11 seconds long.
Creatine fills your muscles with water, causing you to put on a lot of weight, but also makes you more explosive. You don't need explosiveness in endurance events. It'll make you run the 100m faster, but the mile, 5k, 10k+ slower because of the extra weight.
Plus, it gives some people gas ;)
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
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Socket posted 1 year ago.
An article I read (Men's Health?) on creatine brought up the topic of using it with endurance sports. I'll track down the article, but if I remember correctly they said there were no studies saying it helps with endurance. If you want to get stronger for hills and stuff, it may help.
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Socket posted 1 year ago.
Here's the one I was looking at:
LINK!
Here's two more, but mostly about how its the best thing since kettle bells:
"Creatine is awesome"
Creatine Q & A
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ChipChopChippy posted 1 year ago.
I use Creatine in my base building phases, about 15 grammes a day (http://www.maximuscle.com/creatamaxcapsules - they come in 3 gramme capsules which means that I don't have to take 30 capsules of another brand, however I'm not sure if they're available outside the UK). I find that it really does help my power output (on the bike), and has a neutral impact on my running and swimming.
If I don't stop taking Creatine ~3 weeks before any Tri/Duathlon I WILL get cramps (and very, very painful ones at that!) on the run - as sure as night follows day. Initially I thought it might be dehydration/electrolyte imbalance etc but eventually narrowed it down to the Creatine, and the cramps miraculously vanished :-)
NB I've only ever had problems with trapped wind (gas) when I used cheap/sh*t brands
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johnny_Toronto posted 1 year ago.
Dave Warden has a good podcast on Tritalk on Creatine. I also read the men's health article, which was pretty good. I use Crea-Alkalyne as opposed to creatine, because it's uptake is more effective. Check out some of the articles on ask.com about this as well.
Warden calls Creatine an ergogenic aid. It's a naturally ocurring substance that is normally found in our bodies, as opposed to animal or synthetic hormones, which are not (and therefore illegal). You'd have to eat 4 lbs of Salmon a day to get the 15 grammes or so that ChipChop is taking. Much easier to take the pill!
I agree with Chip that it's very well suited to your prep and base phases. I'm not into building muscle (why would I want to carry all that weight?) but lean strength. Water retention doesn't seem to be a problem for me. I use it in conjunction with breakthorugh workouts, where I know I'm going to be sore (at 47 that seems to be happening a lot nowadays). The crea-alkalyne helps me recover faster. I'm less stiff when I use it.
Generally I will take it daily for three weeks, and then not when I'm on my rest week. I can truly feel the difference it makes.
While you are doing research, check out the benefits of Glutamine as well. Another animo acid that can facilitate recovery and thereby make training more effective. Other people swear by Chondrotin, but I don't use it.
Base season is upon us! Go forth and train!
Johnny T
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johnny_Toronto posted 1 year ago.
Here's the www.tri-talk.com link to the podcast on creatine:
http://www.powertri.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=240
or find it from http://www.tri-talk.com/TopicalIndex.asp
I'm a big fan of Dave Warden, he does a lot of research on these kinds of topics, and I've learned a lot. His podcast on cafeine is informative as well.
Johnny T
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FlashRedGLS1.8T posted 1 year ago.
johnny_Toronto wrote:
Here's the www.tri-talk.com link to the podcast on creatine:http://www.powertri.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=240
or find it from http://www.tri-talk.com/TopicalIndex.asp
I'm a big fan of Dave Warden, he does a lot of research on these kinds of topics, and I've learned a lot. His podcast on cafeine is informative as well.
Warden's podcast is the best! I wish it was out more often, more than the every other week that it is now, and it stinks that he's on vacation.
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theShiba posted 1 year ago.
Perhaps one of the most accurate articles I have read is found here: http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/creatine%20myths%20and_facts.htm
While the writer condones Creatine use, I do not. This is simply because there is a slight danger in using Creatine. If you do choose to use the stuff, remember to drink a LOT of water. As, without proper hydration, the Creatine can actually crystallize causing renal problems.
Basically, Creatine is an essential part of the Phosphagen system. This energy system fuels our body for short spurts (ie; lifting weights). The reason Creatine aids in muscle gain is that it allows the user increases in the amount of Creatine they can call upon. Basically, you will be able to have more "quick burst" energy...
Whatever you decide to do, make sure you are following the advice of a qualified nutritionist, or physician. The guy that works at the gym, or GNC doesn't know what the hell he's talking about.
First of all, I have been away from the forum since I have been training for marathons and I just got started training for the tri-season again and I noticed there has been an upgrade to the site. My question has probably been asked and answered before but I can't seem to figure out what happened to searching the forum content so I guess I will ask again. What's the verdict in tri-athletes using creatine and if anybody does use it what brand do they recommend and how much ? I heard at my LBS that creatine was good for road bikers but not triathletes because it can cause cramps during the run.
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