Creatine

[BB gun]

Has anyone tried Creatine HMB?
Has anyone done a cycle of creatine?
Do you still use protien supplements when you do a cycle with creatine?
What are the side affects of creatine eg liver, acne ect?
What creatine products do you use?
How long should you load for?
How much should you take while you are loading?

 

[TheReason]

http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/

Halfway down the page on the far left Creatine Fact Sheets. Very good reading including your loading phase questions.

Haven't used it myself yet. Will start at the end of Jan.

You most definetely use Protein Powder with Creatine.

Protein Powder maintains / increases / repairs lean muscle.
Creatine enables you to lift more weight at higher reps. It has nothing to do with Muscle repair.

They are both 2 completely different products.

 

[Murray]

Dhea?

 

[TheReason]

Dhea?

http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/pro-hormones/DHEA-supplement-information.htm

Not enough info on it for my liking.....

You got any other favourable reviews of it?

 

[BB gun]

Dhea?

Don't quote me, but i have heard DHEA causes erectile dysfunction

 

[TheReason]

Don't quote me, but i have heard DHEA causes erectile dysfunction

Sounds like Steriods then doesn't it..... Shrinks your Carpeted Bean Bags and ditto with the Schlong.

 

[BB gun]

DHEA is taken for overall youthful mental and physical energy, mood, and well being.

What is DHEA?
Very simplistically, DHEA is manufactured in the adrenal glands. The hormone breaks down in the body into testosterone and estrogen in men and in women.

DHEA supplements have been shown to increase energy levels, enhance memory and cognitive functions, reduce the ill effects of stress, improve immunity to diseases (including cancer), decrease body fat, enhance sex drive and possibly even extend life, improve mood.


Who is likely to be deficient?
Meaningful levels of DHEA do not appear in food, and therefore dietary deficiency does not exist. Some people, however, may not synthesize enough DHEA. DHEA levels peak in early adulthood and then start a lifelong descent. By the age of 60, DHEA levels are only about 5–15% of what they were at their peak at younger ages.34 Whether the lower level associated with age represents a deficiency or a normal part of aging that should not be tampered with remains unknown.

Side effects at high intakes (50–200 mg per day) appear to be acne (in over 50% of people), increased facial hair (18%), and increased perspiration (8%). In a preliminary trial, DHEA was also reported to induce less common side effects, including breast tenderness, weight gain, mood alteration, headache, oily skin, and menstrual irregularity in some people.66 Since this trial was not controlled, some of these less common “side effects” might have occurred even with a placebo. A case of mania has been reported in an older man who took 200–300 mg of DHEA per day for six months.67 However, in that case report, other causes of mania could not be ruled out.

Significant increases in testosterone levels in both men and women have been reported in some trials.68 69 Other reports have found this change in women but not in men.70 An increase in testosterone might increase the risk of several cancers, and high amounts of DHEA have caused cancer in animals.71 72 Moreover, a possible link between higher DHEA levels and risks of prostate cancer in humans has been reported.73 At least one person with prostate cancer has been reported to have had a worsening of his cancer, despite feeling better, while taking very high amounts (up to 700 mg per day) of DHEA.74

While younger women with breast cancer may have low levels of DHEA, postmenopausal women with breast cancer appear to have high levels of DHEA, which has researchers concerned.75 76 Most,77 78 79 80 81 but not all, studies82 83 84 have found that as DHEA blood levels increase, so does the risk of breast cancer.

 

[TheReason]

BB Gun

Have a read of this as well. In a nutshell Creatine supplementation halts your body's natural creation of it. Hence why you cycle on and off and do a loading phase with Creatine.

Glycocyamine is the pre-cursor to Creatine and does not stop the bodies natural creation of it. Therefore, having Glyco should result in more Creatine being pumped into the muscles as compared to Creatine.

Another thing to remember with Creatine. Products like Cell Tech have Creatine in them as well as huge amounts of Glucose (sugar). The sugar or simple carbohydrates gives your insulin levels a massive hit and gets pumped to your muscles. The creatine piggy-backs on the back of the insulin.



Glycocyamine - Is this the new creatine?

M&F weighs the pros and cons of a next-generation muscle-building supplement

By Jim Stoppani

Hailed as the top bodybuilding supplement, creatine is arguably the best legal performance-enhancing agent on the market today. Scores of studies on creatine-using high-level athletes have documented rapid increases in muscle mass, strength and power. What more could any bodybuilder ask for? Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, a new supplement closely related to creatine, glycocyamine, emerged on the market along with claims that it bolsters creatine's effects. Also called guanidinoacetate (GAA), glycocyamine is a naturally occurring compound in the human body that's actually the precursor of creatine. In other words, it's creatine before creatine takes its final form. The question is, is creatine more effective in its early state as GAA? Read on for the answer.

Your Creatine Factory
You may know creatine as the white powder in a bottle that makes you bigger and stronger, but it is also produced within your own body. The concept behind creatine supplementation is that because your body only produces so much of it, taking extra creatine will have a productive effect on your muscles. And there's no denying that this works. Yet regardless of how successful a supplement is, scientists and supplement companies are always pushing the envelope to develop better ways to help people build muscle. And that's where GAA comes in.
Another way to increase creatine levels in the body is to deliver more of the ingredients that make up creatine. In the chemical reactions that produce creatine, GAA is the step just before creatine. By taking a GAA supplement, you provide part of the "mix" to boost your own creatine production. The GAA enters your liver and muscle cells, where it gets converted to creatine. The creatine that's produced in the liver then enters the blood supply and travels to the muscles. In other words, you increase the amount of creatine entering the muscle and the amount of creatine being produced in the muscle, a fortuitous double whammy.
To make your personal creatine factory produce at a more efficient rate, many companies have added one other key ingredient to the mix - methyl donors. You would recognise these supplements as betaine (trimethylglycine), dimethylglycine ("pangamic acid" or vitamin B15), or SAMe (S-adenosyl-L-Methionine). While you would need an advanced degree in biochemistry to truly understand this process, we can sum it up this way: these supplements add the one molecule needed to turn GAA to creatine. By supplying both GAA and the methyl donor, you enhance the process and keep your creatine production humming.

The Glyco Stack
Because GAA helps your own body churn out creatine, smart supplement manufacturers have been adding GAA to their creatine products, often along with a methyl donor. The rationale behind this is the fact that creatine supplementation causes your body to halt its own production. While you take in more than enough creatine to compensate for this natural shutdown, the theory is that by filling your muscles with creatine and keeping your own creatine production running full force, you can overshoot the amount of the substance you can normally stuff into the muscle. And the more creatine you can get into the muscle, the greater the results. Numerous bodybuilders and supplement experts confirm this concept.
Another reason companies add GAA to their creatine products is because GAA appears to enhance glucose and creatine uptake by muscle cells. Because this is normally one of insulin's major functions, it also seems to reduce the amount of insulin secreted and reducing insulin can enhance fat loss. So while most companies include GAA in their products solely as a "creatine-enhancer," a few savvy supplement companies also tout its fat-fighting ability. Matt Boldt, owner and CEO of S.A.N. Corp., a supplement manufacturer in Oxnard, California, USA, remarks: "I truly believe glycocyamine to be a phenomenal compound. When betaine is added at the precise ratio, it works to enhance endogenous creatine production as well as to mimic insulin, safely and naturally."

Creatine or GAA?
So how do you decide if GAA, creatine, or a stack of both is right for you? Ask yourself these questions to find out:
1 ) Have you tried creatine without much effect? Almost 30% of those who try creatine get poor results. Scientists believe this is because they already have relatively high levels of muscle creatine. If you're in this category, taking a GAA product or GAA/creatine product may do the trick for you.
2 ) Have you hit your ceiling with the muscle- and strength-enhancing effects of creatine? At a certain point, your muscle cells will not allow in any more creatine. If you think you're maxed out, taking GAA may help boost your max by increasing creatine production within the muscle.
3 ) Do you want to minimise the amount of creatine you take? Using a GAA/creatine stack, as opposed to just creatine, means you'll ultimately take in less creatine.
4 ) Are you looking for both a muscle-enhancing and a fat-loss effect? Because of its insulin-mimicking powers, GAA may not only enhance muscle mass and strength, but it also may help you shed some stubborn bodyfat.
5 ) Is someone who has misconceptions concerning the safety of creatine trying to prevent you from taking creatine, and you want to enjoy the benefits of creatine without him or her knowing? Let's face it, not everyone is as educated about supplements as you are. You may have a significant other, a parent or a roommate who has bought into the media scare on creatine. If they give you constant flack about taking creatine, one solution is to take GAA. After all, they won't know what the hell it is and you'll still reap the benefits.
6 ) Do you have a history of heart disease? If so, creatine is for you and GAA is not. GAA has been shown to raise homocysteine levels in patients who were studied. Homocysteine is a risk factor for heart disease and, while GAA raises it, creatine may actually lower it.
7 ) Are you just curious whether GAA can give creatine a boost? Hey, who isn't? The best way to tell if a supplement is effective for you is to try it yourself. Give either a GAA product or a GAA/creatine product a try and let us know how it works for you. E-mail your response to MuscleFeedback@muscle-fitness.com, with "GAA Survey" as your subject line. We'll publish the results in a future issue of the magazine.
In the world of supplements, new advances are made every day. Some breakthroughs will pan out as great discoveries, some will come around to greatness after a few tweaks to the formula, and some won't stand the test of time. While we're still in the early stages of learning what category GAA falls in, initial reports are very promising. In M&F's opinion, GAA certainly warrants a closer look from anyone looking for a boost to his or her muscle gains.

This article is for information purposes only. Weider Publishing Ltd does not accept liability for the effect of reported supplements or products, legal or illegal. It is the responsibility of the individual to abide by the dosage allowances specific to their country of residence. Always consult a doctor before commencing supplementation or changing dosage.

Meglasson, M.D., et al. Journal of Pharmacological and Experimental Therapy 266(3):1,454-1,462, 1993.
Wyss, M., and Kaddurah-Daouk, R. Physiological Reviews 80(3):1,107-1,213, 2000.

 

[theorangeapple]

I take the Whey protein. To be honest, I didnt research it greatly but it came highly recommended from various people including a mate who is at the dockers.

 

[Fire Storm]

If you're relying on creatine to be the 'wonder supplement' to help you lift biggers weights, then all is lost.

 

[TheReason]

If you're relying on creatine to be the 'wonder supplement' to help you lift biggers weights, then all is lost.

Its not a wonder drug.

If you give 100% intensity when you're on it, compared to off it, you're going to lift more.

If you're expecting to the drug to do the work... well mental telepathy it aint.

Creatine regenerates ATP, which is the energy for your muscles to contract.

To get the Creatine levels one requires for bodybuilding you would need to eat around 1kg of meat & fish per day

Good luck with ya food bill then!

 

[Fire Storm]

I've talked to some of Australia's top Bb's, and THEY don't even know if if helps them.


Save ya money for a good magnesium product. And milk.

 

[outback jack]

Has anyone tried Creatine HMB?
Has anyone done a cycle of creatine?
Do you still use protien supplements when you do a cycle with creatine?
What are the side affects of creatine eg liver, acne ect?
What creatine products do you use?
How long should you load for?
How much should you take while you are loading?

saw a show on it a little while back it got something like 7-10% better endurance from memory.