OT: Is creatine hard on your stomach?

[EpiPaul03]

Hey all,

 

I recently saw a thread on here about lifting and it reminded me to post this thread here. Sorry to do so, but I know a lot of you on here lift and have some experience with this. I also am aware of a 1000 threads on here about creatine, but I think mine's a little bit of a different case.

 

Lately, I've been lifting a lot and I'm at that point where I've been lifting three years and not seeing too much gain in mass or weight. I get stronger, but just don't see that much mass or weight being put on. Really, I don't lift to bulk up like the Hulk, but gaining some weight for football wouldn't hurt too much. I've also heard that Creatine can help explosiveness such as sprinting time? That would really come in handy because 40 is around 4.7 and I would like to get it down to around 4.5. I've tried 100 percent whey protien, but that didn't really help that much. If anything, I think that made my weight go down and made it too hard to get enough carbs in my diet.

 

 

In a nut shell, I tend to have a sensitive stomach. Whether it be protien drinks, anti-biotics, they all seem to get to me to a certain extent where in another person they wouldn't really bother him or her as much. But I've heard of Creatine that is micronized (made smaller) to support quicker digestion and avoiding stomach aches.

 

So my question to you is what your experience with creatine was like, and especially if it caused you any stomach problems? I'd like to take creatine, but if it's going to make me be on the {censored}ter all the time, it'll be more trouble that it's worth.

 

Any comments or suggestions would be nice, especially if there are any things besides creatine I may be overlooking, thanks!

[Awake77]

 

Lately, I've been lifting a lot and I'm at that point where I've been lifting three years and not seeing too much gain in mass or weight. I get stronger, but just don't see that much mass or weight being put on. Really, I don't lift to bulk up like the Hulk, but gaining some weight for football wouldn't hurt too much. I've also heard that Creatine can help explosiveness such as sprinting time? That would really come in handy because 40 is around 4.7 and I would like to get it down to around 4.5. I've tried 100 percent whey protien, but that didn't really help that much. If anything, I think that made my weight go down and made it too hard to get enough carbs in my diet.

 

 

You probably need to eat more man...If you've been training for 3 years and eating relatively the same, your body might not be getting in enough calories to grow.

 

Also, look into Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE), its another variant on Creatine that works even better in most cases. No water bloat, and you take much less too - so its easier on the gut.

[HELSTRUME]

Creatine made my stomach hurt bad. But this stuff worked tons better

http://www.prosource.net/product.jsp?path=-1|6430&id=14077

You will gain muscle fast. If you want steroid results, I know of two products you can mix. All my freind gained like 30 pounds in two weeks. But, they all said it made their hearts feel weird. Thats what scared me off lol.

[vangkm]

Try CEE and get plenty of water to reduce cramping. It will probably be a little hard, so start out with a smaller dose and go from there.

[devilboy]

kidneys and liver dude...

[Awake77]

Creatine made my stomach hurt bad. But this stuff worked tons better http://www.prosource.net/product.jsp?path=-1|6430&id=14077 You will gain muscle fast. If you want steroid results, I know of two products you can mix. All my freind gained like 30 pounds in two weeks. But, they all said it made their hearts feel weird. Thats what scared me off lol.

 

30lbs in 2 weeks huh?

 

 

Those herbal test boosters work OK - but for $60 you can buy a months supply of chicken and sweet potatos.

[Daniel DeWitt]

 

kidneys and liver dude...

 

kidneys yes, liver no(so far)

Creatine saturates your muscles with H2O. This dehydrates your body. You need to drink LOTS of water when on creatine. It is hard on your kidneys when you dont have enough water in your system especially when you have to fight dehydration with creatine. Even if you arnt on creatine and you dont drink alot of water, it is still hard on your system. Creatine is just another thing your kidneys have to get out of your system, having enough water makes it easier.

[HELSTRUME]

30lbs in 2 weeks huh? Those herbal test boosters work OK - but for $60 you can buy a months supply of chicken and sweet potatos.

These are pro hormones, not the herb stuff.

[arkistan]

OP, read my post carefully. I will give you good first-hand suggestions on how I became able to take both creatine and whey protein after years of gastral distress.

 

First, for creatine monohydrate(the most common and cheapest, and perfectly effective type of creatine), if you are an ill-responder, using a micronized version will not do you any good. When I first tried creatine mono, I found out that I respond very poorly to it, even the micronized stuff. I had unbelievable gas for at least 20 hours after intake. It was fun in a stupid way, but it wasn't something I wanted to go through all day, everyday. The good thing is it's so cheap (

 

Now for whey protein, if it's been giving you the runs or lots of gas, there's a high probability that you're simply lactose intolerant. Check if the ingredient profile of your whey protein has any "whey protein concentrate" in it. If you're lactose intlerant, that will give you gas. In that case try a pure "Whey Protein Isolate" product, which will be virtually lactose free. It's a higher quality whey that absorbs faster and is a little more expensive, but living without constant gas is worth a lot to most people. Once again, for me, the problem was instantly solved with this solution.

 

There is only one way to find out if these cases apply to you and that is to try the products out. If they don't apply to you, it may simply mean that you are one of the few genetically "special" people who must rely on real foods for all your nutritional needs. This is a mixed blessing because although it will be much more expensive and time-consuming to always rely on real foods, it will be much better for you nutritionally. There is no doubt about that.

[JaGi]

There are so many conflicting reports on the effects on the body of all these products you dont know what to believe. I just stick with high protein diet be it shakes or some old frozen steak i find in the freezer haha, CEE for the extra push. I have read so many "doctors reports" on how it can give you stones or destroy youre liver, how u need more salt in your diet for creatine blah blah blah. Eat well and train hard and you'll get big, simple

[Chronix112]

Make sure you drink pleanty of water. when i am on creatine i make sure i drink at least half a gallon a day, it also helps eliminate creatine cramps which are a total bitch. I never had any stomach problems with creatine most of my problems come with certain types of protien powders like Nitrotech

[Awake77]

 

These are pro hormones, not the herb stuff.

 

 

 

From that products page:

 

 

Vitamin E (d-alpha tocopheryl succinate) 50 IU, Vitamin B-3 (niacin) 41mg, Zinc (zinc gluconate) 7.5mg, AndroTest Ultra Complete Spectrum Active Extracts 550mg [Tribulus terrestris extract (aerial parts)[standardized for Minimum 80% Total Saponins , Minimum 60% Total Furostanol Saponins , and Minimum 40% Protodioscin ], LJ100 Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia)(root) [standardized for 28% bioactive glycopeptide compound].

 

 

Those are all plant extracts bro. Ketosterols - which can have an anabolic effect - but they're not 'prohormones'.

[HELSTRUME]

The two supplements my friends were mixing, not the Pro source stuff. Mainstream companys arn't allowed to sell pro hormones anymore.

[savoldi]

 

Lately, I've been lifting a lot and I'm at that point where I've been lifting three years and not seeing too much gain in mass or weight.

 

 

It's not a lack of creatine that's the problem. You're doing something wrong fundamentally. If you don't fix that first, creatine will never help you. And if you do fix it, you won't need creatine or anything else besides good food. How tall are you, what do you weigh, how often do you lift and what's your routine? Weights used, reps, sets?

[Osmosis]

 

It's not a lack of creatine that's the problem. You're doing something wrong fundamentally. If you don't fix that first, creatine will never help you. And if you do fix it, you won't need creatine or anything else besides good food. How tall are you, what do you weigh, how often do you lift and what's your routine? Weights used, reps, sets?

 

 

His weights and reps are not the problem. If he's not gaining weight, he's not eating enough, PERIOD.

 

The quality of your diet and exercise regimen will determine what percentage of your weight gains are muscle and what percentage are fat, but if you're not gaining some kind of weight you aren't getting enough calories.

 

If you aren't taking whey, you need to. Try a higher quality brand before you write all whey off as giving you stomach problems (I like Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard)...use two scoops immediately after lifting, mixed with some simple carbs (banana, blueberries), complex carbs (1/2 cup oats) and either water or skim milk, all in a blender. That will give your body the protein it needs when it needs it, as well as add a few hundred quality calories to your diet which will help you put on the weight.

[savoldi]

 

His weights and reps are not the problem. If he's not gaining weight, he's not eating enough, PERIOD. .

 

 

I think it's a good idea to ask first, don't you? You're diagnosing the problem before you know what it might be. If he's not gaining weight, that's one thing. If he's not gaining muscle, that's another. His reps could be too low, as he claims he's gaining strength and no size. His routine might be bad, as in not enough barbell work on squats, deads, and benches. And it could be all of them. How can you advise him if you don't know what he's doing?

[Gaindrain]

You probably already know this since you've been at it for a while, but anyways, I'm bored at work, so:

 

Creatine has its place, but you do not want to be taking that stuff for too long. It can help you get over a plateau because you can push your body a bit harder during workouts. But this also means you run a considerably higher risk of getting injured. You need to drink LOADS of water because it will mess up your kidneys. The thing with creatine, it doesn't really add mass. It just brings a lot of water to your muscles so you look bloated. When you lay off the creatine, this water will go away, but the cell capacity in you muscles will have expanded, which might make it a little easier to put on the water weight again in true mass.

Chances are though, if protein shakes messed up your stomach, creatine most likely will too. I have a strong stomach and got cramps with creatine. Haven't used it anymore.

 

It all starts with a good diet. Start counting calories. There are tons of calculators on the internet with which you can calculate you basic daily calory needs. What you need to do is eat more than that. A lot more. I need about 2600 calories a day. I eat about 3600. I'm getting GREAT results (after about a year of experimenting with different diets, workouts), and I'm very much a hardgainer. Lots of protein, lots of carbs. And try to get most of your proteins out of meats (poultry & tuna mostly) and not so much out of dairy. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Eat a lot and eat clean. 6-8 times a day, rather than 3 huge meals.

I do recommend a good whey protein shake though. Those are very easily digestible.

 

Also: switch up your workouts. Keep the body guessing. Add in new stuff, weights,... all the time. Keep workouts under 90 minutes. I only train about 30 minutes on my weight training days, but I'm struggling through every second of those minutes. I've recently added in 40 minutes of cardio on none weight training days, something which I've always shunned because I feared it would make me lose mass, but I'm getting better results than ever, plus my energy levels are way up there which motivates during weight workouts.

 

And get plenty of rest.

 

This will work any for hardgainer. If you're not gaining muscle mass with this info you're either not eating enough or not training hard enough.

 

Experiment and see what works for you.

[EpiPaul03]

 

It's not a lack of creatine that's the problem. You're doing something wrong fundamentally. If you don't fix that first, creatine will never help you. And if you do fix it, you won't need creatine or anything else besides good food. How tall are you, what do you weigh, how often do you lift and what's your routine? Weights used, reps, sets?

 

 

First off, thanks for all the responses given. I definitely got some information that I was looking for.

 

As response to this, here are my, attributes, if you will:

 

17 3/4 years old

 

Height: 5'8

Weight: 135

Bench: 200 lbs

40 time: 4.7 seconds

Vertical: 31 inches

Squat: Hurts my back, I have form God himself can't cure lol

 

Usually as far as my routine goes, I go two days a week upper body, then two days legs that is a combination of plyometrics, squats, power-cleans, step-ups, and leg press. A lot of times I slack off on the leg part, I don't know why.

 

More specifically, my upper body usually consists of Bench (flat, incline and decline), dumbell press, shoulder press or militaries, pull-ups, curls, rows, some sort of tri exercise. Obviously I don't do all of these one day. About every two weeks I switch up the exercises a little -- still giving me the same ratio of biscep to triscep and chest to back ratio of exercises -- and every two weeks I also alternate reps and sets. Usually I'll switch between 4x6, 5x5, 2x10, 6x8, and every once and awhile I'll do pyramid sets on bench.

 

I have a fast metabolism like you wouldn't believe, which I think is responsible for not gaining too much weight. I seriously eat every 2-3 hours, exercising that day or not exercising that day. I try to eat as much as possible, but I'm not going to kill myself trying. I try to intake as much protein and carbs as possible. As for milk, I've always been an Orange Juice drinker, and that may be half my problem. But, sometimes milk upsets my stomach, so I may have some lactose intolerance which may explain the stomach cramps associated with the whey. Seriously, I had a full dose of whey (21 grams) from GNC, and I didn't feel like eating for 2 days after it.

[EL KABONG]

i used to use creatine and L carnitine and workout a lot ( i was in the army) i ended up getting kidney stones at an early age 28. ive heard that it really dehydrates you.

[Soundstorm]

 

i used to use creatine and L carnitine and workout a lot ( i was in the army) i ended up getting kidney stones at an early age 28. ive heard that it really dehydrates you.

 

 

Yeah, I've definitely decided to go without creatine from now on.

 

I've been working out pretty consistently for 7 years now. There have been points over these years when I'm bigger, points where I'm stronger. When I've been bigger, I was really pushing myself, working out 6 days a week, 1hr 1/2 to 2 hours a day and eating LOADS of food.

 

Thing is, I've just gotten to where I'm comfortable with my natural size. My old workout partner could skip three weeks, and still be bigger than me when he got back. That was just his genetics. I've cut my workouts down from what I mentioned above to about 3 times a week, 45 mins to an hour a piece. I don't try to break my back anymore, but I keep a good routine, and I switch up the excercises. I tend to hover in the 175-180 range, I'm about 5'9", and 25 years old.

 

I'm not big by any means, but I stay strong, my chest, arms and back are wide and muscular (my legs have always been naturally big). If you want to push your body outside of it's natural frame and size, you're really going to have to bust some serious ass. To me, I'd rather just stay in "shape" than consantly trying to push myself over the edge at each workout.

[EL KABONG]

im 40 and am just now coming back from a SIX YEAR lay off from the gym! My how time has FLOWN. I seriously think the space/time continuum has gone into warp drive.

 

Im suprised though how much of my size and strength ive retained just from my exercise done on the job. Just have to burn off the excess flub. fun fun.

[Awake77]

 

The two supplements my friends were mixing, not the Pro source stuff. Mainstream companys arn't allowed to sell pro hormones anymore.

 

 

Which two supps?

[FastRedPonyCar]

I've been taking protien shakes about an hour before workout for 2 years now with great results.

 

I typically spoon in a scoop of creatine powder, glutamine powder, whey protein powder, a frozen banana, some natural peanut butter, fat free milk and a little honey and sometimes dry oatmeal. Blend it up and drink then workout an hour later. Huge difference in the gym if I don't drink that.

[Shredison]

Dude, you are still a bit young so thats why your metabolism is so insane. Im 20, and was the same way when i was your age. I was still 6'1 190, but i coould never get any bigger. Try the Whey some more, and see if you can get something that doesnt {censored} up the stomach. Work out as you've been, and dont slack off. Give some Creatine a try and see what results you can get.

[ThomasD]

Dude, you are still a bit young so thats why your metabolism is so insane. Im 20, and was the same way when i was your age. I was still 6'1 190, but i coould never get any bigger. Try the Whey some more, and see if you can get something that doesnt {censored} up the stomach. Work out as you've been, and dont slack off. Give some Creatine a try and see what results you can get.

 

 

Seventeen is a highly variable time and you just may not have the potential to put on much bulk at this point in your development. Sure some of your classmates/buds may be gorillas, but this just may not be in the cards for you - yet. As others have mentioned, if you aren't gaining, you aren't eating enough - but the metabolism of a teenager can also be a monster to feed.

 

5' 8" and 135 sounds pretty lean for a guy who's also benching 1.5x his body weight. At this stage in your development do not be afraid to put on some body fat. It is quite likely you still have a teen growth stage or two coming up and your body will want that fat. Fats are also essential for nervous system development and proper hormone production. Both really important if you are still growing. Just try to maintain a healthy diet, keep up your cardiovascular fitness, and avoid too much of the less healthy fats (meat and dairy.) And don't forget about the problem of overtraining - rest and recovery are especially important at your age.