Creatine for women

[aprildawn]

Just wondering... For those of you that have used creatine (or have female clients that have) ..

What were your results?
How much did you use/times per day and what brand?
Did you load?
Any other comments?

Thanks all for any input... :)

[Viola]

I have been using the liquid for 7 weeks now. I have only been taking 3 grams a day. I have had very good results. But the body has already become used to it. Time to cycle off already. The best thing to do is try it and if you don't like it just stop. There is no loading with the liquid. You just take it before you work out.
Hope you find something that works for you.

[MsFit]

Creatine is a cell volumnzier so it would be beneficial to any lifter that is interested in gaining size, strenght, power, and mass. I began taking creatine back in late 95 and saw amazing physical changes in just 3 weeks.

Personally, I think loading is a waste and I just stick to the 5 grams a day. I take half the serving prior to training and the other half after training. I stick with big companies such as EAS, Twin Lab and so forth.

I do not recommend creatine if the female is trying to lose weight (15 lbs or more)simply because it causes a water retention-like effect, eventhough it's located within the cell. Womens minds and bodies react differently from mens and I think the "retention" factor makes a big difference mentally.
MsFit

[Hibiscus09]

Creatine really made me stronger -- for those who think it's psychological, so be it. Whatever the reason, I was definitely stronger. I did bloat a lot taking creatine. It depends on your goals -- I was aiming to get stronger & put on mass when I was taking creatine. It worked.

[griswold]

i wanna lose weight but i do wanna gain some muscles i don't wanna get big because i'm 5'3 so would not look nice for me to be musculer,my question is sould i take creatine ?

[ozfiz]

i wanna lose weight but i do wanna gain some muscles i don't wanna get big because i'm 5'3 so would not look nice for me to be musculer,my question is sould i take creatine ?

lol, strong bump

if you reread MsFit's post it should answer your question :)

[funkosaurus]

Don't worry about getting big, as women we just can't get scary huge. I'm 5'1" and I'm trying to gain muscle (and lose fat.... grrrr...) and I just started creatine about a week ago.

I think it is helping a lot, and I haven't noticed any bloating (I'm using the powder form in gatorade). I do 5 grams every morning and on days I lift, another 5 grams after my workout (and then 30-45 min later, my protein shake).

I'll let you know when I start seeing results, but I feel like my workouts are better. Who knows, haha.

[bull.dogz]

I use half a scoop (5g) of Controlled Labs Green Magnitude and love the stuff. It tastes great, no bloating and it's increased my strength.

[JoyP]

I use half a scoop (5g) of Controlled Labs Green Magnitude and love the stuff. It tastes great, no bloating and it's increased my strength.

Do you take your GM every day or just on training days?

[ChicagoChef]

Just wondering... For those of you that have used creatine (or have female clients that have) ..

What were your results?
How much did you use/times per day and what brand?
Did you load?
Any other comments?

Thanks all for any input... :)

I've been taking creatine mono for about 2 weeks, and I'm starting to notice the effect from it (takes about 3-4 weeks to build up in your system). There really is no need to load. I use about 6g a day, on training days and off (the standard dosing is 1g/40lbs). Currently using GNC brand, but just because cheap and readily available. I might switch in the future.

All in all, I'm still a bit early into its use, so I can't give definite results yet other than I seem to fatigue less on higher weight reps.

Oh, haven't really noticed much bloating or anything... I drink at least a gallon of water a day.

[bull.dogz]

Do you take your GM every day or just on training days?

Every day. I just mix it in with my protein shake. I've also made some popcicles with it for my off days.

[JoyP]

Every day. I just mix it in with my protein shake. I've also made some popcicles with it for my off days.

Thank you... what a cool idea with the popcicles, will have to try that. I've been taking it for about 5 weeks pre wo along with White Flood & red acid, also Purple Wrath during WO, I'm liking the stack but didn't even think to take it every day... I take the red acid every day but the others on work out days only.
Been reading your REDuction log, sounds like good stuff, like the idea of the PM dose, can't wait for it to be available in the UK.

[bull.dogz]

Thank you... what a cool idea with the popcicles, will have to try that. I've been taking it for about 5 weeks pre wo along with White Flood & red acid, also Purple Wrath during WO, I'm liking the stack but didn't even think to take it every day... I take the red acid every day but the others on work out days only.
Been reading your REDuction log, sounds like good stuff, like the idea of the PM dose, can't wait for it to be available in the UK.


I really like the REDuction. The pm pills give me a nice deep sleep. I'm going to miss them when I run out. I just added the Orange Triad to my stack, I'm excited to see how well that works too.

[RosieCheeScott]

Just wondering... For those of you that have used creatine (or have female clients that have) ..

What were your results?
How much did you use/times per day and what brand?
Did you load?
Any other comments?

Thanks all for any input... :)

I first started using creatine in January 2004. Don't remember the brand, but, yes, I loaded (5 days), and then went to maintenance dosage. I also only used this on gym (i.e. resistance training) days.

In August 2004, when I was cutting for my first competition, I changed to using EAS's Phosphagen-HP (3 servings per day: gym days - immediately post-cardio, immediately post-gym, and last thing at night before going to bed; non-gym days - immediately post-cardio, with protein shake mid-morning, and with protein shake mid-afternoon), and loaded on that for 5 days, before moving on to using EAS' Betagen (1-2 servings per day: gym days - 2 hours pre-gym and immediately post-gym; non-gym days - immediately post-cardio) for a further 7 weeks. I had minor strength gains. Also some water retention (but I was also eating loads of tuna and drinking so much water it wasn't funny, so the creatine did not necessarily cause it).

In December 2004 I began using NFS' Kre-Alkalyn, which I used until February 2008. No loading needed. Capsules. No side effects normally associated with creatine usage experienced. Strength and muscle gains. On gym days I had 2 caps 60-minutes pre-gym and 1 cap immediately post-gym, and non-gym days 2 caps in the morning before breakfast. Each capsule contains 750mg creatine monohydrate (CM), so was having 2.25g and 1.5g of creatine on gym days and non-gym days respectively.

In February 2008 I was given the opportunity to try Applied Nutriceuticals' NeoVar. No loading needed. Capsules. A creatine ethyl ester (CEE) that also includes banaba extract and rhodiola rosea. For the first 10 weeks using it I dosed at 6 caps per day: gym days - 3 caps immediately post-gym (~15-20 minutes before a meal with 25-50g carbohydrates (CHO) in it) and 3 caps 20-30 minutes pre-lunch; non-gym days - 3 caps 20-30 minutes pre-breakfast and 3 caps 20-30 minutes pre-lunch. For the next 5 weeks I changed my doses and timings to: gym days - 1 cap 60-minutes pre-cardio, 2 caps 40-minutes pre-gym, and 3 caps immediately post-gym (~15-20 minutes before a meal with 25-50g CHO in it); non-gym days - 2 caps 60-minutes pre-cardio, 3 caps post-cardio (~15-20 minutes before a meal with 25-50g CHO in it). In the first 10 weeks I had massive gains in muscle mass, with no side effects. In the last 5 weeks I was tending a little more towards 'cutting', but still experienced muscle gain and small strength increases. Dosing pre-cardio AND pre-gym, however, made me a little hypoglycemic at times, causing migraines. I also noticed that it increased my creatinine levels far higher than the upper limit than they should be, and decreased my eGFR well below the lower limit of what it should be (yes, I have weekly bloods taken). Each capsule of NeoVar contains 600mg of ingredients, so I was having 3-3.6g/day, ~2.76-3.3g of that being creatine.

On May 20, 2008 I changed to using Applied Nutriceuticals' NeoVar Recomped. Again, no loading necessary. Capsules. A far superior product to the original NeoVar, the Recomped version is a mixture of Phosphocreatine (PCr) and CM (646mg combined per cap), as well as including banaba extract, gymnema sylvestra, D-Pinitol, bioperine (piperine), and Sabinsa Corp. For the last 5 weeks I have been dosing this at: gym days - 2 caps 40-minutes pre-gym, and 2 caps immediately post-gym (~15-20 minutes before a meal with 25-50g CHO in it); non-gym days - 2 caps post-cardio (~15-20 minutes before a meal with 25-50g CHO in it). So getting 2.584g and 1.292g of creatine on gym days and non-gym days respectively. My strength has improved by leaps and bounds over the last 5 weeks, as well as my lean body mass. I have leaned out considerably. Endurance is as high as ever. No side effects. And it returned my creatinine and eGFR levels to 'normal'.

IMO, if you are looking at a creatine product, I would recommend either Kre-Alkalyn or NeoVar Recomped. No loading needed. No side effects. And both have given me awesome results.



i wanna lose weight but i do wanna gain some muscles i don't wanna get big because i'm 5'3 so would not look nice for me to be musculer,my question is sould i take creatine ?

Most definitely. Creatine should be a STAPLE of ANYONE doing resistance training!...If you gain muscle you will not necessarily lose WEIGHT, even if you lose bodyfat, as muscle weighs MORE than fat (ACSM, 2005). You will LOOK better, though. As for getting too muscular; have no fear there, as women have a VERY hard time gaining muscle naturally, even eating and training to maximize those gains.

[dvsness]

I use Creatine Monohydrate from Prolab year round. 1g per 40 lbs.

[perf_ckt]

I used GNC's Creatine Monohydrate. I loaded. it tasted horrible in everything, including water. I had a constant headache. BUT i felt stronger, (depite feeling ill), my muscles were fuller.

This girl posted a photo account of her use of creatine ( i think its legit)
http://www.skwigg.com/id29.html

I even get headaches from creatine bars (even though i dont actually expect them to work.. i just like eating).

I just started kre-alkalyn (ultimate nutrition brand.. cause i'm an aussie) today. no headache thus far.

QUESTION: should i take creatine before a cardio workout?

[RosieCheeScott]

I just started kre-alkalyn (ultimate nutrition brand.. cause i'm an aussie) today. no headache thus far.

Kre-Alkalyn is good stuff. Hopefully you will like it.



QUESTION: should i take creatine before a cardio workout?

Creatine is more for resistance training (Lehmkuhl, 2003), or training that exhausts the short-term energy systems (i.e. sprinting, power sports, etc.) and involves high-intensity intervals with brief recovery periods (Burke, et al., 2006). Cardio predominantly utilizes the aerobic energy system, which uses fat and glycogen for fuel (McArdle, Katch & Katch, 2007). There is little evidence to support that creatine usage is beneficial for endurance (Burke, et al., 2006).

[perf_ckt]

Creatine is more for resistance training (Lehmkuhl, 2003), or training that exhausts the short-term energy systems (i.e. sprinting, power sports, etc.) and involves high-intensity intervals with brief recovery periods (Burke, et al., 2006). Cardio predominantly utilizes the aerobic energy system, which uses fat and glycogen for fuel (McArdle, Katch & Katch, 2007). There is little evidence to support that creatine usage is beneficial for endurance (Burke, et al., 2006).

thank you. I was googling around looking for that information for hours.

[RosieCheeScott]

thank you. I was googling around looking for that information for hours.

No worries. Glad I could help you out :)

[Acacia]

If you want to increase lean muscle and strength, creatine works really well for women. Myfriend uses it and was a skeptic at 1st. She love the energy and recovery which has enabled her to train harder and see faster results from her training. She's now a believer.


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[NOVA888]

Guejsn said; Creatine should be a STAPLE of ANYONE doing resistance training!

Great info!

Okay, I've got one problem though--I'm terribly interested in creatine (as well as the NO's), but I'm such a wimp whenever it comes to anything with health warnings. I read stuff about kidneys and livers and I just freak. Am I worrying unnecessarily? I hope that I am.

Also, does anyone recommend one that's milder on the system (if there is such a thing)? Should I be looking into the Ethyl Esters or maybe something else?

I really need to break out of this supplement 'wimpdom,' so any advice would much appreciated. :P

[RosieCheeScott]

Great info!

Okay, I've got one problem though--I'm terribly interested in creatine (as well as the NO's), but I'm such a wimp whenever it comes to anything with health warnings. I read stuff about kidneys and livers and I just freak. Am I worrying unnecessarily? I hope that I am.

Also, does anyone recommend one that's milder on the system (if there is such a thing)? Should I be looking into the Ethyl Esters or maybe something else?

I really need to break out of this supplement 'wimpdom,' so any advice would much appreciated. :P

Hmmm, shouldn't really be health warnings on these supplements...Creatine is something that the body makes NATURALLY (Burke, et al., 2006). (And it has actually been suggested by Forsberg et al. (1991) that females have higher muscle concentrations of creatine). Any excessiely high dietary/supplementary excess of creatine that you intake just temporarily suppresses the body's natural creatine production (Burke, et al., 2006).

Although creatine ethyl esters (CEE) have been said to increase bioavailability/absorption of creatine into the muscle, there are few research papers on it. It comes down to personal preference, though; some people prefer CM, others CEE. Personally, I think that a creatine monohydrate (CM) product is best to use (or a mix of creatine, such as AN's NeoVar Recomped, which has both Phosphocreatine AND CM in). When I used a CEE it was not kind to my body and bloods; and when I went back to using CM they returned to normal.

[Brielerose]

I was also wary of Creatine, with all the reported side affects for women. Then I found Kre-a-Fem pills. None of the bloat and I can tell when I forget to take them the difference in weight capacity that I can lift. I don't take most "safe" fat-burning supplements because I tend to feel nausous if I don't eat continually for the next four hours, but I haven't had any side affects and your muscle recovery is amazing on it.

But that's just me. :)

[bachovas]

Any creatine will do you good. May want to start with regular monohydrate to see how it treats you. Bloating means you are taking too much, so back off if needed.

Kre-Alkalyn is also pretty good. There are many types and they all pretty much work, so try a few over some time and make a choice.

[dvsness]

Great article:

Note - I don't agree with everything stated here, but that doesn't make it any less informative.

Creatine For Women
by Cassandra Forsythe and Jen Heath


If you're like most women, you probably don't take creatine. Even though creatine is well-known for enhancing strength, increasing muscle mass, and improving exercise performance, women don't take it.

For some reason, women think creatine is only for men, or that it won't help them get the body they want. In fact, according to a 2007 questionnaire, only 1% of female athletes used or considered supplementing with creatine. These women believe that since creatine is marketed as a muscle-building supplement it's not something they need.

Women are often too scared to gain weight, even if it's muscle. As a result, they're attracted to supplements advertised to help them stay small (and weak).

Well, creatine is for women and not just for the boys. In this article, you're going to learn everything you need to know about creatine and why it'll help you build the body of your dreams.


What is Creatine?

First off, creatine is not a steroid. If some sales associate or dietitian tells you that it is, you have full permission to laugh in their face.

Creatine is actually an organic compound found naturally in your diet, primarily in red meats (beef, lamb, pork) and fish. The normal dietary intake of creatine in omnivores is about 1 gram, but for obvious reasons, intake is much lower in vegetarians.

The supplemental form of creatine manufactured in the laboratory is a tasteless and odorless white powder that's moderately soluble in water.

The most common type of creatine is creatine monohydrate; it's also the most researched. There are other forms of creatine available on the market but they're really not worth your money, and we'll tell you why below.

Creatine is also made in your body, primarily in the liver, from the precursor amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine at a rate of about 1-2 grams per day. Even though creatine is made of nitrogen-containing amino acids, it's not considered a protein. Unlike proteins, creatine synthesis doesn't involve formation of peptide bonds and its degradation doesn't involve deamination (removal of nitrogen) when excreted from the body by the kidneys.

Thus, the concern that creatine may harm your kidneys because of nitrogen removal is unwarranted. Since your body has the ability to produce creatine, it's not considered an essential dietary nutrient, but it is something that you should be adding to your diet, especially if you're a woman who wants to have muscle with attitude!


What Does Creatine Do?

Creatine is sent to your muscles so it can help you work harder. It does this by combining with a phosphate (Pi) molecule to create a compound called phosphocreatine (PCr). Creatine in the form of PCr plays an integral role in energy metabolism within the muscle cell, especially in activities that require short bursts of intense energy, like weight lifting and sprinting.

It works to sustain energy by helping to replenish ATP, the energy currency of your muscle cells. Basically, if you want your muscles to contract so you can move or lift a weight, you have to expend ATP. When your muscles contract, ATP is broken down to ADP and a phosphate molecule with the help of the enzyme ATPase. This reaction creates the desired end product: energy to allow your muscles to move.

Rx #1: ATP ? ? -(ATPase) ? ? -> ADP + Pi + Energy for muscle movement

Within your muscles, there's only a limited supply of ATP. So, if you spend all your ATP without replenishing it, your muscles won't be able to continually contract and you'll quickly fatigue. In order to replenish ATP, you need another Pi molecule, which is primarily supplied from the creatine molecule, PCr.

The Pi is separated from PCr in the creatine kinase reaction and donated to ADP to reform ATP. This reaction allows you to work harder for a longer period of time, which means you can build more muscle and burn more fat without tiring out too quickly.

Rx #2: PCr + ADP + H+ < ? -(creatine kinase) ? -> free Cr + ATP

The creatine kinase reaction ensures a constant supply of ATP for exercising muscle as long as PCr doesn't become completely depleted. However, just like ATP, your natural PCr stores in muscle are also limited, and will decline rapidly at the onset of serious exercise.

For example, during 10 seconds of an intense cycle exercise test in the lab, peak power is reached during the first 5 seconds and declines as the PCr levels in the muscle are depleted. Thus, the concentration of PCr decreases and fatigue quickly sets in.

Luckily, in recovery from intense exercise, PCr is resynthesized rapidly, such that about 95% of PCr is recreated after 3 to 4 minutes. For this reason, a woman lifting a very heavy weight for 1 to 3 reps will rest for at least three minutes before repeating her next set.


Why Should We Supplement?

The best way to enable your body to train harder and prevent premature fatigue is to optimize your muscle stores of PCr and creatine. Research has shown that you can do this by adding more creatine to your diet.

More than a decade ago, Ron Harris and colleagues published a study documenting an effective strategy for increasing muscle creatine stores by ingesting large amounts of creatine monohydrate.(1) These researchers reasoned that if blood levels of creatine could be elevated above a certain threshold then perhaps a portion of the creatine might "spill over" into muscle.

A five-gram dose of creatine was found to significantly elevate blood creatine concentrations peaking about one hour after ingestion and returning to baseline levels after 2-3 hours. In order to keep creatine elevated throughout the day, a five-gram dosing regimen every 2 hours for 8 hours was adopted. This creatine dosing protocol maintained for at least two days resulted in significant increases in the total muscle creatine content.

Subsequent studies have confirmed that this creatine dosing strategy is effective at increasing muscle creatine stores. However, it's not always necessary to dose this high or for a long period of time because the majority of creatine uptake occurs within the first two days and muscle becomes saturated with creatine in less than seven days at 20-25 grams per day.

You could also just eat more foods naturally rich in creatine, such as beef, salmon, herring, or pork. But, unless you can stomach at least a kilogram of red meat per day (because 1 kg of meat or certain fish equals about 5 grams of creatine), the only way you're going to be able to get the recommended dose of creatine is with creatine monohydrate.


Why Should Women Supplement?

Although the majority of research with creatine has been conducted in men, there are some solid lines of evidence that indicate women benefit from supplementation as well. Similar to men, women experience significant muscle creatine accumulation and performance enhancement in response to creatine monohydrate. (1)

In 1997, Vandenberghe and researchers (4) examined the effects of creatine supplementation during a 10 week resistance training program in physically active, but untrained, women. During the 10 week program, all women performed resistance exercises (five sets, 12 repetitions at 70% RM for leg press, shoulder press, squat, leg extension, leg curl, and bench press) for 1 hour three times per week. A 20 gram per day loading dose of creatine for four days was followed by five grams per day for the remainder of the intervention.

After the four-day loading regimen, muscle PCr levels were increased by 6%, and the five gram maintenance dose was adequate to maintain this increase over the duration of the study. When strength was tested at the end of the 10 week program, women in both groups showed significant improvements in strength in all exercises (which isn't too surprising given that they were all untrained).

However, the women taking creatine had a 20-25% greater increase in one rep max strength for the leg press, leg extension, and back squat compared to the women taking nothing.

In a similar study of strength, Brenner and researchers (5) examined the effect of five weeks of creatine monohydrate supplementation using 16 NCAA Division I lacrosse players (age range 18 ? 22 years) during their preseason conditioning program. Half of the women were given creatine at a loading dose of 20 grams per day for 7 days, followed by a maintenance dose of two grams a day for the remaining 24. The other women took a placebo. All women completed a resistance-training workout three times per week.

The results showed that the women taking creatine demonstrated a significantly greater increase in their maximum bench press strength compared with those taking a creatine fake. These authors agreed with Vandenberghe and suggested that creatine likely provided a greater stimulus for training, which helped enhance strength.

The final study is one by Larson-Meyer and researchers. (6) For 13 weeks, they examined the effects of creatine in 14 female NCAA Division I soccer players. Seven women were given creatine and seven were given a placebo. The women given creatine received 15 grams per day for the first five days followed by five grams per day for the remainder of the study.

After 13 weeks, women taking creatine had greater gains in maximal bench press and squat strength than the women taking the creatine fake.


What's the Bottom Line in Science?

Overall, these studies support several others that show the beneficial effects of creatine supplementation on strength and weight lifting performance in women.

Creatine has also been shown in other studies to increase short-duration, high intensity work performance in women (such as HIIT training) and to increase repeat performance of sport activities such as swim sprints. (7-10)

[dvsness]

Does Creatine Always Work for Women?

Nothing in this world is ever just black or white, especially science. Although you've just been given some great evidence that creatine can help make you stronger and improve your anaerobic work capacity, it doesn't always work this perfectly for every woman.

In 2006, a research study conducted at Cassandra's alma mater, University of Alberta, was released that showed a lack of benefit from creatine supplementation in trained women. (11)

In this 10 week investigation, 26 young resistance trained women were split into two groups. One group was given a placebo and the other was given creatine at a dose of 0.3 grams per kg body mass for the first 7 days (amounting to about 17 grams per day for your average woman) and then given a dose of 0.03 grams per kg for the remainder of the study (about 1.7 grams per day).

The women trained 4 days a week and were encouraged to increase the amount of weight they could lift each time they trained. After 10 weeks, all women improved their strength in bench press and leg press and increased their training volume, but there were no differences between those women who took a placebo and those that took creatine. The authors concluded that in this study, creatine had no effect on strength or performance in trained women.

Now, since Cassandra is in the science nerd loop, and since one of the investigators was her former advisor, she had the liberty to do some digging to try and find out why the researchers found no beneficial effects.

In the paper, the researchers hypothesized that the amount of creatine given in the study may not have been enough to increase the women's muscle creatine content, which could have lead to the lack of effects. To put it more specifically, other researchers have found that the muscle has to have an increase of at least 20 mmol per kg muscle of creatine to see a potential ergogenic improvement. They also suggested that the women in the study may have been "non-responders" to creatine supplementation.

With creatine, there are those who benefit from supplementation and those who don't. These people are referred to as responders and non-responders. The non-responder phenomenon might be related to the type of muscle fiber and size of cross-sectional area of muscle fibers that people possess uniquely.

Those men and women who have more fast twitch fibers and a larger initial cross-sectional area of all muscle fiber types can increase their muscle creatine more after 7 days than those with fewer fast twitch fibers or smaller muscle cross-sectional area.

From a gender perspective, women usually have smaller cross-sectional muscle fiber areas of both their fast twitch and slow twitch fiber types. Women also have been suggested to possess a naturally higher average total muscle content of creatine (10%) than their male counterparts. Overall, these physiological differences between men and women may explain why this study showed no effect.

When Cassandra received a reply from one of the investigators, Dr. Dan Syrotuik, he told her that he still believes that creatine is beneficial for women, but that positive results aren't always found for reasons he just couldn't explain.

Cassandra then hypothesized that creatine will only work if you're willing to let it work. If you take it but you don't push yourself to your limit, then you'll never know if it can make you train harder. That might be what happened in this study.

All we know is that creatine has a lot of evidence that it helps improve strength and resistance training performance, but the results aren't always equivocal in either men or women.

How Do I Become a Responder?

One possible way to increase your ability to become a responder is to ingest large amounts of simple carbohydrates with each dose of creatine. The purpose of a large dose of carbohydrates, in the amount of about 50 to 100 grams per serving, is to increase blood insulin levels which causes most substances in your blood to be driven into muscle cells for usage or storage.

However, this large dose of carbohydrate will also drive a lot of that sugar into your fat cells, causing an increase in body weight from fat ? something none of us wants.

Although it's been shown that insulin can enhance creatine accumulation in muscle, this really only occurs if insulin levels are present at extremely high or supra-physiological concentrations. (12) This is why large doses of carbohydrate are necessary. Thus, consuming normal amounts of carbohydrate won't have as great of an effect on creatine accumulation in muscle.

A more practical solution to enhance creatine uptake with the help of insulin is to take creatine with a normal meal or in your post-workout drink. Insulin rises with food intake, especially when the food contains carbohydrate and amino acids from whey protein powder.

Since most women and men take whey protein and simple carbohydrates after their workout to replenish glycogen and stimulate protein synthesis, that's also the best time to take your creatine. If you miss this window of opportunity, just ensure that you take creatine with food instead of on an empty stomach.

Will Creatine Make Me Fat?

So many women shy away from creatine usage because they've heard it comes with a lot of water retention. Indeed, the vast majority of short-term creatine loading studies show a significant increase or a small non-significant increase in body weight up to about 1.5 to 2.0 kg, which is mostly due to retention of body water. Interestingly though, these findings are mostly seen in men, not women.

However, with that said, keep in mind that it's just water, not fat. With long term serious lifting, any weight you do gain is mostly muscle. For example, in the Vandenberghe study, the untrained women taking creatine gained an average of 5 pounds of muscle after 10 weeks of lifting and tended to have less body fat compared to the women taking a placebo.

In trained women, taking creatine slightly increases muscle mass, but has very little effect on weight gain due to water. Thus, it appears that if you're an experienced trainee, creatine will help improve your strength without causing much water retention. Furthermore, any water accumulated due to the initial introduction of creatine will soon dwindle as the body gets used to it.

If you're really worried about water gain and want to avoid it, just ensure that you don't take a lot of simple carbohydrates with your creatine. Insulin stimulated by a high carb meal is well-known for causing water retention. This is also a reason why figure competitors avoid any sugar when they're in contest prep mode.


So, Who's Taking Creatine and What's It Doing for Them?

The science and studies have been laid out for you, but what happens in the real world?

As a trainer, Jen always recommends that her clients take creatine. Along with Cassandra, she knows that there's no reason why any beginner or experienced lifter shouldn't experience the benefits creatine has to offer. Creatine will help make you stronger, which is related to an increase in your muscle size and volume. The more muscle you have, the more you can eat (yay!) and the more you can eat, the more you can grow.

Here Jen has collected the thoughts of a few of her clients regarding their experiences with creatine:

Ashley: "When I started weight training, I was very overweight. Discouragingly so. I started taking creatine per Jen's recommendation and found that the strength increase I gained because of it was the only thing that kept me motivated to go to the gym. I could feel the surge of strength I'd get in my workouts. I just felt stronger as my weight kept going up and up.

"I went from a 135 pound squat to a 175 pound squat in one month. I just kept telling myself that all these strong, intense training sessions were going to uncover hot muscle someday. That pump and strength seriously kept me going. I'm almost to my goal body composition now and have taken creatine since day one."

Amanda: "When I started taking creatine I noticed some big changes. The thing that I loved most about it was the fact that it kept me working hard and pushing weights longer than I could without it. It gave major support!

"I've also seen major strength changes while using this supplement. I was 112 pounds and bench pressing 145 within a short time of introducing creatine. Before starting using it I was at the top of my game pushing 95. I gained two inches in my arms and major shoulder strength. I can lateral raise 20's, curl 40's, and do 150 on rows.

"I wasn't seeing any kind of successes like this before taking the stuff. What's best is that as my weights have risen, so has my body shape and image. I look a lot better than when I was weaker. Now I'm strong and sexy. Sounds corny, but it's true!"

Sarah: "I was a little hesitant to take creatine at first. However, my hesitation couldn't have been more wrong. I have no doubt in my mind that I'm way stronger than I was before. I could only do curls with 10 pounds before. In four weeks I've increased to 20 pounds! My arms were 10.5 inches around (too small for the muscular legs I was blessed with), and I've added an entire inch on my arms as I've gotten stronger. I'd tried to make improvements before and never saw results like this. I love creatine."

Jen herself has these thoughts to share:

"I can't describe to you how much creatine has helped my performance over the years. I wouldn't dream of going without it. When I first started preparing to become a competitive bodybuilder, I was doing reps on bench at about 90 pounds. I was repping squats at about 135 and bent over rows at about 60. I was curling 15 pounds (per arm) and shoulder press topped out at 15 per arm. Back then I didn't take any other supplements except fish oil and a multi-vitamin. I'd pretty much come to a standstill.

"It was then that a trainer friend told me I ought to take creatine. Since I'm the opposite of hesitant, I jumped right on it. I continued to lift with the intensity I'd been using, just with the creatine added into my scheme. At the end of three months, I'd increased my bench to 135, my squat to 165, my bent rows to 90. I was able to curl 25 pounds and my shoulder press went up to 25.

"I can honestly say that since I wasn't really incorporating anything extra in my routine, that the strength increase was largely due to the creatine supplementation. I now (performing reps) bench 155, squat 185, bent over row 155, curl 35, and shoulder press 35.

"I believe that creatine has played a major role in my strength increases. I look the way I do now because I've been able to excel at my weights, and I have creatine to thank for a lot of that. I'd never not take it!"


How Much Creatine Should I Take?

Both the science and the experts recommend that women take about 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate per day. There's no need for a loading dose of 20 grams per day, if you don't want to take it. Avoiding loading will lengthen the time it takes for your muscles to become saturated with creatine, but after about one month of the minimal dose, your muscles will be ready.

The recommendation of 3 to 5 grams creatine per day came from the fact that in an average healthy person, approximately 2 grams of creatine is broken down and excreted in the urine per day. To ensure that you replace this 2 gram dose of creatine and enhance your muscle content of creatine, take at least 3 grams each day.

[dvsness]

Why is Creatine Monohydrate Better Than Other Types?

The most popular alternative to creatine monohydrate is a new type of creatine called creatine ethyl ester, or CEE. The claim that it's an ethyl ester implies that the creatine is covalently bonded to an ethyl group which won't be ionized in water. As such, this is an alien compound to the body, chemically different to creatine but where a large part of the molecule has a similar shape.

Being an ester, it also means that the CEE is likely broken down in the gut, inhibiting it from being taken up into the bloodstream for transport to the muscle. A recent study by UK researchers showed that more than 25% of CEE is unavailable after passing through the stomach whereas 99% of creatine monohydrate is available. The CEE appears to be broken down to a byproduct called creatinine and then excreted out of the body.

No evidence has been tabled that CEE is able to increase the muscle creatine content as effectively as plain creatine monohydrate. If you want to get the real thing and benefit from increased creatine in muscle, then stick with monohydrate and leave CEE alone.


Bottom Line

? Creatine monohydrate will help you train harder so that you lift more weight and build more muscle.

? Creatine won't make you gain fat, but it will help you gain more muscle.

? Men are more susceptible to water retention than women, and if you do gain water, it's only short-term; stick it out and you'll thank us.

? Take at least 3 grams creatine monohydrate per day with meals or in your post-workout shake.

? If you're a woman and you lift, you better be taking creatine monohydrate every day!

About the Authors

Cassandra Forsythe is a PhD student at the University of Connecticut studying exercise science and nutrition under the supervision of Jeff Volek, PhD, RD. She'll graduate in May 2008 and then begin her internship to become a Registered Dietitian. She's a certified sports nutritionist through the ISSN and holds a BS and MS in Nutritional Sciences. In September 2007, her first diet and weight loss book entitled The Perfect Body Plan written for Women's Health magazine, will be released. Then, in December 2007, her second book with Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove, entitled Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess, will be available in bookstores near you.

Jennifer Heath is certified personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine, a mother of four, and a fitness & commercial model. Her beauty, brains, and strength combined with her ability to balance a hectic daily schedule has allowed her to publish several online fitness articles, produce two effective weight loss manuals, and unselfishly help hundreds of men and women achieve the body of their dreams. She balances work, family and training to be one of the most knowledgeable and effective female lifestyle coaches in this industry. For more information about Jen, or to seek out her services and products, check out her website at www.jenheath.com.


References

1) Harris, R.C., K. S?derlund, and E. Hultman. Elevation of creatine in resting and exercised muscle of normal subjects by creatine supplementation. Clinical Science. 83:367-374, 1992.

2) Volek, J.S., Kraemer, W.J., Bush, J.A., Boetes, M., Incledon, T., Clark, K.l. and Lynch, J.M. Creatine supplementation enhances muscular performance during high intensity resistance exercise. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 97:765-770, 1997.

3) Rawson ER, Volek JS. The effects of creatine supplementation and resistance training on muscle strength and weightlifting performance. J Strength Cond Res 2003;17:822.

4) Vandenberghe, K., Goris, M., Van Hecke, P., Van Leemputte, M., Vangerven, L.. and Hespel, P. Long-term creatine intake is beneficial to muscle performance during resistance training. Journal of Applied Physiology 83:2055-2063, 1997.

5) Brenner M, Walberg-Rankin J, Sebolt D. The effect of creatine supplementation during resistance training in women. J Strength Cond Res 2000; 14(2):207 ? 213.

6) Larson-Meyer DE, Hunter GR, Trowbridge CA, et al. The effect of creatine supplementation on muscle strength and body composition during off-season training in female soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 2000; 14(4):434 ? 442.

7) Ziegenfuss TN, Rogers M, Lowery L, et al. Effect of creatine loading on anaerobic performance and skeletal muscle volume in NCAA Division I athletes. Nutrition 2002; 18:397 ? 402.

8) Stout JR, Eckerson JM, Housh TJ, Ebersole KT. The effects of creatine supplementation on anaerobic working capacity. J Strength Cond Res 1999; 13(2):135 ? 138.

9) Grindstaff PD, Kreider R, Bishop R, et al. Effects of creatine supplementation on repetitive sprint performance and body composition in competitive swimmers. Int J Sport Nutr 1997; 7:330 ? 346.

10) Peyrebrune MC, Nevill ME, Donaldson FJ, Cosford DJ. The effects of oral creatine supplementation on performance in single and repeated sprint swimming. J Sport Sci 1998; 16:271 ? 279.

11) Ferguson TB and Syrotuik D. Effects of creatine monohydrate supplementation on body composition and strength indices in experienced resistance trained women.
J Strength Cond Res. 2006 Nov;20(4):939-46.

12) Steenge, G.R., J. Lambourne, A. Casey, A. MacDonald, and P.L. Greenhaff. Stimulatory effect of insulin on creatine accumulation in human skeletal muscle. American Journal of Physiology. 275:E974-E979, 1998.

[Boots1]

I started on creatine yesterday, I am taking EAS, 1 tablespoon 3 times a day. It sounds to me like a person should not stay on creatine permanently. How long should your creatine cycles be eg. how long would you stay on and then how long off before you go on again. thanks a mil

[dvsness]

I don't load, and I don't cycle.

[c0okie]

I've heard so many people say women don't need to take creatine, and I think they are crazy. Creatine has improved my training program results immensely.
I load and cycle (10g, 5g - 6 weeks on), and only seem to get the bloat when I take it with water only before a workout. But this is very rare because I almost always take it in my protein shakes.

[bull.dogz]

I only take about 5g a day before my workouts. I've never loaded.

[st5p8]

i gather from what i've read in this post, to take creatine post workout, is it only a once per day dose then? should you have creatine any other time of the day? ex. before bed, and is there any benefit to taking creatine pre workout?

[dvsness]

i gather from what i've read in this post, to take creatine post workout, is it only a once per day dose then? should you have creatine any other time of the day? ex. before bed, and is there any benefit to taking creatine pre workout?

1x/day is sufficient.

[SexyAmy]

i might try creatine, had no idea it helps grow muscles. :O) Will this work on abs also?

[RosieCheeScott]

i might try creatine, had no idea it helps grow muscles. :O) Will this work on abs also?


If you want abs, then you need to increase your muscle mass there (creatine helps with RECOVERY, which helps with muscle growth). If you want to see them, the latter still applies, and you need to be lean enough to see them.

[cool13]

Can't find NeoVar Recomped on BB.com, what gives?

[RosieCheeScott]

Can't find NeoVar Recomped on BB.com, what gives?

They may not be stocking it yet. There are other sources to purchase from: the Applied Nutriceuticals website (http://www.appliednutriceuticals.com/products.php?cat=7) itself, for $35.99; or over on Nutra Planet (http://store.anabolicminds.com/manufacturer/applied-nutriceuticals/) for $27.99 (this site is very cheap for supplements).

[MountainSong]

Yesterday, I tried to order NeoVar from BB.com. The page says that the product has been discontinued. Is it still available elsewhere?

[RosieCheeScott]

Yesterday, I tried to order NeoVar from BB.com. The page says that the product has been discontinued. Is it still available elsewhere?

See the post directly ABOVE:

They may not be stocking it yet. There are other sources to purchase from: the Applied Nutriceuticals website (http://www.appliednutriceuticals.com/products.php?cat=7) itself, for $35.99; or over on Nutra Planet (http://store.anabolicminds.com/manufacturer/applied-nutriceuticals/) for $27.99 (this site is very cheap for supplements).

[RosieCheeScott]

Can't find NeoVar Recomped on BB.com, what gives?

Yesterday, I tried to order NeoVar from BB.com. The page says that the product has been discontinued. Is it still available elsewhere?

NeoVar Recomped is NOW available for purchase on BB.com for $27.99. Link: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/app/neo.html

[cool13]

Thanks!

[RosieCheeScott]

Thanks!

You're welcome. There is also a 110 cap bottle available.