creatine or not????

[RichTooBig]

I am 45 years old and im ashamed to admit i weigh 450 lbs. Its time to transform my body, life...i currently try to follow the Body for Life workout program of whole upper body M & F and legs W & Sunday. I pyramid 15,12,10,8,6....all sets with 45~60 seconds rest. I lift hard ( love lifting).... I need help with a meal plan. ...Also i use preworkout supplements and BCAA w/water during work outs. Optimum nutrition whey after w/o. I currently take Kryeaklyn creatine before and after working out... All the posts i read say just take multi vitamin and omega 3....if muscle burns fat and creatine helps build muscle....doesnt it make sense to use a supplement like kreaklyn creatine? ?? I lift hard with high intensity...my diet is my problem..thank you for any help. ..I have over 200 lbs to lose, but i know I can do it with hard work and eating right....diet is 90% of my battle

[MadPumpYo]

your not at the point where you need creatine. MV etc your good.

[gward1]

Most decent pre workout supplements have creatine in them. Check the ingredients for creatine mono something rather. Creatine puts water in your muscles which allows you to lift more over time, there's no reason to not take it. If you really want to lose weight you need to do LOTS of cardio, I would add cardio on the days your aren't lifting, also take a fat burner on those days. An hour or so of cardio at a heart rate of 97 - 114 bpm should do it based on your age. It's boring and sucks I know, I switch machines every 20 mins or so it's not so bad.

[hamton]

At your weight, I don't think you need creatine. I think you should approach more of a cross training type workout. Instead of lifting heavy, aim for more volume in a short amount of time. Move from exercise to exercise with very short amount of time in between. Less than 10 seconds. Take a breather of 30-60 seconds after every 4-6 exercises. This will allow you to do cardio with your weights.

I tried to build muscles to help me lose the weight but it only worked for a short while. When I switched to cross training type, the fat started melting off.

[101proof]

At your weight, I don't think you need creatine. I think you should approach more of a cross training type workout. Instead of lifting heavy, aim for more volume in a short amount of time. Move from exercise to exercise with very short amount of time in between. Less than 10 seconds. Take a breather of 30-60 seconds after every 4-6 exercises. This will allow you to do cardio with your weights.

I tried to build muscles to help me lose the weight but it only worked for a short while. When I switched to
cross training type, the fat started melting off.

I agree with this for the most part although I think heavy lifting should remain in the workouts. If that is what you love doing then changing to another style of training is going to lead to decreased motivation. I say keep lifting heavy but also keep your heart rate up by working opposing muscles back to back in supersets of 2 or more exercises. If you aren't already I would add kettle bell training to your program, nothing gets your heart rate up faster IMO.

[pro-tein]

yes it makes sense to take creatine!
You get that extra % of intensity, so you will burn something extra, maybe keep more muscle ergo a better metabolism...

[Brent69]

I am 45 years old and im ashamed to admit i weigh 450 lbs. Its time to transform my body, life...i currently try to follow the Body for Life workout program of whole upper body M & F and legs W & Sunday. I pyramid 15,12,10,8,6....all sets with 45~60 seconds rest. I lift hard ( love lifting).... I need help with a meal plan. ...Also i use preworkout supplements and BCAA w/water during work outs. Optimum nutrition whey after w/o. I currently take Kryeaklyn creatine before and after working out... All the posts i read say just take multi vitamin and omega 3....if muscle burns fat and creatine helps build muscle....doesnt it make sense to use a supplement like kreaklyn creatine? ?? I lift hard with high intensity...my diet is my problem..thank you for any help. ..I have over 200 lbs to lose, but i know I can do it with hard work and eating right....diet is 90% of my battle

OK man, creatine will volumize your muscles with water. Which gives you greater strength during high intensity lifts. Theres no problem in taking creatine all the time...its awesome. But dont look for results from creatine. Take it if you want, continue with your normal routine. Remember...theyre just supplements

[jcastro20111]

Having dropped about 200 (from 446 to 250). I am excited for you!!!

IMHO, at 450, I wouldn't worry too much about the creatine or any of supplements for that matter. Lifting is great, builds a great foundation, but the cardio is what is going to burn the fat off.

Especially at the beginning of my journey, it helped me to think about things this way. My body fat stores were my fuel tanks, and the way to empty my fuel tanks was to move many miles down the road (cardio). My muscles were the engine, so the bigger the engine, the faster it would burn through the fuel while I was moving down the road. Run (if your knees can handle it), Eliptical, Basketball, Swimming, Rowing, Stairs. Just get those muscles to release that energy, and keep at it!!

Some before and after pictures:
meathouse.jpg
oars.jpg
fatme.jpg

---
Carlos

[jcastro20111]

Another thing, the additional water weight you gain through creatine supplementation may be a source of discouragement when you get on the scale. Being at your current weight, tracking your progress with metrics besides hopping on the scale could be challenging and deceptive.

[cmgames]

At your weight, I don't think you need creatine. I think you should approach more of a cross training type workout. Instead of lifting heavy, aim for more volume in a short amount of time. Move from exercise to exercise with very short amount of time in between. Less than 10 seconds. Take a breather of 30-60 seconds after every 4-6 exercises. This will allow you to do cardio with your weights.

I tried to build muscles to help me lose the weight but it only worked for a short while. When I switched to cross training type, the fat started melting off.

Hey Hampton, I was talking to the owner of my gym the over day and he suggested what I need to do get rid of some excess fat is increase my heart rate by lifting weights at low weight but high repetition and quickly with no rest in between for 3 exercises and then rest for 90 seconds

This is similar to what you have suggested to the OP. What I forgot to ask was after I've rested do I do the next 3 exercises in a similar fashion to the first 3 or do i just go back to lifting heavy weights at normal speed? My gym instructor has gone on holiday now so wont be able to ask him for another two weeks.

[upt88]

Creatine mono is so cheap that if you wanna fork out a couple bucks to help the intensity of your lifts, hey why not. other than that it will help you retain some water in your muscles, and at your size it really wont make much of a difference because it will be hard to see the muscle under the fat. and it will be discouraging steping on the scales due to the water weight, and i'm guessing first priority is probably to drop down some weight, and i believe the more you drop the more motivating it will be and will make ur workouts more instense than creatine would do for you.

[go0ber]

yes it makes sense to take creatine!
You get that extra % of intensity, so you will burn something extra, maybe keep more muscle ergo a better metabolism...

This ^
I dont know why people are saying not to take creatin, it will do nothing but help you. Take 5g daily and there should be minimal water retention. Next to a good whey, its the sup I recommend most.

[falldown09]

I am 45 years old and im ashamed to admit i weigh 450 lbs. Its time to transform my body, life...i currently try to follow the Body for Life workout program of whole upper body M & F and legs W & Sunday. I pyramid 15,12,10,8,6....all sets with 45~60 seconds rest. I lift hard ( love lifting).... I need help with a meal plan. ...Also i use preworkout supplements and BCAA w/water during work outs. Optimum nutrition whey after w/o. I currently take Kryeaklyn creatine before and after working out... All the posts i read say just take multi vitamin and omega 3....if muscle burns fat and creatine helps build muscle....doesnt it make sense to use a supplement like kreaklyn creatine? ?? I lift hard with high intensity...my diet is my problem..thank you for any help. ..I have over 200 lbs to lose, but i know I can do it with hard work and eating right....diet is 90% of my battle

OP, whatever you do please dont kill yourself doing hours upon hours of cardio. Do about half an hour after each weight lifting session. And at your weight you really shouldn't need a fat burner. Creatine MonoHYDRATE should help with your lifts. Take 5g daily, you shouldn't need more than a teaspoon a day of it. Everything else you're doing seems fine as far as supplementation. Your reps seem pretty high, try doing heavier weights at lower reps and resting for about 1.5-2minutes in between. Try starting your sets at 8 reps and work your way from there. Anything you can lift 15 times is not really forcing your muscles to get stronger as much as it is just burning them out. I wouldn't try to lose too much weight too fast either, because you might run into a lot of loose skin issues. Aim for 1-2lbs a week which shouldn't be hard at your weight. Be patient and keep lifting heavy and often. Also, what diet are you currently on? Have you ironed out your macros yet? Post a list of your diet if you get a chance. Good luck Rich!