Poll: Those on creatine, do you cycle it or not?

Pat Bateman · 07-21-2005, 01:45 PM

Comments welcome.

4amWorkouts · 07-21-2005, 01:46 PM

No, but I probably should, given my high creatinine readings on latest blood test...

pu12en12g · 07-21-2005, 01:55 PM

I don't cycle it, and don't think it's absolutely necessary to cycle or load it.

HOWEVER, in the future I plan to experiment with:

-3 days loading + X days off
-Repeat

It seems to make the most logical sense, but it would be AWESOME to hear from PA, Lok7y, Par, J-Rod, Mat, or W... what they think the optimal cycle would be (IF AT ALL).

kendog · 07-21-2005, 02:13 PM

I'm going to give myself a rest from creatine in about 2 months.

Pat Bateman · 07-21-2005, 08:22 PM

bump

ChelNam · 07-21-2005, 08:24 PM

I did w/ all my supplements for a few weeks.

turkish · 07-22-2005, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pat Bateman

Comments welcome.

I think it wouldn't hurt to get off it for a week once in a while.

By the way, instead of "Those on creatine, do you cycle it or not?", the title could be funnier. Maybe something like : "Creatine mother f*cker, do you cycle it?"

OneBetter · 07-22-2005, 12:44 AM

I've been using it for a solid year now and I've taken 3 seperate weeks off of it completely. Yea, I prolly missed a day here and there, but for the most part I took it everyday.

DaBadGuy · 07-22-2005, 01:32 AM

I use CEE partly as PCT. Works great between cycles.

MCWTRAINER · 07-24-2005, 09:09 AM

There is no need to cycle or even load creatine. It's just something people do to saturate the muscles quicker. Personally I think it is a waste of creatine by loading...

nics1246 · 07-24-2005, 10:10 AM

I cycle off for 2 weeks every 3 months or so (although in my current cycle, I been on it for about 14 weeks).

ChelNam · 07-24-2005, 11:02 AM

WHat does PCT mean and can you give me an example????

MCWTRAINER · 07-24-2005, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChelNam

WHat does PCT mean and can you give me an example????

Post Cycle Therapy. And 6-OXO is an example...

JohnDoh · 07-24-2005, 11:16 AM

What do all of you think of AST's advice?

I realize all the supplement companies have a website to sell supplements, and any training, diet and supplement information on the sites is just an attempt to nudge you into buying more product, but . . . . . .

AST's creatine advice does not seem specific to any one company's creatine, and it certainly is different. They say that people using creatine all the time eventually run into diminishing returns, that folks who initially get good results wind up with low or no results after enough time.

My first question here is, Is that true? Have most of you here seen your creatine effect start off good and then get crappy with time?

AST's solution to this is to go 3 days on, 3 days off forever, with the on days being at the traditional loading level of 20-30g a day, and the off days at 0g.

They say it's nice if you can adjust your workout schedule so the 3 on days are the same days you train, but that this is not necessary, that the main thing is to stick with 3 on-3 off on the creatine, regardless of whether a training day occurs on an on day or an off day.

What do all of you think of this? Instinct and hunches are fine, even better is if anyone has fixed a low-or-no response problem with this AST cycle.

GeordieArtois · 07-24-2005, 11:29 AM

I have been taking mono continuously for 4 months now. In 6 weeks I will stop taking it for a month while on a White blood cycle, then load again to see if there will be differences.

If there are no major changes after this, I will just continue to take it every day.

Jdanmc · 07-24-2005, 11:44 AM

I cycle it. Normally I'll do a couple months on followed by a month off. Its cheaper and I like going off and on again because I never seem to notice a big reduction in strength and endurance in the gym when I go off but when I start up on it again I get a really good boost, could be all psychological but works for me.

Early_Q · 07-30-2005, 03:35 AM

I cycle. Roughly 2 months on and 1 month off

. The main reason I cycle is because I like to get off all major supplements (except vitamin/mineral tabs) for a month and get back to basics - make sure I can still lift the old fashioned way

. I find that month off helps consolidate the strength and mass I've gained through supplements.

I also load creatine, simply because creatine is now so cheap - and loading has results

Joel · 07-30-2005, 04:01 AM

After all these years and this question is still unanswered. How long ago was creatine introduced ? Im thinking at least 10 years ago.You would think by now someone would have a definite answer !

DaRk_StAr · 07-30-2005, 04:55 AM

yeh but to those who dont cycle it dont you realise that you stop gaining or slowly stop gaining? When you cycle you give your body a break and when going back on you make explosive gains.

Da Main Man · 07-30-2005, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MCWTRAINER

There is no need to cycle or even load creatine. It's just something people do to saturate the muscles quicker. Personally I think it is a waste of creatine by loading...

thats my opinion too, your body naturally makes creatine, and its been pretty much proven that creatine supps are not harmful in anyway. just drink lots

DeathfromBelow · 07-30-2005, 06:50 AM

Is it just me or am I the only one who is not a big fan of creatine. It always gave me the ****s and any small "gains" it gave were very temporary.

jdiritto · 07-30-2005, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeathfromBelow

Is it just me or am I the only one who is not a big fan of creatine. It always gave me the ****s and any small "gains" it gave were very temporary.

go with CEE than

Viperspit · 07-30-2005, 09:17 AM

nope, BSN CellMass - no loading required. don't need to load with any creatine. 1 son loaded, 2 didn't load, no difference really in any of them they say as far as energy levels, water retention, mass, etc.

pu12en12g · 08-23-2005, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDoh

AST's solution to this is to go 3 days on, 3 days off forever, with the on days being at the traditional loading level of 20-30g a day, and the off days at 0g.

They say it's nice if you can adjust your workout schedule so the 3 on days are the same days you train, but that this is not necessary, that the main thing is to stick with 3 on-3 off on the creatine, regardless of whether a training day occurs on an on day or an off day.

As much as I dislike AST (in general.. nothing personal)... that idea is pretty solid, and very similar to what I first read on the AL forum.

I think the main difference was the bold part above...

Pat Bateman · 08-23-2005, 08:40 PM

Bump.

Pureiron1819 · 08-23-2005, 08:51 PM

Have to cycle it, or my kyndeys get mest up

Phosphate bond · 08-23-2005, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MCWTRAINER

There is no need to cycle or even load creatine.

Agreed.

There is a limit to how much you actually need per day, but it's a lot lower than most people think. 150 lb kid does not need 5 grams a day after saturation occurs . That's just a massive surplus. Lots of info on Pubmed that says this is true. (I've posted the abstracts many times before)

icanrace · 08-24-2005, 11:44 AM

no

pu12en12g · 08-24-2005, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phosphate bond

Agreed.

There is a limit to how much you actually need per day, but it's a lot lower than most people think. 150 lb kid does not need 5 grams a day after saturation occurs . That's just a massive surplus. Lots of info on Pubmed that says this is true. (I've posted the abstracts many times before)

This is some pretty extreme oversimplification, since the average person does not know when "saturation occurs" or even if "saturation" is indeed occuring. Also, creatine levels can vary from person-to-person.

jpelc · 08-24-2005, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneBetter

I've been using it for a solid year now and I've taken 3 seperate weeks off of it completely. Yea, I prolly missed a day here and there, but for the most part I took it everyday.

i've been taking creatine for around 18 months now, and i've intentionally skipped a week a couple of times. i wanted to see if there was really that much of a difference. strength didn't drop (i didn't expect it to), endurance dropped minimally (didn't really surprise me), but the pump was much less than when i'm on it.

i've even tried the whole "loading" b.s., and i found the same effects by just starting the normal dosage as doing the 3-day load.

as far as the negative returns? i've had none. it's the most consistant supplement in my bag.