Creatine alternatives...??

[Alphy]

Well, Id like to add creatine mono into my regimine....MINUS the 6-20 pounds that it may potentially bring me. What would be the next best option?

CEE- Reading that theres possible health risks
Glycocyamine- Reading that theres even more possible health risks.

Id like something to help with muscle recovery between reps. Ive read through countless threads on here and really havnt come up with anything solid. Any other options im missing....take my chances on CEE.....?

Thanks guys!

[dan7681]

hmmm... not sure what your asking here

First you say you want to stay away from creatine, then you start talking about taking CEE. Do you want just stay away from creatine mono bc your afraid of "bloating" or do you just want to stay away from all forms of creatine?

Anyway I don't know why you wouldn't want to take creatine but the only two things I could think that you might want to give a shot are:
Beta-Alanine
or
Citrulline Malate

[NO HYPE]

"CEE- Reading that theres possible health risks"

Water has also been found to pose health risks....

Anyways.... there's nothing but creatine and minimal amounts of ethanol within CEE.

Once ingested, the creatine and ethanol is dissociated.

The creatine saturates the skeletal muscles and tissue, and is availible as an ATP substrate, and the remainning ethanol, is converted to CO2 and excreted.

[SI03 Board Rep]

If you want a creatine that doesn't give you bloating like mono can I would suggest you look at Swole V3 it is di creatine malate which doesn't give you any type of bloating. Also it mixes well and taste great which is a big plus if you have ever taken bulk cee before.

[Alphy]

Sorry I wasnt clear enough.

Im not ruling out creatine totally, hence the reason I mentioned CEE.....im just not liking the water gain ill most likely put on with creatine mono. Ive read the the CEE actually has a high risk of being toxic.

I guess this is where im coming from: Id love something to help my muscles recover faster like creatine but the possible issues with CEE that I have read scare me. di creatine malate......now what in the world is that?!

[ragnar1199]

First off, let me say that I'm not saying that CEE and glyco are bad, but I've personally decided not to use any products that contain them anymore. I just happened to make a small list yesterday of creatine formulas I would like to try that don't contain either. They are:

MAN Orotine
MAN Clout
AST Micronized Creatine (Just plain mono)
Dorian Yates Approved Pro-GF
Ultimate Nutrition F-16
Controlled Labs Green Magnitude

There are others, those are just the ones I would like to try. I would also like to point out that I'm not saying companies that use CEE and Glyco are bad. Hope this helps.

[nintendodude]

If you want a creatine that doesn't give you bloating like mono can I would suggest you look at Swole V3 it is di creatine malate which doesn't give you any type of bloating. Also it mixes well and taste great which is a big plus if you have ever taken bulk cee before.

If you value your health, stay away from products like Swole which contain Glycocyamine.

[MegaHercules]

You gain 6-20 lb. when you take creatine? wow

[Alphy]

You gain 6-20 lb. when you take creatine? wow

Thats just what I read in an article on here......for a 200pound guy.

[getbustered]

If you want a creatine that doesn't give you bloating like mono can I would suggest you look at Swole V3 it is di creatine malate which doesn't give you any type of bloating. Also it mixes well and taste great which is a big plus if you have ever taken bulk cee before.

I have an idea.


S.......T.......F......U


To the OP, mono doesn't cause bloating in everyone, and unless you are already at a very low bf%, I doubt you notice it much at all. If you have adequate water intake, that will also help reduce any bloating. Not to mention that it is temporary.

If you do decide against mono completely, there are tons of products out there that contain creatine.

Here's 3 off the top of my head that are blends with different things in them:
MAN Clout
Green Mag
SizeOn

Read about some of your different options and pick one.

[Alphy]

Thanks guys...thanks alot.

To be truthful....the big reason behind not wanting the bloating is because right now my main goal is fat loss and im afraid the extra water bloating will mentally bring me down. I like seeing the gains im making, id hate to see things start to go the other way(and yes I realize its only temp water gain, but still).

Hopefully ya can understand where im coming from with this. Maybe ill try some mono and see how it goes! Ill def look into the other choices you listed...they seem pretty popular!

[SPACECLOWN]

Some CEE alternatives.

Kre-Alkalyn like Kreaceps, Purple-K etc.
Citruline Malate - Body Octane, Citruvol
Cordyceps - Cordygen5
Mono - tried and true, I do not "bloat" on mono.

Good Luck!

[zergling]

To the OP:

IMO, bloating from creatine monohydrate means you ingested more creatine than your muscles can absorb. I've tested creatine monohydrate on myself (postworkout, added to Gatorade and Xtend) and here are my conclusions:

10g - I get bloated, all the time.
5g - Sometimes I get bloated, most of the time I don't.
2.5g - Never bloated.

Oh, a good read on hydration -- http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=332329

Hope that helps

[jkdz3436]

You said you are ruling out creatine totaly but yet you talk about CEE. CEE is still creatine. I would use, Metrx Amped, Swole V3, Xpand. Those are really good choices. And I don't think they cause any bloating.

[naturalguy]

I've never gotten bloated from mono, nor have I seen anyone get bloated from it. It draws water INTO the muscle cell not between the muscle and skin

My favorite creatine supplement is Animal Pump

[Alphy]

You said you are ruling out creatine totaly but yet you talk about CEE. CEE is still creatine. I would use, Metrx Amped, Swole V3, Xpand. Those are really good choices. And I don't think they cause any bloating.

Maybe the thread title is alittle misleading, but I stated in the first sentence that I was refering to creatine mono due to the bloating. I realize CEE is creatine as well. Sorry for not being clearer.

[Alphy]

Ya think Citrulline Malate is the way to go....over creatine?

[dan7681]

Ya think Citrulline Malate is the way to go....over creatine?

I wouldn't choose it over creatine. But if for some reason I did not want to use creatine I think the best option would be a citrulline Malate/Beta alanine combo.

[TinyMan]

Ya think Citrulline Malate is the way to go....over creatine?

This is really an apples and oranges question. Citrulline has a lot of interesting properties, but it doesn't work the same way that creatine does. A primer on Citrulline and a primer on creatine (I don't like the loading phase suggested).

Keep in mind, citrulline supplementation tends to be more expensive than creatine (especially when supplementing with 5+ grams of citrulline). Creatine is a very cheap substance to buy. If buying creatine, I do recommend creatine monohydrate highly, as just the bulk powder. However, you have stated that you don't particularly care to deal with the bloat.

I'm going to pose the question though: why are you worried about the extra water weight? Additionally, I don't think you're going to add 20 lbs of water, but your lower range was reasonable for it (depending on size). Adding some water into the muscles isn't a bad thing; in fact, it does add a bit of hydration to the body, when you think about it.

[uhockey]

Designer Supplements Cherry Xceed – info/feedback

[getbustered]

This is really an apples and oranges question. Citrulline has a lot of interesting properties, but it doesn't work the same way that creatine does. A primer on Citrulline and a primer on creatine (I don't like the loading phase suggested).

Keep in mind, citrulline supplementation tends to be more expensive than creatine (especially when supplementing with 5+ grams of citrulline). Creatine is a very cheap substance to buy. If buying creatine, I do recommend creatine monohydrate highly, as just the bulk powder. However, you have stated that you don't particularly care to deal with the bloat.

I'm going to pose the question though: why are you worried about the extra water weight? Additionally, I don't think you're going to add 20 lbs of water, but your lower range was reasonable for it (depending on size). Adding some water into the muscles isn't a bad thing; in fact, it does add a bit of hydration to the body, when you think about it.

I agree. I don't think the bloating is an issue, and using citrulline at even suggested dosages is much more expensive than using creatine at suggested doses. I think most bottles of bulk suggest 6g daily, split into 2 doses. And PA talked before about thinking somewhere around 12g would be optimal. So at that dosage, creatine is definitely the more cost effective supplement.

Right now, I'm personally really interested in beta-alanine. BA and creatine sounds very promising. I actually have about half a container of bulk citrulline, so I might experiment with that some more in the future, too.

[flexedbiceps]

If you value your health, stay away from products like Swole which contain Glycocyamine.

I wouldn't go that far. I have taken Swole before and its actually a good product and my health is just fine.

[getbustered]

I wouldn't go that far. I have taken Swole before and its actually a good product and my health is just fine.

I don't think he's saying Swole singularly, but there are long-term health concerns about glycocyamine, which is found in Swole and some other products.

[Alphy]

Thanks for the great input guys.

In short, whats the difference between the two(Creatine and Citrulline Malate). Yes I have read the articles...a bit much in some aspects. They both seem to aid in muscle recovery.

[Alphy]

also, whats the best creatine to get...micronized?

[TinyMan]

also, whats the best creatine to get...micronized?

Creapure creatine is a good one to look for; I believe Prolab's creatine monohydrate is creapure, it is also a decent deal (Dymatize also looks good). Micronized refers to the particle size, and I believe to meet creapure standards, there is a similar particulate size requirement, but I'm not sure.

[nintendodude]

I don't think he's saying Swole singularly, but there are long-term health concerns about glycocyamine, which is found in Swole and some other products.

No, I'm not singling out Swole. Any product that contains glycocyamine is simply being irresponsible to its customers. Simply do a search on bb.com or even google; you'll be upset by what you read.