Creatine for tennis?

[jagsfan05]

For those of you that need some background information on me, I am 23 years old. Currently I am 6'1", 150 lbs. I am a vegetarian and just lately I have started eating real strict which made me drop to 150. I am usually 170.

I used to be more into lifting weights than tennis, and I was at one point 190 lbs. I took creatine, nitric oxide, protein powder, etc. I stopped lifting weights except for on my legs, because now I am strictly all about tennis so I just want to play tennis all the time and put effort on my legs in the weight room.

Here is the thing. All throughout my life I have been called chicken legs. I have the skinniest bone structure through my legs, and they are extremely long. They have always been a nuisance to me.

Now the question is, do you think there would be anything wrong with me going back on creatine to build up my leg strength and get these legs to looking normal when I am on the tennis court? I am not doing it just for looks, but just to get them stronger and better for playing tennis. Since I started going to the weight room again for building up my legs, I can tell my legs have gotten bigger without me even being on creatine. But they are still pretty odd looking.

You think it would be ok or would this be "cheating"? Can anyone else relate to my body structure? Tall and skinny with chicken legs? Lol

[TomMutaffis]

I would look into Creatine and Beta-Alanine, both could help to increase your performance on the court and neither one is a banned substance.

[KimJong-il]

as long as you dont feel that being 5lbs heavier will effect your game.

[bodybuilder03]

As Tom said creatine and beta-alanine can both benefit you. Maybe look into taking kre-alkalyn or even EFX's CellRush which is a blend of kre-alkalyn and beta-alanine, which both compunds will greatly help with your strength and endurance both in the gym and on the tennis court. Plus an advantage with kre-alklayn you will not be carrying around any extra water weight, you will get very lean dry gains.

It sounds like you just have a long lengthy frame, which there is nothing you can do other than kill it in the gym, diet and supps. What hurts you is you are constantly doing cardio with playing so much tennis, so maybe in the gym focus on some heavier squats and legs presses to add some size, keeping heavy weight and lower reps, but continue with your tennis training so you do not loose the endurance that is required to make it through a match or 2 in a row.

[drxmn]

For those of you that need some background information on me, I am 23 years old. Currently I am 6'1", 150 lbs. I am a vegetarian and just lately I have started eating real strict which made me drop to 150. I am usually 170.

I used to be more into lifting weights than tennis, and I was at one point 190 lbs. I took creatine, nitric oxide, protein powder, etc. I stopped lifting weights except for on my legs, because now I am strictly all about tennis so I just want to play tennis all the time and put effort on my legs in the weight room.

Here is the thing. All throughout my life I have been called chicken legs. I have the skinniest bone structure through my legs, and they are extremely long. They have always been a nuisance to me.

Now the question is, do you think there would be anything wrong with me going back on creatine to build up my leg strength and get these legs to looking normal when I am on the tennis court? I am not doing it just for looks, but just to get them stronger and better for playing tennis. Since I started going to the weight room again for building up my legs, I can tell my legs have gotten bigger without me even being on creatine. But they are still pretty odd looking.

You think it would be ok or would this be "cheating"? Can anyone else relate to my body structure? Tall and skinny with chicken legs? Lol

Take it from a tennis player...

if it doesnt have anything for pumps, go for it. At least, around play time. Stick to efficacious forms of creatine; stay away from kre alk, CEE, etc. There is nothing "cheating" about creatine.

I remember a tournament where I took superpump or something similar (before I was with Gaspari) and a creatine product that also had pump enhancers, and by the end of the first set I was cramped so bad I could hardly sprint.

I have a 4.5 tournament coming up and Ill probably take half a dose of sizeon mp before the match. But when in the weight room, take what you want. Creatine isnt cheating in tennis any more than it is in any other part of life.

For other supplements that will help during tennis, get a multi, protein powder(s), and maybe look into something for energy. Ive also found a combo of Omega sports' ONE in one bottle and powerade/similar drink in another bottle to be a great combo for tournament time.

[TigerStealth]

As Tom said creatine and beta-alanine can both benefit you. Maybe look into taking kre-alkalyn or even EFX's CellRush which is a blend of kre-alkalyn and beta-alanine, which both compunds will greatly help with your strength and endurance both in the gym and on the tennis court. Plus an advantage with kre-alklayn you will not be carrying around any extra water weight, you will get very lean dry gains.

It sounds like you just have a long lengthy frame, which there is nothing you can do other than kill it in the gym, diet and supps. What hurts you is you are constantly doing cardio with playing so much tennis, so maybe in the gym focus on some heavier squats and legs presses to add some size, keeping heavy weight and lower reps, but continue with your tennis training so you do not loose the endurance that is required to make it through a match or 2 in a row.

Very well said, and I agree. I will just add that I use to be a very high level tennis player and still can hit pretty well.

I found that creatine is great for overall strength which translates into a more powerful serve/backhand (if you use a 2 handed backhand). Just make sure to drink a LOT of water, especially with all the water you sweat out from tennis

[longhorns_p]

Bulk beta-alanine and creatine monohydrate would serve (pun intended) you well.

[oomph]

Very well said, and I agree. I will just add that I use to be a very high level tennis player and still can hit pretty well.

I found that creatine is great for overall strength which translates into a more powerful serve/backhand (if you use a 2 handed backhand). Just make sure to drink a LOT of water, especially with all the water you sweat out from tennis

True that..

Water, water, water to make sure you stay out of bad cramping!

There is some supplements exclusively for tennis player on the market now.. interesting readings.

[hedfullofmusic]

Damn dude you need to gain some weight.

[drxmn]

True that..

Water, water, water to make sure you stay out of bad cramping!

There is some supplements exclusively for tennis player on the market now.. interesting readings.

they are almost completely bull**** however. Kind of like the creatinine bottles from a few years back that were advertised in Tennis magazine (that I bought when I was 16 lol).

Stick to athletic performance supplements and possibly joint supplements. Proven forms of creatine (aka NOT CEE or kre alk), beta alanine is fine, electrolytes, good carb sources, etc. Avoid pump products, unless you are a 3.0 or something where no one cares.

[ISurfNudeBrah]

My older brother was a D1 college tennis player, lifts with me 4-6x per week. Lifting definately aided him in his tennis game, gave him an awesome powerful serve. He takes creatine/fish oil/ multi vitamins, protein.. all the staples.

He also has chicken legs insanely bad... and that is mostly genetics, as well as not doing heavy leg compound lifts while growing up. Doing squats, legpress, lunges, single leg squats/lunges will only benefit you and help your legs grow and build mass. Form > weight. Get that full Range of Motion. Doing these exercises helped him build a much more solid lower half, I definately recommend you do squats, legpress, and the rest I listed above.

IMO taking creatine will benefit you with doing anything athletic/exercise. I'd definately look into a creatine supplement, Creapure mainly. Allmax makes great creapure for cheap.

[drxmn]

My older brother was a D1 college tennis player, lifts with me 4-6x per week. Lifting definately aided him in his tennis game, gave him an awesome powerful serve. He takes creatine/fish oil/ multi vitamins, protein.. all the staples.

He also has chicken legs insanely bad... and that is mostly genetics, as well as not doing heavy leg compound lifts while growing up. Doing squats, legpress, lunges, single leg squats/lunges will only benefit you and help your legs grow and build mass. Form > weight. Get that full Range of Motion. Doing these exercises helped him build a much more solid lower half, I definately recommend you do squats, legpress, and the rest I listed above.

IMO taking creatine will benefit you with doing anything athletic/exercise. I'd definately look into a creatine supplement, Creapure mainly. Allmax makes great creapure for cheap.

oh look a non pimp rep, how refreshing

good adivce. Also doing deep squats and DLs definitely helped my baseline game and hops.

Another thing to do are exercises that help the stabilizing muscles. Nothing like coming down from an awkward overhead on one foot and not having good stabilizers.

[ISurfNudeBrah]

oh look a non pimp rep, how refreshing

good adivce. Also doing deep squats and DLs definitely helped my baseline game and hops.

Another thing to do are exercises that help the stabilizing muscles. Nothing like coming down from an awkward overhead on one foot and not having good stabilizers.

Just here to give advice my man. Try to help out the public.

[drxmn]

Just here to give advice my man. Try to help out the public.

Good. Some people see a newbie question on the forum and are all over it like fat on oprah.

[ISurfNudeBrah]

Good. Some people see a newbie question on the forum and are all over it like fat on oprah.

I was a newbie 3-4 yrs ago... Gotta start and learn from somewhere.

[Leah86]

Creatine may be helpful for well-trained athletes to increase exercise performance and strength, however if you decided to be strictly about tennis, I would suggest acceformula (aceformula.com). It's a natural product, low on calories and it's especially designed for tennis players. Playing tennis means you might develop joint problems, so that's definitely something to take into consideration when you're choosing your supplements. Also, tennis players tend to get tired more quickly, coffee is a great energy booster but chances are it's going to make you dependent.
If you have ant doubts, try talking to a nutritionist.
Leah

[kimbotslice1]

thread is obviously a bit dated, but i would say from my experience that whilst on creatine itself, I found my concentration and energy levels on court decreasing - it could just be a physchological effect however, as I am now taking an all in one and feel fine on court

my only advice would be to not get so big that you lose your speed and agility on the court

[KimJong-il]

thread is obviously a bit dated, but i would say from my experience that whilst on creatine itself, I found my concentration and energy levels on court decreasing - it could just be a physchological effect however, as I am now taking an all in one and feel fine on court

my only advice would be to not get so big that you lose your speed and agility on the court

Creatine wouldnt make you big unless you trained and dieted for it so that wouldnt be a concern.

Your point in your post is one of the reasons I cycle off creatine for a minimum of 6 weeks once or twice a year. It just gets boring and you dont notice anything. The placebo psychological boost you may initially get from creatine can go a long way imo should you take advantage of it (motivation).