Topic: Creatine Supplementation article

[Barry Kinsella]

Hello all,

Eamonn Flanagan--another member of this site-- has generously condensed an article he wrote for the NSCA journal for my blog. It is on creatine and if and how it should be used by weightlifters. I know Chris disagrees with the use of supplements, but I think when coupled with a healthy diet and lifestyle along with the various recuperative methods, supplements can have their benefits. I completely agree that they should not take the place of the above mentioned lifestyle choices.  Anyway, let me know what you think of it.
http://weightliftingepiphanies.blogspot.com/

Barry

[Owen Duguay]

Barry.   You don't need creatine for Olympic Weightlifting.   You can deal with delay of fatigue, facilitate recovery and increase power by many methods.   Sleep enough at night, controle your stress, change your training cards every month, get a good coach to analyse your progress, eat healthy meals, don't drink or smoke, improve your technique, drink a lot of water, watch your attitude about sports, work hard, work very hard, train even harder, rest when your body tells you to, treat yourself every now and then, be nice to your body, listen to your coach, don't train when you hurt, vary your training sessions, and I could go on and on.

There is no need to take creatine.   

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

My position is apparently known but just to clarify in case of any misunderstanding, I almost totally agree with Owen about creatine not being "necessary" or in my words "significantly useful." Simply put, there are better places to spend your money. Add that to the moral dilemma of drawing a line between LEGAL performance enhancing drugs and ILLEGAL performance enhancing drugs (adding in the absurdity of also banning SOME drugs that are not performance enhancing) and I just don't see creatine as the right direction to take an athlete down. It is a "gateway" drug, if I may be so bold and exaggerate greatly.

[John Murdock]

Thank you Barry, I have been using creatine recently for the past 2 weeks, and reading more about it always interests me.  So far I have experienced about 4 lbs of weight gain due to the water retention, and have had an easier time getting thru my workouts.  I know this is anecdotal evidence, and as a physicist I am usually the first to dismiss such data, however, since nothing else changed, I am betting its the creatine.  Anyway, just wanted to say that my experience agreed with the article, and getting more details from it was a help. Thanks!

[Eamonn Flanagan]

My position is apparently known but just to clarify in case of any misunderstanding, I almost totally agree with Owen about creatine not being "necessary" or in my words "significantly useful." Simply put, there are better places to spend your money. Add that to the moral dilemma of drawing a line between LEGAL performance enhancing drugs and ILLEGAL performance enhancing drugs (adding in the absurdity of also banning SOME drugs that are not performance enhancing) and I just don't see creatine as the right direction to take an athlete down. It is a "gateway" drug, if I may be so bold and exaggerate greatly.

Chris, I am glad you admitted that you were exaggerating greatly. There is nothing to suggest that creatine could act as a gateway drug. Its possible, certainly in some individuals, but no more possible than those using aspirin, NSAIDs, caffeine or any one of the massive number of substances which have prevaded out everyday and athletic life. Do you consider caffeine use, before training, also as "not the right direction to take an athlete down". What about a lifter taking a painkiller for a headache to get through training?

In my opinion caffeine is a far more potent and useful supplement for the weightlifter than creatine. Do you see a problem with caffeine? If not, perhaps it is because it is a foodstuff. In that case, then do you see a difference between taking a caffeine pill before training or a very strong cup of coffee before training. Personally, I dont really see a difference between the two to be honest.

Also, I think the argument that "there are better places to spend your money" is a little flat also. Creatine is an incredibly inexpensive supplement. It costs about $15 for 600g which would last well over a month or two. I think one would struggle to get even 20 minutes of massage for that amount or get more 4-5 organically farmed chicken breasts.

I agree with Owen somewhat in the sense that no one "needs" creatine for weightlifting and I wouldnt even countenance advising someone to use the supplement unless their diet is optimised and their recovery practices (sleep etc) and all the other issues Owen mentioned. I dont even use the supplement myself (due to the weight increase issue). But the fact is that creatine does enhance (in responders) acute recovery via the phosphocreatine pathway. All the other issues mentioned (sleep, massage, diet etc) are more chronic recovery modalities.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Eamonn,

What I mean by gateway drug is that looking to powrders, pills, etc is heading down the psychological road toward doping IMO. I am in no way saying it is addictive, just the wrong mindset. I agree caffeine is more beneficial than creatine. Yes, I try to draw the fuzzy line with stuff you would take in normal life (tylenol, aspriin, ibuprofen for a headache) and stuff taken merely to improve performance. Clearly, it is impossible to ever draw an absolutely clear moral line anywhere, maybe in anything in life. But that is where I draw my line. Still, I have recommended a creatine/glutaimine/carb mixture on very, very rare occasions in the last couple years for ADULTS for very short term sitauations, since I think it could have a very slight benefit in the short term. I believe in the long term the body will regain homeostasis by lowering creatine production/recycling as a result of continued supplementation. I believe I read some research to that effect somewhere at some time but I looked around real quick and don't see it. Even without research, it is still my opinion based on my general knowledge and philosophy of life. I make no moral judgments against anyone that uses it, just think its a bad attitude for lifting, especially for kids. As for the money, it all adds up.

Cheers

[Barry Kinsella]

Gentlemen,

This article was written for information purposes only and contains no subjective slant. Eamonn has written an intelligent article that is based on solid research. The beauty of it all is that the research also indicates some people do not respond to creatine in any significant form. This is not a comment on lifestyle choice or ethics. It is simply a scientific study on the effects of adding a supplement to a balanced diet.
This was written by an experienced lifter who does not even use the supplement. I know he has no commercial affiliations. This is an objective study only. Of course one's own opinions come into play when one reads this study, but please remember that one's opinion is not fact. It is simply an opinion that works for you. I only asked Eamonn to condense the article for my blog because I thought some people would like to read an unbiased critical appraisal of a supplement that some consider helpful.

Kind regards,
Barry

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

I think it is a good article.