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Beware of the Risks to Rippling MusclesApr 06 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Creatine has side-effects, which to me, offset the benefits. I merely enumerate both here, and leave the decision up to the reader.
Update (04/05/01 - 11:49): I was asked by member Roark_8 to include what personal results I saw as a new user to creatine. (See...some people read the comments...thanks!) I didn't want to load, but I doubled up on creatine. The recommended dosage was 5 mg (1 scoop), so I took 10 mg. I guess you could say I "half" loaded. Anyway, I noticed increased stamina. After lifting for an hour, I still had energy, so I'd go run or ride a bike for 20 minutes. Also, there was decreased recovery time, in that I didn't need an extra day of rest between workout days. I only noticed a little increase in muscle mass, but I figured that could be easily attributed to my working out more than I used to. In terms of side-effects...I noticed every one, except kidney failure of course. It aggravated my heart "inconvenience", so I decided it was in my best interest to stop all together. Ok...on to the real review... ======================================================== Ever since Mark McGwire's record-breaking season in 1998 when he crushed Roger Maris' 37 year-old home run record, creatine's popularity sky-rocketed. After it became common knowledge that McGwire used creatine monophosphate to induce more rapid muscle growth, as was evident in his ham-hock forearms, many youths found their way to the local GNC to jump on this bandwagon. I, too, jumped on this bandwagon, and found that the results were not worth the side effects, which I will get to later on. Three years later, not much has changed. Now, the market has ballooned even more, as there is such a wide variety of creatine supplements, leaving the fitness enthusiast at the mercy of GNC-like supplement warehouses. In case you don't know much about creatine, and it's role in the human body, here is an excerpt from the Miller-Keane Medical Dictionary: (kreŽah-tin) Creatine readily combines with phosphate to form phosphocreatine, or creatine phosphate, which is present in muscle, where it serves as the storage form of high-energy phosphate necessary for muscle contraction. If that's a bit confusing, here's the deal...it's naturally occurring in the body, but you can take supplements so that your muscles have a constant supply of this ATP-replenishing wonder. Some common benefits include: 1.) Faster recovery time = longer, more intense, and more frequent workouts. 2.) Increase in body mass 3.) Faster results While the benefits are rather obvious, it's the potential side-effects which have been mildly ignored by the media amidst the McGwire-driven hype. These seriously outnumber the benefits, especially since creatine hasn't been in use long enough to monitor long-term effects. This is an important point to keep in mind. Some common side-effects include: 1.) Dehydration - Left unattended, this can cause serious troubles, most notably, kidney damage. The creatine user must drink lots of liquids to carry the creatine to the muscle, and at the same time, hydrate the body. 2.) Abdominal cramps - This usually results in diarrhea and frequent urination. If you've never experienced this, then consider yourself suspiciously lucky. It's a vicious side-effect, and we'll leave it at that. 3.) Heart problems - Since creatine increases muscle size, don't forget that the heart is a muscle. Yes, the heart will increase in size the more it is exercized, but since I have a benign arrhythmia (my heart skips beats...not too comfortable). I just don't need my heart growing any faster than it needs to, and if you have heart problems, I'd stay away from creatine. 4.) Results do not meet expectations - With all the publicity, I expected so much. It really got to the point where I was using it as an incentive to keep working out, fully knowing that if I stopped, everything I worked for would fade quickly...that's why I've decided natural is better. NOTE: If you purchase creatine, the containers will recommend that you "load" on creatine, or take as much as 3 times the normal amount to fill your muscles with creatine. They recommend that you do this for a week. BEWARE - this is a gimmick. If you load, you use up most of the container within the week (depending on how much you get), so the companies inevitably get more money. Unless you need fast results (i.e. you have a lifting competition coming up shortly, etc.), do not load, it's not worth what your body will go through to handle this new substance. All the side-effects will be more noticeable, but so will the benefits, it's your decision to make. ========================================================= Everything I've said really depends on you, the avid fitness-conscious gym-goer. If you choose to use creatine supplements, keep in mind that you get what you pay for - you get purer creatine if you dish out the cash. I cannot recommend which kind to get, I only went a few weeks on the brand purchased. ========================================================= Thanks for reading!  |
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