WWAW Creatine

[Imager]

Just ordered some to help my lifting. Is it worth it?

 

[CarolMaxheinie]

Yes, as long as your kidney function is otherwise normal.

 

[Mitch Weaver]

@CarolMaxheinie Im easing my way back into working out after doing blow and drinking shit beer every weekend for two years. I’ve started lifting lite and doing some jogging but I’ve got a ways to go. Should I focus on cardio, weights or both ? Goal is to lose the spare tire/tone up and pray I have an ass as scrumptious as yours one day.

oh and sorry for thread jacking.

 

[Imager]

@CarolMaxheinie Im easing my way back into working out after doing blow and drinking shit beer every weekend for two years. I’ve started lifting lite and doing some jogging but I’ve got a ways to go. Should I focus on cardio, weights or both ? Goal is to lose the spare tire/tone up and pray I have an ass as scrumptious as yours one day.

oh and sorry for thread jacking.

Not sure if I'm doing it right myself, but I've been doing stronglifts 5x5 since the summer. I have a gut to lose, but I believe that building muscle first will help the cardio bit go easier and even if I'm wrong, it should allow cardio to burn more calories (muscles burn more than fat). That's my theory anyway.

 

[EraGodless]

Just ordered some to help my lifting. Is it worth it?

Yes if you're body responds to it (well, no shit). For some people it doesn't work- at all. I'm not one of those people. When I used it in my early 20's to mid-30's, it was very effective and I noticeable differences in a week or so.

Key is to stay hydrated- avoid alcohol while cycling (and really diuretics).

The only shitty part is that when you come off a cycle, you will generally notice a 20% or maybe even higher loss in strength and stamina.

 

[EraGodless]

Not sure if I'm doing it right myself, but I've been doing stronglifts 5x5 since the summer. I have a gut to lose, but I believe that building muscle first will help the cardio bit go easier and even if I'm wrong, it should allow cardio to burn more calories (muscles burn more than fat). That's my theory anyway.

Concentrate on your nutrition- garbage in and garbage out-- ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE NOT IN YOUR 20'S ANYMORE.

 

[Snake]

It helps with recovery and performance, but you'll retain water.

 

[Not bad]

@CarolMaxheinie Im easing my way back into working out after doing blow and drinking shit beer every weekend for two years. I’ve started lifting lite and doing some jogging but I’ve got a ways to go. Should I focus on cardio, weights or both ? Goal is to lose the spare tire/tone up and pray I have an ass as scrumptious as yours one day.

oh and sorry for thread jacking.

Cardio is almost pointless if your goal is just to lose fat and tone up. Just don't eat what you would've burned with cardio, and spend that time on muscles instead. You can eat more in two minutes than you can burn with an hour of cardio.

I guess the caveat is that you might want better stamina for some strength workouts, but if you have a gut you're probably not at that level of exercise yet anyway.

Of course there's plenty of other benefits to cardio, but I'd wait until I was in the shape I wanted. I run now and then so I can eat more junk basically.

 

[potatopeeler63]

Tony always comes in wit da fawkin truth bomb

ime it really doesn't do anything, it just makes the cells retain more water so you can do some extra reps, so creatine by itself wont do anything for muscle mass, you have to put in the work.

but the results with or without are negligble ime

and the kidney thing is a myth peddled by doctors who went to medschool in the 80s, just like the egg yolk= bad for cholesterol myth.
creatine becomes creatinine when it's processes and normally that's used as a sign for kidney damage as a bio marker, but the two are unrelated. there's been no studies linking creatine to kidney damage, but i think a lot have shown to increase memory, good stuff for blood work, etc

this is what i remember so im not preaching the gospel of john or anything

if anything after 6 months -year of lifting hard consistently, just go on a trt dose. most guys past 30 have low t anyways, and then some women may even call you sexy

 

[potatopeeler63]

Cardio is almost pointless if your goal is just to lose fat and tone up. Just don't eat what you would've burned with cardio, and spend that time on muscles instead. You can eat more in two minutes than you can burn with and hour of cardio.

I guess the caveat is that you might want better stamina for some strength workouts, but if you have a gut you're probably not at that level of exercise yet anyway.

Of course there's plenty of other benefits to cardio, but I'd wait until I was in the shape I wanted. I run now and then so I can eat more junk basically.

have a gold, kind redditor

what he said, just lift heavy doing compounds (shoulder press, squat, dumbell bench (bench is hard on the shoulders without the best form),, barbell rows, etc, some accessory work like curls, tricep pulldowns, dumbell laterals, 3-5x a week for an hour in the gym, throw in some incline treadmill walking 30 min 2-3x a week, cut out the booze and stay in a calorie deficit (literally eat whatever you want it doesnt matter as long as youre in a deficit) and the fat will shed like da butta on my nonnas grease skillet before she made her famous clam sauce, madone

 

[Snake]

Tony always comes in wit da fawkin truth bomb

ime it really doesn't do anything, it just makes the cells retain more water so you can do some extra reps, so creatine by itself wont do anything for muscle mass, you have to put in the work.

but the results with or without are negligble ime

and the kidney thing is a myth peddled by doctors who went to medschool in the 80s, just like the egg yolk= bad for cholesterol myth.
creatine becomes creatinine when it's processes and normally that's used as a sign for kidney damage as a bio marker, but the two are unrelated. there's been no studies linking creatine to kidney damage, but i think a lot have shown to increase memory, good stuff for blood work, etc

this is what i remember so im not preaching the gospel of john or anything

if anything after 6 months -year of lifting hard consistently, just go on a trt dose. most guys past 30 have low t anyways, and then some women may even call you sexy

I might of tried creatine very early into lifting in my early 20s but quickly stopped it.

The TRT thing is a sad reality. Although you can slow it down by being active. Once you’re in your 20s, it dips going forward.
The Cumias just live off booze and greasy food, it’s no wonder they’re hairless bloated whales now.

 

[Udders]

Creatine absolutely works. Once I was saturated with it, my lifts went up dramatically. I also haven't cycled off it for several years.

 

[WhereWeAt]

Cardio is almost pointless if your goal is just to lose fat and tone up. Just don't eat what you would've burned with cardio, and spend that time on muscles instead. You can eat more in two minutes than you can burn with an hour of cardio.

I guess the caveat is that you might want better stamina for some strength workouts, but if you have a gut you're probably not at that level of exercise yet anyway.

Of course there's plenty of other benefits to cardio, but I'd wait until I was in the shape I wanted. I run now and then so I can eat more junk basically.

If you're reading this, you need cardio. You're correct that people exaggerate how it will help them lose weight, but it does build stamina and heart health. It'll negate muscle building, that's true, but it's better for your long-term, and since everyone here is at least over 30, that should be our focus. Just don't think it's some miracle cure to fatness, cause diet is the biggest determinant there, brothaman.

 

[RedGlareRecipient]

since everyone here is at least over 30

Late 20s, why?

 

[Not bad]

If you're reading this, you need cardio. You're correct that people exaggerate how it will help them lose weight, but it does build stamina and heart health. It'll negate muscle building, that's true, but it's better for your long-term, and since everyone here is at least over 30, that should be our focus. Just don't think it's some miracle cure to fatness, cause diet is the biggest determinant there, brothaman.

Yeah just eat regular home-cooked food and you'll look fine eventually even without much exercise I guess.

 

[CarolMaxheinie]

A lot of good info here. I’ll add my take:

If you’re hoping to lose body fat and gain muscle, nutrition is the key and I preach a plyometric-focused balance. What I mean is you should focus on eating a high protein diet (track your macros and aim for a 40%/30%/30% ratio of protein/fats/carbs. I personally shoot for 15% carb and subsequent increase in protein, but many find that unsustainable. This nutrition focus is the key…nothing else will work very well if you fall on this step.

In terms of strength work, definitely lift and don’t neglect stretching, balance, and core work too. As we age, those stabilizer muscles become more crucial.

Finally, someone asked about cardio. You should ease into a cardio routine focused on EASY RUNS. Based on how much time you’d like to devote to it, set up and stick to a routine of 3-4 runs per week at a pace where you could talk to a running partner without losing your breath. No sprints (for now), no push paces, just a nice easy pleasant run. This will do a few things: it will help build your leg muscles, it’ll give your metabolism a boost, and it’ll gradually improve your cardiovascular endurance. This helps for when you shed some weight and decide to up your cardio game later on.

 

[LingerLonger]

DO NOT load the creatine when you first get it. Just take normal doses right from the start, and drink lots of water. Eat fruits as well like melons, pineapple, that have a lot of water as well. Everyone on my team took creatine in college and you could tell it helped us with retaining muscle and recovering from practice and from games.

Also do not do a lot of cardio if you are very heavy or obese. Diet heavily, and lift weights, and do light cardio to ease the workload on your joints and body. Then once you lose some weight, you can start running or doing heavy cardio programs. A lot of cardio like running when you are overweight will exhaust you and wear your body down. Best to focus on diet or fasting even and put yourself through a full body weightlifting program to build some muscle first.

 

[guest]

creatine is cheap and effective af...it should be a staple for anyone who is thinking health/fitness.

 

[Guyincognito]

@CarolMaxheinie Im easing my way back into working out after doing blow and drinking shit beer every weekend for two years. I’ve started lifting lite and doing some jogging but I’ve got a ways to go. Should I focus on cardio, weights or both ? Goal is to lose the spare tire/tone up and pray I have an ass as scrumptious as yours one day.

oh and sorry for thread jacking.

Weights bro. Always weights when you’re young. You can get into cardio when you’re older. Build up that testosterone producing muscle when you’re young and still can. Don’t neglect cardio by any means, but if you can only do one today, lift some weights. Squats and deadlifts will also burn an absurd amount of calories

 

[Guyincognito]

A lot of good info here. I’ll add my take:

If you’re hoping to lose body fat and gain muscle, nutrition is the key and I preach a plyometric-focused balance. What I mean is you should focus on eating a high protein diet (track your macros and aim for a 40%/30%/30% ratio of protein/fats/carbs. I personally shoot for 15% carb and subsequent increase in protein, but many find that unsustainable. This nutrition focus is the key…nothing else will work very well if you fall on this step.

In terms of strength work, definitely lift and don’t neglect stretching, balance, and core work too. As we age, those stabilizer muscles become more crucial.

Finally, someone asked about cardio. You should ease into a cardio routine focused on EASY RUNS. Based on how much time you’d like to devote to it, set up and stick to a routine of 3-4 runs per week at a pace where you could talk to a running partner without losing your breath. No sprints (for now), no push paces, just a nice easy pleasant run. This will do a few things: it will help build your leg muscles, it’ll give your metabolism a boost, and it’ll gradually improve your cardiovascular endurance. This helps for when you shed some weight and decide to up your cardio game later on.

This is also fantastic advice. Esp easing yourself into cardio. I’ve seen way too many people abandon a fitness routine because they go too hard the first two weeks at an unsustainable pace. Even if you feel wussy doing a run and walk for the first couple of weeks, that’s still light years better than sitting on the couch under a pink blanky not doing anything