Creatine

By now, you’ve certainly heard of it: creatine. 

Creatine monohydrate, creatine phosphate, creatine yada yada, etc.  A few simple things you need to know.

One.  Creatine is the most studied workout supplement out there.  Over 200 pubMED studies show us that using creatine increase lean muscle mass (LMM) by 5%-15%.

Two.  Creatine comes from red meat.  You get about 5g of creatine per kg (2.2lbs) of red meat.  It’s a naturally occurring amino acid in muscle.  It is also found in fish and pork.

Three.  If you have liver, kidney, or blood pressure issues please consult with your doctor before use.  Creatine increases the intracellular water of muscle (can affect blood pressure because of additional water) and also can be stressful to already stressed kidneys and liver.  There haven’t been any good studies to show, even long term, that creatine damages kidney or liver in normal individuals. 

Four.  I take 5g before and 5g after a workout.  I have been doing this for 17 years, without many breaks.  I regularly get physicals and bloodwork and haven’t noticed and adverse reactions.  Some people recommend “loading” in the first few weeks at 20-30g per day.  I personally think it’s a waste of money because most of the initial weight gain is related to holding water anyways.  At those doses the GI (gut) might have trouble with the creatine molecule and cause bloating or discomfort.

I prefer Creapure brand creatine, which can be found as the main ingredient in Vitacost.com’s “house” brand of creatine monohydrate.  Paying more than $25 for 2.2lbs of creatine monohydrate is a rip off and marketing.

Try it for 12 weeks and see how you like it. 

Let me know at info@indymuscle.com or tag us on Instagram with your results @indymuscle_.