A Healthline piece about creatine: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/creatine-safety-and-side-effects
I remember seriously working out as a teenager developing my body, reading books, muscle and fitness magazines,....taking whey protein milk shakes, creatine, learning about various GNC supplements, and having a proper diet. My body went from Urkel to a professional football player over the course of a year, or year and a half. Everyone around me back then noticed.
Having second thoughts about giving it a go again: https://insidebodybuilding.com/is-creatine-healthy/
Hmm. Increasing the risk of testicular cancer? https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/h...ding-supplements-linked-to-testicular-cancer/ https://news.brown.edu/articles/2015/04/muscles https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...se-of-muscle-building-supplements-and-cancer/ I don't know what to make of these findings, apart from holding the matter of taking creatine in abeyance.
I saw my doctor last week and discussed the possibility of taking creatine. He was indifferent to the idea since I had gotten a clean bill of health. And so, I am 6 days in having taken 3 servings of 5 grams each on the first day, and 4 such servings on each of the following 5 days. I gather that for my size I should be saturated by now (115 grams in total thus far). I don’t feel different, I look no different, not having gained a single pound, and today was my second workout while on the stuff and I am not a single rep stronger. And this on the day that my muscles should theoretically be saturated. What gives? Any thoughts?
Some people are non responders. I took it a year or so ago. Same dose as you're taking, and I was on it for about 6 weeks. I did see about a 3 lb. weight gain, no appreciable strength gain, no I feel like superman in the gym. Didn't really want to experiment with a larger dose. Seemed a waste of time and money, but I do know guys that swear by it. I have seen more gains in the last few months simply by increasing effort through changes in momentum of the movements and more recovery time for growth.
Yes, I figured I'm a non-responder. Perhaps if I gave it some more time it might play out a bit differently. After all, it has only been six days (as of yesterday), although as I noted I should be fully saturated by now, and I did 2 full workouts while on the stuff, including on the last day. Not a single additional rep or added pound of bodyweight beyond normal day-to-day fluctuations. The thing is, I don't think it's worthwhile, or worth the potential risk, for a very small gain. And then you have to keep taking it... As I mentioned in the past, I had taken creatine in the later '90s for a longer while (I think it was for more than a month or two), and I don't recall having been especially pleased. Although I do vaguely remember my pants fitting tighter at the waist, which was not a selling feature. I suppose that since I had lost a fair amount of muscle since my 40s and 50s, creatine might have helped me get some of it back. But even if it were to net me, say, a 5-pound gain, I don't think it's worth taking the stuff indefinitely for such an increment. Two interesting developments about creatine I noted. First, the price seems to have gone up considerably since the time I last looked into it a few years ago. And, second, a number of establishments no longer seem to carry it. If I recall correctly, Costco used to carry it. I know for certain that Walmart did. Neither is carrying it now. I think some pharmacies also sold creatine along with their nutritional supplements, but the four or five pharmacies I visited since deciding to try it again did not have it. That can't be a good sign. I guess I'll just focus on staying lean and staving off age-related sarcopenia with exercise and good nutrition to the exclusion of everything else. On the plus side, I'm actually a bit leaner than I was a couple or so years ago but have not lost any weight. *Sigh* When it comes to getting older, some settling will occur.