I wanna take creatine to build muscle and I go to school what would be the best time to take it...and why

FA REAL

I think much like most supplement usage the best time to take these supplements is approx. 30 to 45mins prior to your weight or strenght training routine. or about 15 to 30 mins after your workout. I think its probably more so important to take it before actually. it gives it time to digest and work throughout your muscular system and durnial flow of your body prior to your workout so its working as you work out. I don't take Creatine persay so Im not exactly sure if you should take it several times a day.

i take 100% whey protien shake drinks and I drink one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. And if I go to the gym to work out I may drink an extra one during or after my workout. Im not a good source for this info Im just giving you my perspective as I take mine. Hopefully someone else w/ more expereince in this area wold be more informative.

thanks

I would recommend you to not to take anything of that stuff. alot of the supplements include too much of vitamins and nutrients and therefore you should not eat them too much. If you want to get more mass, do it the natural way, eating flesh or beans or whatever. Actually there are more stuff that builds muscle than protein or creatine. Even salad has some stuff that builds muscle. And apples.
It is all very complicated and not one tablet can give you the answer

Spar.

Creatine is the best and fastest safe way of gaining size in a relatively short amount of time. I have been using it for years and have benefited enormously from it. I started out a long time ago using the plain white kind from EAS Creatine Monohydrate Phosphagen. You know the one....you take it with grape juice and all that. It worked fairly well, but the one that worked REAL well was the CELL TECH creatine. I got the grape flavor (I love grape), and my flat bench press went from 245 (5 reps) to 275 (5 reps) in a matter of a month and a half! My barbell military press went from 90 lbs. (6 reps) to 145 lbs. (5 reps) in two months. For it to work right, you have to already be working out and eating several small meals a day and making some sort of gains as it is...no matter how small. This just gives you that extra mileage so to speak. You can't be working out 2 to 3 times a week, eat 3 meals and expect an huge change. The change is gradual but it is there, it does work, and it is safe. Don't confuse it with steroids. What happens when you take CELL TECH is this: (it's really high in sugar so I don't recommend anyone with diabetes or anyother sugar/health related illness to take it)...you take this right after a workout, and once more 12 hours later for 5 days straight to load your system up. You drink lots of water. Now the high sugar content sends your insulin level soaring high, this process for some reason allows your cells to allow more water into them, maximizing their size, giving you more endurance, strength, and size. Yes creatine not only helps you get bigger, it also helps you last longer in any sport you are doing. You gain all your benefits from it in the first two months, then like a set weight lifting schedule, your body gets used to it so you need to get off of it for a couple months. You then after changing your routine around and shocking your muscles into growing again, get back on it a couple months later (like I said). I don't know what works for other guys but I found a few things that help speed up the progress:

1. Eat 5 to 6 small meals a day 2 to 3 hours apart (like I said earlier)
2. Workout each muscle group from different angles twice a week, 4 sets of 4 different exercises hitting the same muscle from 4 different angles. Try doing two muscle groups back to back in each session for instance:

a. Chest and Back (mon and thurs)
b. Biceps and Triceps (tues and fri)
c. Legs and Shoulders (wed and sat)

3. Drink lots of water (like I said)
4. Minimize your cardio to no more than half an hour, 4 or 5 times a week.

If I am really interested in gaining size I want my metabolism to slow down a little. This is to gain ANY weight...fat or muscle. Cause if you do too much cardio, your body will just burn too many calories everyday and you will not get any growth benefits. There is always a compromise when working out....losing fat and gaining muscle. It's VERY hard to gain a lot and lose a lot at the same time. Also what body type you are effects the kind of results you will get....

1. Ectomorph - small boned, muscle gains difficult, loses weight fast, high metabolism (Bruce Lee, light weight boxers and light weight UFC fighers, etc.)

2. Mesmomorph - perfect genes another words.....you gain a proportionate amount of muscle, you have a relatively good build, not too big, and you lose fat at an even pace (Jean Claude Van Damme, Slyvester Stallone, many gymnasts, swimmers, etc.)

3. Endomorph - Gains muscle and fat weight very fast and finds any weight hard to lose. Big boned with very low metabolism. (A lot of your professional WCW wrestlers, some powerlifters, heavyweight bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger although I think he is a combo of Mesmomorph and Endomorph. Also some bouncers and bikers.

Also there is inbetween stages like I mentioned with Arnold....Mesmo-Endomorph. There are some like me that is Ecto-mesmomorph, etc.

Anyways, hope this all helps!

I always wondered which group of morphs i fell into....For the longest time I kept telling myself that there had to be an imbetween group...cause im like the mix of the guy that is larger boned, easily to gain weight and harder to put it off, yet not very muscular built on my upper section, however my lower half legs and thighs are very defined and thick...oh well that helps me understand that thanks.

You don't need that Creatine stuff. Eat like the animal that you are, eat lots of proteins, such as Chicken, Beef, Bison, Rabbit, Deer... Etc. And don't forget to eat your spinach! Spinach (and other veggie's) is jam packed with nutrients that are great for you; it has everything your body needs in order to become stronger, such as protein. If you want muscle, then you got to work at it. Even if Creatine does work, mentally, it would be your crutch.


Spinach, is exceptionally rich in carotenoids, including beta-carotene and lutein, and also contains quercetin, a phytochemical with antioxidant properties. Spinach is rich in vitamins and minerals, particularly folate (folic acid), vitamin K, magnesium, and manganese; it also contains more protein than most vegetables.


I love me spinach!

Gama ate like a Hindu Wrestler!



Supposedly he ate 4 whole chickens a day and ate butter. I used to joke around with friends that wanted to gain weight, I would say, Eat a tub of lard everyday, this wasn't too far fetched, judging by what the "Great Gama" ate.

Here's some reading material on this legendary wrestler, and over all Hindu methods.

www.aafla.com/SportsLibra...H0402c.pdf


www.lotusmedia.co.uk/sikh...stling.pdf

Len, you said that it's a good idea for people to change their weight lifting routines every 2 months. In what way would you go about changing a routine and still gain muscle? What are the different routines that I could use? Shocking the system makes total sense to me, but how could I do it?

For example. Here is a work out (not my routine), how can I change it?

-Biceps < Dumbbell Curls - 3 Sets / 10 reps with 40 Lbs >
-Triceps < Bar pull down - 3 Sets / 10 reps with 25 Lbs >

-Chest <Bench Press - 3 Sets / 10 reps with 150 Lbs >
-Shoulders <Military Press - 3 Sets / 10 Reps with 100 Lbs >



How can I shock the muscle into some new growth?

"Len, you said that it's a good idea for people to change their weight lifting routines every 2 months. In what way would you go about changing a routine and still gain muscle? What are the different routines that I could use? Shocking the system makes total sense to me, but how could I do it?
For example. Here is a work out (not my routine), how can I change it?

-Biceps < Dumbbell Curls - 3 Sets / 10 reps with 40 Lbs >
-Triceps < Bar pull down - 3 Sets / 10 reps with 25 Lbs >
-Chest <Bench Press - 3 Sets / 10 reps with 150 Lbs >
-Shoulders <Military Press - 3 Sets / 10 Reps with 100 Lbs >

How can I shock the muscle into some new growth?"


___________________________________________________________________________

Basically that workout is good for any of the following:

a. People that are on the go and don't have a lot of time to devote to gradual and consistent gains but still want an overall full body workout to get some exercise in.
b. A martial artist that doesn't want to lift too much in fear that sore muscles will either slow his strikes down or make his muscles too sore to do any technique training. Most martial artists that follow that sort of a routine are more interested in cardio conditioning.
c. A beginner that is starting out and doesn't want to do too much too soon. They want to get their muscles used to working out basically.

First off, the reps are too high. You would make some gains intitally, but overall you would not be gaining your full potential in muscle. I would do that workout the first month or two, then possibly go into something like this:

Mon and Thurs - Back and Chest

1. Incline Bench Press (3 sets of 6)
2. Decline Butterflies (3 sets of 6)
3. Dumbell Bent over Rows (3 sets of 6)
4. Hyperextensions (3 sets of 6)

Tues and Fri - Biceps and Triceps

1. Barbell Curl (3 sets of 6)
2. Incline Dumbell Curl (3 sets of 6)
3. Lying Tricep extension (3 sets of 6)
4. Cable pull downs (3 sets of 6)

Wed and Sat - Legs and Shoulders

1. Dumbell Lunges
2. Squat
3. Dumbell Press
4. Dumbell Raise

Then after a couple months of this, try something like:

______________________________________________________________________

Mon and Thurs - Chest and Back

1. Cable Cross overs (4 sets of 6)
2. Pull over (4 sets of 6)
3. Finger push-ups (4 sets of a.s.a.p.)
4. Barbell Bent over Rows (4 sets of 6)
5. Deadlift (4 sets of 6)
6. Cable Lat Pull Down (4 sets of 6)


Tues and Fri - Biceps and Triceps

1. Alternate Dumbell Curl (4 sets of 6)
2. Concentration Hammer Curl (4 sets of 6)
3. Regular Palm up Pull Up (4 sets of a.m.a.p.)
4. Cable Tricep Pull Down (4 sets of 6)
5. Weighted Dips (4 sets of 6)
6. Standing Dumbell Tricep Extension

Wed and Sat - Legs and Shoulders

1. Leg Extensions (4 sets of 8)
2. Leg Curl (4 sets of 8)
3. Barbell Toe Raise (4 sets of 8)
4. Dumbell Raise (4 sets of 6)
5. Bent over Lateral Raise (4 sets of 6)
6. Clean and Press (4 sets of 6)

_______________________________________________________________________

You see how you keep adding sets every couple months until you get up to at least 4 or 5 sets of 4 different exercises hitting the same muscle from 4 or 5 different angles? Plus you are doing enough heavy weight where your muscles are only strong enough to get 6 reps up for most of the exercises. This is close to around 75% of your max which will ensure the maximum amount of growth in the least amount of time. Plus I am either using different exercises each new routine I give you or you can use the same exercises but do them in reverse order. This shocks the muscles into growing. Hope this all helps you. For me at least, I always benefit from doing the exercises as slow as possible because it keeps tension on the muscle for the longest possible time. I breathe out through my mouth with every kind of exercise that involves pushing out or down, or pulling up or down. And you want to breathe in through your nose when you are lowering a weight or allowing it to go back up after having pushed it down. If you have any other further questions, just ask and if I know the answer, I will gladly try to help.

Thanks Len! That wasnt my full routine by the way. However, I do have a quick routine that I use. I think it's time for me to hit my muscles from different angles, because I'm starting to go stale.

My exercises go somthing like this...

Trapz (DB Shrugs - 3 sets of 8 reps)
Shoulders (Military Press - 3 sets of 8 reps))

Biceps (DB Curls - 3 sets of 8 reps)
Triceps (DB Over Head Press - 3 sets of 10 reps)

Chest (Bench Press - 3 sets of 8 reps)
Upper Back (DB Rows - 3 sets of 8 reps)

With all DB exercises, I use DB handles that are 2.5 inches thick, this increases my grip strength. However, Ive noticed that I can't lift as heavy with certain exercises, such as DB Curls. I can only curl 40 Lbs in each hand, with thick handles.


I also do Sprints, Hand Stand Push ups, Chin Ups, Hindu Push Ups and Rythem Squats, 3 days a week with my martial arts training.



So judging by your reply, I should progress into a work out like this?...



Trapz (DB Shrugs 3 sets of 6)
Shoulders (Military Press 3 sets of 6)
Dumbell Raise (3 sets of 6)

Biceps (DB Curls 3 sets of 6)
Incline Dumbell Curl (3 sets of 6)
Triceps (DB Over Head Press - 3 sets of 6)
Lying Tricep extension (3 sets of 6)

Chest (Bench Press (3 sets of 6)
Decline Butterflies (3 sets of 6)
Upper Back (DB Rows (3 sets of 6)
Hyperextensions (3 sets of 6)



What are Hyperextensions?

What is the diff between Incline DB curls and regular DB Curls? Is there really that much of a difference? How about Concentration Curls or Preacher Curls.


Thanks broh.

Creatine is a substance that should be taken ...in a heaped tablespoon (20g i think) 30 minutes before training commences on an empty stomach...

Creatine makes your muscles absorb more water (hence you have to drink more water) and this extra water in your muscle cells helps you lift that extra few reps (these extra few reps is what makes your muscle grow)...u need water for energy...which is cellular respiration which is defined in the equation:

glucose + oxygen = Carbone dioxide + energy + water...

you need to have water to begin with as this above equation would not have occured as all chemical reactions happen in water.

Hope this is correct and helps

Hey Phases, you asked:

"What are Hyperextensions?
What is the diff between Incline DB curls and regular DB Curls? Is there really that much of a difference? How about Concentration Curls or Preacher Curls."

Hyperextensions are basically a backward sit up used to develop your lower back. This link shows how it is done:



The difference between Incline and Regular Curl is the obvious, which is the position of your body. On regular curls you stand up straight with your legs shoulder width apart and just bring the dumbell up to you using full range of motion. As one dumbell comes down, the other one comes up...kind of like alternating. You are utilizing one part of your bicep whereas you would be using a different part of your bicep for a different angle like the incline curls. This link here shows a standing alternate dumbell curl.



Incline Curls are when you are laying on a bench and utilizing the upper part of your biceps.



Concentration Curl is when you are sitting down and have your elbow resting on the inside of your inner thigh to keep any other muscle from coming into play and just using the strength of your bicep to bring the weight up.



Click on the bottom right of that picture to see the picture bigger.

Preacher Curl is similar to doing the standing barbell curl except there is no chance of you using your back to cheat and therefore getting more out of localizing your efforts on your biceps.



Hope this helps and I know it was a while when you asked this lol. Sorry I took so long getting around to it. Peace!

before you go buy ten buckets of creatine you should buy a few small packets to see if you can tolerate it. i have taken creatine before and i felt like hulk hogan was squeezing my stomach. bloating and cramps are quite common. some brands claim to be cramp free, but don't always work.