what the hell is the purpose in cycling creatine?

ive seen so many threads about cycling creatine I was wondering why it would matter. I take creatine year around and have no problem with not cycling off ive heard it could be bad on your kidneys but im pretty sure the severity of that is mainly hype. kina like the health books that say your liver will disinagrate if you drink alcohol.

godfather said:

ive seen so many threads about cycling creatine I was wondering why it would matter. I take creatine year around and have no problem with not cycling off ive heard it could be bad on your kidneys but im pretty sure the severity of that is mainly hype. kina like the health books that say your liver will disinagrate if you drink alcohol.

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some say eventually your body will stop producing any of it naturaly

i see no reason to cycle it

A buddy of mine has been on creatine for an entire year. When he went out of town for a week at Christmastime, he switch weightgainers without realizing that the new one didn't have creatine. His recovery time was shot and he got all sore from working out. Even after a year of straight creatine use, his body was still taking advantage of it. There is no reason to cycle it and no reason to fear that extended use will cause any type of creatine shutdown either.

it might even make your penis grow

From a medical perspective, people with diabetes, renal insufficiency, or a family history of either should use caution because of the increased burden creatine places on the kidneys, especially when loading. The large amounts of sugar associated with some products can cause issues as well. I use a sugar-free creatine, (Trac by MHP) which is time-released and driven by nitric acid instead of sugar.

The purpose of a loading phase is to get you up to optimal levels fast, BUT you don't have to load. If you don't load, it will just take you longer to get your levels up and start reaping the benefits. A person who loads will notice the effects in 1-2 weeks, where a person who doesn't load may take 3-4 weeks. If you are worried about the loading phase- SKIP IT.

If you're going to use it long-term, it would be best to calculate your exact dosage requirement. Taking more than you need won't give you a greater effect. Your body will just excrete the unused portion in the form of creatinine, to the dismay of your kidneys.

Here's how to calculate:
"During the loading phase take 0.3 grams of creatine monohydrate for each kilogram you weigh. The maintenance dose is 10-times less, or 0.03 grams of creatine monohydrate per kilogram of body weight. To calculate you creatine dose in pounds simply divide your bodyweight in pounds by 2.2; 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds. In other words, an "average" sized male of 154 pounds, weighs 70 kilograms, or 154 divided 2.2. The next step is to multiply your weight in kilos by the appropriate dose. For example, our average person would load with 21 grams of creatine monohydrate per day (0.3 x 70 = 21) and maintain with 2.1 grams of creatine monohydrate daily (0.03 x 70 = 2.1)."
Hultman, E., Soderlund, K., Timmons, J. A., Cederblad, G. and Greenhaff, P. L. (1996) Muscle creatine loading in men. American Journal of Physiology Volume 81: pages 232-237.

Personally, I cycle off every few months for two reasons: One, I'm one of those guys who gets "puffy" when I'm on. It's nice to look a little bit bigger from the increased cell volume, but it's almost like lying to myself. Cycling off lets me see where my progress is really at. Two, creatine is naturally produced in the body. I haven't seen any conclusive evidence that taking supplemental creatine can hinder your body's ability to produce it, but you never know. I would just rather play it safe.

Like mace said , many people say that you must cycle creatine for the reason that it can be hard on the long run on your kidneys. I work in a gym , and all the personnal trainers have a bachelor degre in a closely related subject to physical activity . The reason why I don't precise this , is that I don't know the exact name in english. Most of them say , if not all of them , that you need to cycle creatine to give your kidneys a break. This is debatable though. For people who would go in the long run using creatine without cycling it , I would just lower the dose ...

I cycle off because i hate been bloated

i'm actually thinking about coming off the cee right now on my 1-ad cycle coz the bloat is real bad, i just cancelled a date with this hottt girl (oh baby!!) coz my face is so bloated and i don't have a chance in hell with her looking like this, i'm actually getting rather depressed about it! after this cycle i'ma be doing some serious cutting!

would diuretics be a option to temporarily stop bloat from PH/creatine for reasons like a date, or whatever?

it might even make your penis grow? lol i know people who have seen that from NO-2..they said when they were limp their dick was bigger...i dunno how true this is but wiht increased blood flow i can sort of see it happeneing?

Young D-

A diuretic would prevent the creatine from doing what it is trying to do, so you wouldn't want to take one while on the creatine. Diuretics push fluid out of the tissue and into the bloodstream. They then tell the kidneys filter out more sodium, ( and, in effect, more water) than they normally would. It will undo the work of the creatine, but I don't know if it will lower your creatine levels. The bloating should resolve as your creatine levels return to normal.

Be cautious with diuretics- they can lead to acute dehydration quickly and land you in the hospital. It can cause your blood pressure to drop from the fluid loss. Also, many diuretics are "potassium wasting" which means that they cause the kidneys to dump needed potassium, as a side-effect. Potassium loss can effect the rhythm and function of the heart. It can also cause mental status changes, dizziness, diarrhea and cramping, among other things.

My suggestion- Talk to your doc first. if you must use a diuretic, take it in the morning, so that you're not up all night running to the can. Also, I'd take it every OTHER day to prevent dehydration. Don't be afraid to drink water while taking it- it will prevent you from loosing too much fluid, and can only make you pee more. Be sure to eat foods high in potassium, like apricots, raisins, wheat bran, wheat germ, bran flakes, baked potatoes and bananas, (in order of potassium content, highest first).

There is some vaild research both ways.