Thread: A few questions on creatine. Not sure If I understand

Ok, I am bulking and currently the only supplements I take is a multi and protein powder. I am making good size and strength gains from my diet and excercise.

Now I have been reading and hearing alot of good things about creatine and CEE.I've done some searching but have some questions.

-People say they put on weight with creatine. Isn't that mostly all water weight?

-Building muscle and putting on mass comes from your diet.How does creatine increase muscle mass?
From what I understand it gives your muscles more energy/strength which allows you to do more reps/weight which then promotes more muscle growth.
Am I correct or am I missing something?

I'm trying to decide If I should spend the money on Creatine or if i'm better off putting the money towards food like some salmon and steak.

This should open some eyes. The following study documents the important relationship between skeletal muscle cell hydration (promoted by creatine uptake from supplementation) and glycogen storage after depletion from a workout. Absolutely cool, and as far as I know, a completely overlooked positive benefit associated with creatine use.

Modulation of glycogen synthesis in rat skeletal muscle by changes in cell volume. SY Low, MJ Rennie and PM Taylor. Dept. Anatomy & Physiology, University of Dundee, UK. The Journal of Physiology, Vol 495, Issue 2 299-303, 1996.

The hypothesis that cellular hydration state modulates muscle glycogen synthesis was tested by measuring the incorporation of [14C]glucose into glycogen (glycogen synthesis) in primary rat myotubes after experimentally induced volume changes.

---->Glycogen synthesis in myotubes increased (by 75%, P < 0.01) after swelling induced by 60 min exposure to hyposmotic media (170 mosmol kg-1) relative to isosmotic control (300 mosmol kg-1) values, it decreased (by 31%, P < 0.05) after shrinkage induced by 60 min exposure to hyperosmotic (430 mosmol kg-1) media. Myotube 2-deoxy-D-glucose (0.05 mM) uptake was unaffected by changes in external osmolality.

Myotube glycogen synthesis is modulated by volume changes independently of changes in glucose uptake. The phenomenon may be physiologically important in promoting glycogen storage during circumstances of myofibrillar swelling, e.g. after feeding or exercise.


So, this study and a couple others like it seem to suggest that creatine supplementation really helps support glycogen *formation*, important for exercise performance, by regulating osmotic conditions within muscle cells.

CEE would be my preference. As far as I can, it does a body good.

Caveat - if you use CEE on off days, make sure you take NAC, 500-600mg twice per day, in water, between meals. Its important as a proton scavenger, keeping pH switching during respiration, which can impair fatty acid metabolism (for energy).