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Is creatin good for bikers?

Old 04-20-05, 12:58 PM
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Is creatin good for bikers?

Been lifting for 23 years,4 years ago I tryed creatin and it made me strong for a long time,even though I only used it for 3 weeks.Do cyclist use it and is it even recommended?It seemed to help my strength but is it good for endurance?
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Old 04-20-05, 01:14 PM
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Originally Posted by ukepete
Been lifting for 23 years,4 years ago I tryed creatin and it made me strong for a long time,even though I only used it for 3 weeks.Do cyclist use it and is it even recommended?It seemed to help my strength but is it good for endurance?
Creatine is not good for bikers, because most people respond to it by gaining a few pounds - something that is desirable when you are lifting, and not when you are riding. It is debatable whether or not creatine increases strength - having used it considerably in another life, I say no. The proponents do it for weight gain (water basically), and allegedly because it increases your ability to do a one rep maximum effort which again, I personally doubt.
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Old 04-20-05, 01:30 PM
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When I used it the ceatin made me extremely strong on the third day after starting it,to me there was no debate.My machine leg squats went from 500 to 700,my whole program was way up in pounds(thats macine not free squats),as a matter of fact all my body stats went up.No I did not bloat up at that time.Still I may try a short cycle to see if it actually helps cycling endurance.Every time I here that there is debate if it actually works I laugh at that remark because it freaking flat out does.Also I wonder is pro cyclist do it,hek,every health food store carries it.
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Old 04-20-05, 01:57 PM
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Originally Posted by ukepete
When I used it the ceatin made me extremely strong on the third day after starting it,to me there was no debate.My machine leg squats went from 500 to 700,my whole program was way up in pounds(thats macine not free squats),as a matter of fact all my body stats went up.No I did not bloat up at that time.Still I may try a short cycle to see if it actually helps cycling endurance.Every time I here that there is debate if it actually works I laugh at that remark because it freaking flat out does.Also I wonder is pro cyclist do it,hek,every health food store carries it.
If you went from 500 to 700 pounds, you better have your creatine analyzed - I know juicers who can do that, but it is a hell of a lot more expensive than creatine! I want some of your creatine - mine never worked that way nor did anyone's I have ever known including the whole varsity rowing team at Syracuse University.
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Old 04-20-05, 01:59 PM
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Supposedly cretine gives your muscles more energy and allows them to heal faster. Thus when you lift you can do more reps and heal faster so you can bulk up faster vs if you were just eating normal food.

As for using creatine for cycling, no it wouldn't do you any good. When your taking creatine you need to drink alot of water(I drank about 1-2 gallons a day when i was taking creatine) and if you don't you dehydrate very quickly, not good for endurance sports. Also, creatine will give you more energy for quick bursts(like a max-out lift) but it won't give you sustained energy. Again, no good for biking unless you only want to ride really fast for about 30sec or so.

edit: In response to the guy who said he went from 500 - 700lb machine squats. I never gained that fast. I took it for a month and noticed small but consistant gains. I went up about 20lb a week on the squats and everything else gained in small amounts too. There is NO WAY you went from a max of 500 to a max of 700 in 3 days.(atleast doing it while you were clean)
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Old 04-20-05, 02:08 PM
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Originally Posted by skydive69
If you went from 500 to 700 pounds, you better have your creatine analyzed - I know juicers who can do that, but it is a hell of a lot more expensive than creatine! I want some of your creatine - mine never worked that way nor did anyone's I have ever known including the whole varsity rowing team at Syracuse University.
I think you missed the word "machine" in the guy's post. He's obviously referring to a leg press machine, of which 500 or 700 or whatever is no big deal.

Obviously going from 500 to 700 in the full back squat just by adding creatine is another thing entirely. Almost impossible unless he's a 700 squatter to begin with. Which i doubt if he's bragging about his leg press weight...

EDIT: in response to the OP - short answer is no, probably not. There's a ton of research on creatine - try google. Honestly I can't think of any supplement that could benefit a performance cyclist better than FOOD.

Last edited by dodgy; 04-20-05 at 02:14 PM.
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Old 04-20-05, 02:19 PM
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Originally Posted by ukepete
When I used it the ceatin made me extremely strong on the third day after starting it,to me there was no debate.My machine leg squats went from 500 to 700,my whole program was way up in pounds(thats macine not free squats),as a matter of fact all my body stats went up.No I did not bloat up at that time.Still I may try a short cycle to see if it actually helps cycling endurance.Every time I here that there is debate if it actually works I laugh at that remark because it freaking flat out does.Also I wonder is pro cyclist do it,hek,every health food store carries it.
If you went from 500 to 700 pounds, you better have your creatine analyzed - I know juicers who can do that, but it is a hell of a lot more expensive than creatine! I want some of your creatine - mine never worked that way nor did anyone's I have ever known including the whole varsity rowing team at Syracuse University.
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Old 04-20-05, 06:29 PM
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Oh boy,here it starts.No at our Golds Gym there is a squat machine,where you plant your feet it is at a angle or like a incline,there is 2 matted-like bars you get underneath and the squats are done at a angle,the machine is much safer then regular ones especially for my 40's body.And easier,but they do the job,leg press at 800 on a good day,some young dudes go over 1000 plus.
I've talked to many body builders about this subject,to some it did and to others it didn't help.Some mentioned it hurt there joints,to my arthritic elbow it helped get rid of the pain at that time when I took it.
So you think I had special creatin,good one.Who cares if you don't believe me,to me it acted like roids.Every person has diffirent reactions to drugs or supplements,some will die if they eat peanuts,some people can't drink milk,man I love the stuff.This post was asked by me to all you bikers cause I thought someone might have knowledge on this subject.It gave me awesome endurance and strength on weights,thought how it would be for a cyclist.On the contrary I think pro athletes would dog out anything like creatin when in reality they use it to there advantage,why admit a positive to opponents.Again this is just my opinion,being a cyclist for less then a year I thought I'd ask this question.
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Old 04-21-05, 08:00 PM
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I think you mean kidneys.

Yeah, creatine will give you kidney stones if you aren't drinking enough water.
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Old 04-22-05, 03:41 AM
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Creatine is for low rep bursts of power, it does nothing much for stamina pursuits.
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Old 04-22-05, 11:12 AM
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Creatine monohydrate is a way of augmenting the body's own production of creatine. It is used to create the energy producing moleclue ATP or Adenosine Triphosphate. Athletes can expect a marked improvement in power and endurance useually within a few days. The increase in muscular size usually comes from the volumizing of water with in the cells.This is not a bad thing and the type of work that you are doing is the way the muscle will use the amino to build for the next over load or exertion. Moderate use of the powder (which is the form I use) is always a good thing to practice. Some people feel that it upsets their stomachs and search for another ways to replentish this resorce which can be found in red meat.
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Old 04-22-05, 12:41 PM
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Originally Posted by ukepete
Oh boy,here it starts.No at our Golds Gym there is a squat machine,where you plant your feet it is at a angle or like a incline,there is 2 matted-like bars you get underneath and the squats are done at a angle,the machine is much safer then regular ones especially for my 40's body.And easier,but they do the job,leg press at 800 on a good day,some young dudes go over 1000 plus.
I've talked to many body builders about this subject,to some it did and to others it didn't help.Some mentioned it hurt there joints,to my arthritic elbow it helped get rid of the pain at that time when I took it.
So you think I had special creatin,good one.Who cares if you don't believe me,to me it acted like roids.Every person has diffirent reactions to drugs or supplements,some will die if they eat peanuts,some people can't drink milk,man I love the stuff.This post was asked by me to all you bikers cause I thought someone might have knowledge on this subject.It gave me awesome endurance and strength on weights,thought how it would be for a cyclist.On the contrary I think pro athletes would dog out anything like creatin when in reality they use it to there advantage,why admit a positive to opponents.Again this is just my opinion,being a cyclist for less then a year I thought I'd ask this question.
You asked the question and most of the posts said they didn't think it would help, then you state that you don't care what other people think and that it helped you lift weights. If you want to use it a continue biking then go ahead. If you are really asking for opinions I believe that you have recieved them.
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Old 04-22-05, 02:22 PM
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Good point,on the care issue it was refrence to if folks who did not beleive my gains.I won't say as to what other intersting stats it did for me but at least in lifting it was an eye opener.If I do it again it will be for lifting.Actually to everyone,thanks for the replys.Been cycling for 10 months now,put about 2200 miles so far,it ain't easy biking in NY in the winter but have cycled all winter months,spring is refreshing.
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Old 04-26-05, 07:26 AM
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creatine in essence allows muscles to hold more water. This results in a few pounds water weight gain, which goes away as soon as you go off creatine, but it also helps keep lactic acid from building up. THis is why you can lift more. I can only believe it would help a biker as well, giving you the extra room to go harder longer - same as I do in the gym.

Oh, and buy straight creatine monohydrate. Everything else is a marketing gimmick.
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Old 04-26-05, 10:39 AM
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Check for other threads about this also.

In 26 years of lifting weights creatine is the ONLY supplement that unequivocally worked. For cyclists the drawback is extra weight, but the power gains (climbing ect) were and are noticeable to me.

I have yet to find a study that shows a negative to creatine. I'm open minded to read one if someone has, just stating I haven’t seen one yet.

I believe the loading phase has been show to be a marketing ploy. Just take 5 grams a day for about 3 months, take a month or more off then rinse and repeat.

Welp, 9:30 here, time for my protein shake with creatine. /grin
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Old 04-27-05, 04:09 AM
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Hi Merton

This is a quote from website quoted:

"Creatine monohydrate is semi-lipopholic. This means that it inefficiently uses fat as a transport mechanism. The esterification of substances will increase their lipopholic abilities, and thus esterified creatine will use fat more efficiently to permeate the cell wall and exert its effects upon cellular function than its unesterified creatine monohydrate counterpart."

Here are a few points to clarify:

1) Semi-lipopholic should read semi-lipophobic (partially dissolved in fat)

2) Reference eight applies to older men, not athletes - in fact its not even an exercise physiology journal.

3) Reference nine refers to "incidence" of mild and moderate brain injury in the United States. How does this relate to exercise physiology?

Just these three points beg the question as to the efficacy of this information. At the end of the day, creatine is innappropriate for cyclists and runners alike due to the fact it aids anaerobic metabolism, not endurance metabolism.
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Old 04-27-05, 07:14 AM
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I honestly think everyone should supplement with creatine. It's proved to be efficacious in memory retention and in other ways. It certainly isn't detrimental in any way. We ingest it naturally in meat and other food sources.
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Old 04-27-05, 09:57 AM
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Originally Posted by AthleteKitch
Hi Merton


Just these three points beg the question as to the efficacy of this information. At the end of the day, creatine is innappropriate for cyclists and runners alike due to the fact it aids anaerobic metabolism, not endurance metabolism.
So this means we never get close to going anaerobic on the bike? Geez what am I gonna tell all those slow twitch fibres when they burn out cause they got no pop left in them on that sprint or that freaking last part of that damn climb up Larch Mountain???
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Old 04-27-05, 10:37 AM
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Well, funnily enough the body manufactures its own creatine and creatine phosphate (any biochemistry/physiology text) which is readily available for the sprint at the end of aerobic exercise (any exercise physiologist of note will tell you). Why spend money on a supplement that is not essentially an endurance product, and you obtain about 1000mg per day from food. Sure it has been proven to be effective in all out effort events lasting 10secs, however why risk increased weight (contraindicative for climbing effectively and quickly) and throw money away?
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Old 04-27-05, 12:12 PM
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First last time I looked I could get the 99% pure creatine monohydrate for 12.50 for about 12 oz. or 65 @ 5g doses which equals to about 19 cents per dose -even out of work doctors assistants can afford that . Frankly eating alot of red meat though very delicious is not very good for you. And the weight gain is laborious for hills too. I have used creatine and besides this rash of ***** I get defending it -it has been very good for my strength and power not only on the bike but for the weight work outs that make me a better biker. Did I mention anything about blood doping yet
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Old 04-27-05, 02:46 PM
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Just a word of caution. Last year, during a routine blood workup by my doctor, the results came back with a positive for a disease called proteinurea. It was a false positive from my having taken creatine for a few months. I did some research on the internet and realized that it was due to the creatine I had just started taking. I told my doctor about the creatine intake, and he suggested that I stop taking it and get retested in a few months.
Fortunately the next test showed no sign of protein in the urine. Don't know what kind of gyrations the doctor would have put me through if I hadn't made the connection between the test results and my 'performance enhancer'.
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Old 04-27-05, 03:51 PM
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Originally Posted by teamawe
Check for other threads about this also.

I have yet to find a study that shows a negative to creatine. I'm open minded to read one if someone has, just stating I haven’t seen one yet.
/grin

That is a dangerous supposition. Creatine can de-hydrate the body and it puts a higher load on the kidneys. That load, coupled with less water to flush them can cause organ failure. I don't see how it would be a usefull supplement to a cyclist except where bursts of speed and short duration, like in bmx, are the norm. For road cycling I would say it would probably be a hindrence.

If you like using it, more power to you. Just be aware that it's only as harmless as you are careful.
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Old 04-27-05, 04:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Mikabike
That is a dangerous supposition. Creatine can de-hydrate the body and it puts a higher load on the kidneys. That load, coupled with less water to flush them can cause organ failure. I don't see how it would be a usefull supplement to a cyclist except where bursts of speed and short duration, like in bmx, are the norm. For road cycling I would say it would probably be a hindrence.

If you like using it, more power to you. Just be aware that it's only as harmless as you are careful.
You tell me my not finding a documented study showing negative effects of creatine is a 'dangerous suppostition' followed up by a laundry list of unsubstantiated claims. Please post a link supporting your claims.
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Old 04-27-05, 05:44 PM
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Why not take cocaine?
That's also been show to boost your performance 3-400%. I've seen one guy high on cocaine tear apart 8 cops that were on him and take off running.
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Old 04-27-05, 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by teamawe
You tell me my not finding a documented study showing negative effects of creatine is a 'dangerous suppostition' followed up by a laundry list of unsubstantiated claims. Please post a link supporting your claims.
Sorry, I thought you might like to do some research of your own.

The point of my post is that creatine does put a load on the kidneys, and in a person who is already dehydrated the additional stress can push you over the edge and bring on acute renal failure.

Creatine as a substance is not very toxic as our body produces it's own supply of it. But your body has to metabolise it as well (into creatinin) and expel the byproducts in urine. Think of your kidneys as fine filters, and when they have to filter out a lot of byproducts when your in a dehydrated state this increases their concentration.

If you are a healthy person and taking a reasonable amount of creatine, drinking lots of water your fine. The problem is that there hasn't been a terrific amount of research into creatine as a suppliment either way. There are no conclusive studies showing death or disease from creatine alone, but there are also no conclusive studies showing it's benefits.

There was a case where some wrestlers tried to drop weight through dehydration and also took large amounts of creatine (why, I will never understand) and died. But those guys are nuts anyways.

Like I said, it's not correct to say it is 100% benign. Hell, even table salt can kill you if you take too much, but you don't see people scarfing salt down like it was a drug so no worries. But there are many people that do that with creatine and other supplements. Since creatine is not FDA controlled the quality varies quite a bit from mfg to mfg and is often contained in other body building cocktails.

Take it if you want to, your an adult. Just be aware and stay hydrated.
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