Originally Posted by
ZHVelo
Very interesting.
How did you start creatine, where does the daily 5mg come from, is it something you worked out for yourself or comes of a guide/forumla?
That is a lot of protein, 100% for me at an average of 1.5g/kg would be around 100g a day. I highly doubt I get that much protein. Do you feel a difference to days where you don't eat this much? Or to a time when you didn't stick to this regimen?
I started creatine to optimize strength gains during the off season with the intent of cycling off before my A race. I continued its use throughout the following season after witnessing negligible water weight loss, but a notable decrease in maximal power, specifically <1 minute efforts. Some interesting discussion on this can be
found here. There is something to be said for dosages >5mg that specifically seem to target cognitive improvements, but the general rule of thumb observed with regards to strength and endurance, is that 5mg is the cliff; anything above seems to do very little at the risk of promoting gut discomfort. Some research on this
here. As someone who's dabbled with the bro-science "30mg loading phases", I can attest to the discomfort. High torque activities on the bike coupled with proper creatine supplementation appear at least for me, to yield the best results for rapid strength gains at that 1min peak power (eg, 1 hour sessions 3 times a week for 4 weeks of strict on-bike torque efforts at just below threshold (so sweetspot essentially) increaed my 1min peak power by 125w (625 > 750). Some interesting
reading on torque, albeit
largely contentious to some. Edit: To those thinking this kind of power increase can be translated across the spectrum, it cannot. This had non-negligible increase to my ftp (~25w), but not nearly as impactful. There are certainly greater anaerobic systems at play than aerobic.
Edit2: well timed pod from TR on Creatine;
Some relevant and recent research on protein supplementation can be
found here. I do feel a difference if I under consume chronically. This is more noticeable if it's during a period of high volume and/or intensity. Acute differences are negligible day to day. The main thing with any supplementation, inclusive of macros like protein, and even sleep, is consistency.
Apologies to OP for getting off track.
Edit: Coming back to this thread after 550 days of creatine use. I stopped April 9th and we're 4 months post. I'm hitting all-time power
PR's with no noticeable impact on recovery or otherwise. Frankly i'm more and more convinced the power numbers i was seeing were a factor of training stimulus more than creatine which leads me to believe it was mostly placebo. I also lost 7kg which is non-negligible..