The Creatine Experiment

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Those of you who have been following my blog may remember a post I did on the benefits of creatine. Click CLICK HERE to read it.

Well I have continued doing research and have still not been able to find anything wrong with it. In fact, the only proven adverse side effects are weight gain and water retention... which actually aren't adverse at all since the whole purpose of taking the supplement is to gain mass. I am comfortable recommending this supplement to anyone 18 years and older because Creatine, the most studied supplement behind whey protein, has not been proven to cause any adverse health effects. Also, your body naturally produces Creatine, so it's not like you're adding anything to your system that might send your hormones into a tailspin. Now, because the supplement industry is highly unregulated you're going to want to heavily research the company from which you buy your products. Make sure their top dogs aren't criminals and check to see that their products have never been tainted with things like testosterone, steroids, or meth.

All the being said, I am going to use myself as a guinea pig for a 12 week cycle of Creatine supplementation. I purchased my Creatine powder from #truenaturals.com (a reliable source of supplements!) for $16 after shipping. Pretty affordable if you ask me. I will begin with a 5 day, 20 gram per day #LoadingPhase, and the rest of the cycle will be a 5 gram per day maintenance phase. I will take the 5 grams within 15 minutes postworkout (aka post swoll fest). Periodically, I will report my progress on here and at the end, I will give a full report. If I find any negative side effects I will stop taking it immediately. I have taken Creatine (and a sh*t ton of other legal supplements) in the past, but I did not take it properly, so this should be a pretty interesting experiment.

This is not a gateway supplement, so I still will not be taking #WheyProtein, #pre-workout supplements, #BCAAs, or anything else of the sort. And I STILL hold strong to the fact that proper nutrition can yield better results at a cheaper cost than any supplement can. But Creatine may be different. It is found naturally in beef and other meats, but to get the 5 grams per day that your muscles need to see a benefit from it, you would need to eat 32kg!!! of beef every day. That means eating a 64+ ounce steak every damn day! Also, at $16 for a 100 day supply, it's a pretty damn good value. So I invite you to follow along with me on this journey. In the end, I'll either recommend or I'll toss it in the same shitastic group as every other supplement on the market today. Cheers!

THIS is the Only Proven and Safe Supplement on the Market

I read a few studies on this supplement and went ahead and summarized one of them below. The last 2 paragraphs are pretty detailed so if you're a health nerd like me, you'll like them, otherwise just read the next 3 paragraphs. So what ergogenic actually works as advertised?

CREATINE is PROVEN to work! Not only that, but there are no negative side effects associated with taking it! It's the only supplement on the market that I would recommend adults (not high schoolers) taking. One of the best things about creatine is that it is naturally produced by your body, which means you're not putting something into your body that it isn't used to having.  When you supersaturate your muscles through creatine supplementation, you will put on mass and you'll see increases in strength and power. It goes without saying that you need to lift weights to see these gains... but I figured I'd say it just in case.

If you're going to take a creatine supplement, I recommend CREATINE MONOHYDRATE. There are many different types of creatines that manufacturers claim will turn you into some sort of a super human, but creatine monohydrate is the only one that has been proven to work by academic, non-biased studies. 

How to take it: Start with a LOADING PHASE of 5 grams 4 times per day for 5-7 days. This loading phase is important to seeing the best results. Very few studies have shown positive results in people who skipped the loading phase. After the loading phase just take 3-5 grams immediately after working out. You will see benefits if you take creatine prior to your workout, but for BEST results, take it afterwards. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water while your taking this supplement (aim for a gallon per day), and don't forget to lift weights. You're likely to get "bitch tits" if you take it and don't lift weights.

Now for the super informative, but slightly boring technical-term-filled summary of one of the studies I read about creatine...


Creatine monohydrate supplementation increases performance by giving the muscles more energy during workouts. The way this works is that the creatine monohydrate molecules that are ingested via a supplement bond with Adenosine Di-Phosphate (ADP) molecules that the human body naturally produces. When this happens, Adenosine Tri-Phosphate (ATP) is formed, thus resulting in more energy and decreased recovery time during workouts. As we learned in class, this is the primary storage form of energy in the muscles of the body. ADP molecules naturally bond together to form ATP molecules in the body. The benefit of taking a creatine monohydrate supplement is that these bonds occur at a much higher rate because there are more free molecules in the body for ADP molecules to bond with in order to form ATP. Creatine monohydrate supplementation has been proven to increase lean muscle mass, so this study was conducted in order to determine if creatine supplementation was more beneficial when taken pre or post workout.

The results of this study showed that creatine monohydrate supplementation was more beneficial when taken post workout vs. pre-workout. When taken both pre and post workout, fat free mass increased, fat mass decreased, and muscular strength increased. However, those participants that ingested creatine monohydrate after they worked out showed greater benefits than those that took the supplement prior to working out.  The participants were taken off all other supplements 4 weeks prior to the study commencing and they were put on the exact same workout routine for four weeks, and their diets were spot checked throughout the study and found to be relatively congruent amongst all participants. 

Reference

Antonio, J., & Ciccone, V. (2013). The effects of pre vs. post workout supplementation of creatine monohydrate on body composition and strength. Journal of the International Study of Sports Nutrition, 10, 36.

VIDEO: Hyphy M.U.D. by Kali Muscle

Supplement Review- Optimum Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein

This is the number #1 selling and highest reviewed protein supplement on the market today. Is it really composed of 100% protein and nothing else, as the name of the product implies? 

For this review, I highlighted the product's ingredients and their functional purpose. In other words, I don't explain what each ingredient is, rather, I tell you WHY the manufacturer put each ingredient in the product. 

                                                               Ingredients & Their Purpose

Protein Blend: this blend is what comprises the protein portion of the protein supplement. The respective percentages of each ingredient is not specified.

• Whey Protein Isolates: Isolates are processed to remove the fats and lactose from the protein. They are composed of approximately 90% protein by weight.
• Whey Protein Concentrate: Concentrates are approximately 29-89% protein by weight.
• Whey Peptides: Peptides are short chains of amino acids that have very similar chemical properties to protein molecules.

Cocoa: this ingredient is added into the product for the purpose of adding flavor.

Lecithin: this ingredient helps to smooth the texture of the product.

Natural and Artificial Flavors: these ingredients, though not specified exactly what flavors they are, are added into the product for the purpose of making it taste better.

Acesulfame Pottasium: this is a low calorie sweetener that is added to the product for flavoring purposes.

Aminogen: this is a manufactured ingredient that is put in the product to improve the effectiveness of the protein blend by improving the body’s ability to digest protein properly.

Lactase: aids the body in digesting the product, especially for lactose intolerant individuals. The manufacturer uses this ingredient because without it, the product may irritate peoples’ bowels and the amount of repeat customers would decrease.

                                 

Nutrition Information

• Serving Size: 1 Scoop (30.4 g)
• Calories: 120 (Calories from Fat, 10)
• Total Fat: 1g
• Saturated Fat: 0.5g
• Unsaturated Fat: 0g
• Cholesterol: 30mg
• Sodium: 130mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 3g
• Sugars: 1g
• Protein: 24g

                                                                     Product Overview

If I were to use a protein supplement, this is the one that I would use. Compared to other protein supplements whose ingredients I have reviewed, this product has a very high concentration of protein in comparison to the other ingredients in the product. Additionally, I have not seen any negative customer reviews for this product. However, based on my experience and research, chocolate milk is just as, if not more effective than chocolate protein powders after a workout, and it is more affordable as well.

Want to see another supplement? Let me know in the comments below!

                                                                          References

Lecithin Applications. (n.d.). American Lecithin Company. Retrieved September 8, 2013, from      http://www.americanlecithin.com/leci_appfood.html

Optimum Nutrition: True Strength. (n.d.). Optimum Nutrition: True Strength. Retrieved September 8,  2013, from http://OptimumNutrition.com

Volek, J. S., Ph.D.., & R.D.. (n.d.). NutritionExpress.com . NutritionExpress.com. Retrieved September  8, 2013, from http://nutritionexpress.com

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved September 8, 2013, from http://www.Wikipedia.com

3 Keys to Bulking Up (Beyond Lifting Weights)

                    Increased Portion Sizes, Plus Snacks

     In order to gain weight you need to increase your normal portion sizes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in addition to eating one to two snacks throughout the day. The key to eating snacks is packing them in advance when you are on the go. Put them in your gym bag, book bag, or your locker at school or work. When you know that food will not be readily available, it is up to you to make sure you have the food you need for your diet. In order to get the maximum benefit from your increased calorie intake, your timing needs to be right.
               

                   Timing is Key

     After lifting weights your protein and glycogen synthesis levels are at their peak. In order to take advantage of this and thus maximize the benefits of resistance training, you need to ingest protein within 45 minutes of completing your workout and carbohydrates within 15 minutes. So how much protein and carbohydrates should you take in? Make sure to ingest 10-20g of protein within 45 minutes of completing your workout and you should take in the appropriate amount of carbs within 15 minutes of lifting.  To figure out how many grams of carbohydrates you should eat, simply divide your body weight by 2. 

Example: a 200 pound person needs 100g of carbs (200/2 = 100). They then need to continue to take in 100g of carbs every 30 minutes for the next 4 to 5 hours. 

     The combination of protein and carbohydrate will also reduce cortisol in your body, which is a hormone that breaks down muscle fiber. Studies have shown that athletes who consume protein and carbohydrates immediately before and after their workouts gained more muscle mass than those who did not time their protein and carb intake in this way. Beyond working out, you should aim to eat at least every four hours throughout the day. Break up long gaps between your three main meals with healthful, calorie dense snacks as discussed above.

Perseverance

Weight gain of this nature is going to take patience and increasing your calorie intake this much is going to be hard work. Do not give up. Think of your food as your weight gaining medicine. You will not get over a virus by skipping on your antibiotics the same way you will not gain weight by skimping on your food intake. Your weight gain will not happen overnight, but instead will happen gradually. It will be tempting to take supplements such as protein and weight gaining shakes. These are a waste of money and have not been proven to add any benefit for those who eat correctly. You will reach your goals without supplements by lifting weights and sticking with larger portions of healthful foods for meals and snacks.

For a 3 day healthy, mass gaining meal plan... shoot me an email! strengthbymatt@gmail.com

       Real soon here, I'll highlight a proven, easy to follow weight lifting strategy that'll get ya allllll kinds of gains!