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I've been using a daily dose of 5g of creatine for several months to help with climbing. Maybe I'm a non-responder, or maybe the effects are too subtle, but I h

I've been using a daily dose of 5g of creatine for several months to help with climbing. Maybe I'm a non-responder, or maybe the effects are too subtle, but I haven't noticed anything. Definitely nothing in terms of brain functions or what not. It's cheap enough to continue to do it though, so I kind of keep at it.

NDizzle 9y ago
Have you tried creatine loading? Take 20 to 25g per day for a week, then take 5g/day for a month. Take a few weeks off and do it again. That's what I've done in the past when I was taking creatine for a recovery enhancer.
- penetrarthur 9y ago
  There was a research that concluded that after a month, there is no difference in creatine amount in blood if you've been loading or just taking 5g daily.
  - Bartweiss 9y ago
    I've only ever heard of creatine loading as a way of getting an early kickstart for workouts. I didn't think it was even supposed to help in the 1+ month window, just get you better training results for a week or two up front.
jerf 9y ago
I tried creatine out for a while. It definitely had an effect on me; previously I tended to tire out in my strength workout prior to really pulling the muscles and I tended not to have to be too careful about that. Creatine allowed me to workout longer without realizing it, to the point that I was in some pain for the next several days on those muscle groups, rather than "maybe sorta sore the next day for a bit". Whoops. With a bit more work I was able to tune myself to stop that, but it didn't buy me much. In the meantime I noticed no cognitive effects strong enough to be noticeable without full-on Gwern-style careful testing. (My policy on that is that if the power of the result isn't big enough for me to notice in "normal life", I'm not that interested.) I can believe that dedicated athletes can use it to good effect but I don't think I recommend it for casuals such as myself. I also definitely had to be extra-sure to drink more water than I felt like I needed or I would get dehydration headaches.
penetrarthur 9y ago
I've heard rumors that 25% of people have naturally higher amount of creatine and taking extra will not help

NDizzle 9y ago

Have you tried creatine loading? Take 20 to 25g per day for a week, then take 5g/day for a month. Take a few weeks off and do it again. That's what I've done in the past when I was taking creatine for a recovery enhancer.

penetrarthur 9y ago
There was a research that concluded that after a month, there is no difference in creatine amount in blood if you've been loading or just taking 5g daily.
- Bartweiss 9y ago
  I've only ever heard of creatine loading as a way of getting an early kickstart for workouts. I didn't think it was even supposed to help in the 1+ month window, just get you better training results for a week or two up front.

jerf 9y ago

I tried creatine out for a while. It definitely had an effect on me; previously I tended to tire out in my strength workout prior to really pulling the muscles and I tended not to have to be too careful about that. Creatine allowed me to workout longer without realizing it, to the point that I was in some pain for the next several days on those muscle groups, rather than "maybe sorta sore the next day for a bit". Whoops. With a bit more work I was able to tune myself to stop that, but it didn't buy me much. In the meantime I noticed no cognitive effects strong enough to be noticeable without full-on Gwern-style careful testing. (My policy on that is that if the power of the result isn't big enough for me to notice in "normal life", I'm not that interested.) I can believe that dedicated athletes can use it to good effect but I don't think I recommend it for casuals such as myself. I also definitely had to be extra-sure to drink more water than I felt like I needed or I would get dehydration headaches.

penetrarthur 9y ago

I've heard rumors that 25% of people have naturally higher amount of creatine and taking extra will not help