Bodybuilding Forums

Does anyone have any advice whether or not to use creatine when cutting?

somedude618 wrote:Does anyone have any advice whether or not to use creatine when cutting?

I'm not going to use creatine anymore. I have read stuff about it that makes me shy away from it. I don't see why a creatine user wouldn't do so when cutting. Total 6-Pack Abs probably covers that. http://www.totalsixpackabs.com

andrewpmast wrote:I'm not going to use creatine anymore. I have read stuff about it that makes me shy away from it.

WELL?! Let's see it!

Mark does say use 5 grams a day while on the TSPA Diet, but some people think if you're trying to cut, you might not wont to use it because it causes you to retain water. But I have also read that holding" of all that water inter-cellular not intra-cellular? Meaning that it's being held within the muscles' cells...not between the tissues or under the skin?
The thing I really hate about bodybuilding is you can never get a straight yes or no My advice is give it up for 2 weeks if a dramatic results keep to it.

marochka_raduga wrote:andrewpmast wrote:

I'm not going to use creatine anymore. I have read stuff about it that makes me shy away from it.

Have you got the artical so we all can read as I have used creatine while bulking and would like to know if I have been wasiting my money

krs wrote:Mark does say use 5 grams a day while on the TSPA Diet, but some people think if you're trying to cut, you might not wont to use it because it causes you to retain water.

But that's just water, for goodness sake! It's fat mass I'm concerned about, not anything else. Worrying over water retention is putting too much emphasis on a number on the scale. The way I see it, if you're holding onto that water, it's because your muscles need it for recovery and this just helps them get it.

Yes,I am thinking of the same thing.Why isn't actually good that your muscles retain water,especially on a cut. But I don't think 5g/day can cause any serious water retention.20g maybe.

Hey Andrew, I'd be really interested also to see what you found about creatine...

As far as cutting goes, creatine shouldn't make you slow loss of any more (not water) weight. If anything, I'd think it would accelerate your loss as it helps you build more muscle mass (giving you a higher metabolism) and lets you work out harder, (probably) giving you a higher heart rate and burning more calories.

Then again, very little in bodybuilding is as it seems

Muscle is 70% water anyway. I'd be interested to know what this figure becomes with any water retention from creatine. I just can't imagine it getting more than half to one % point higher (based on lean muscle mass % and my average weight increase on a creatine cycle). Personally speaking, the only benefit I count on creatine giving me is improved recovery between workouts, I have tried to evaluate muscle mass increases and really can't say, but it definitely improves my performance in the gym.

krs wrote:The thing I really hate about bodybuilding is you can never get a straight yes or no

Amen!

I think it's fine to take creatine, even when dieting. Just be sure to stay hydrated--drink plenty of water (but you should be doing that anyway).

I've lost the links to the specific articles, but testing has clearly shown:
1. That creatine use preserves muscle mass & strength on a reduced-calorie diet compared to a placebo.
2. That creatine use increases muscle mass & strength when building muscles compared to a placebo.

The differences are proven, but small. However, since we are "natural"* bodybuilders, any small benefit might be worth it, as these small increases add up together.

--Matt B.

* I use "natural" in quotes for a reason. While their original sources may be "natural", whey protein, creatine, and other supplementations are usually not found in nature, at least in the forms we take them. Even "juice plus" is dried, concentrated, ground, and compacted vegetables with the water removed, thus providing far more nutrients per gram than food to which humans are accustomed.