Bodybuilding Forums

A couple more questions for you all!!

A. Thanks Mark for the article on creatine!!! I have been taking it for two weeks now… but I did not load – Yikes! Should I do that at this point? If you think so can someone tell me how to or point me to an article on it?

B. I am doing much better on protein intake – between eggs, cheese, and basic meats(beef, and chicken) I seem to be getting very close to my goals – additionally I have been making my protein shakes – putting them in the freezer and just before they are ice I drink em down. They are not to bad this way. What do you guys think about Tuna? Is this a good source of protein as well? Can you suggest other high protein/low cost ideas?

C. Does it matter when I take creatine(before, after, during a workout) ?

Thanks for your help!!!

You can go on a creatine cycle that will last about the same time as your training cycle. You do this by loading about 5 days before your first day of weight training. Then, a stop that cycle about a week before you finish the weight training cycle.
Check these out:
http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/creat ... ne-use.htm
http://www.creatine-monohydrate.org/creatine-dosage.htm

Natural peanut butter, walnuts, almonds, and heavy cream are great low cost ideas. (OK, nuts and heavy cream can be quite expensive but you can only ingest enough). I like the tuna and eggs omelete topped off with some hot salsa.

Metadyjital wrote:A. Thanks Mark for the article on creatine!!! I have been taking it for two weeks now… but I did not load – Yikes! Should I do that at this point? If you think so can someone tell me how to or point me to an article on it?

B. I am doing much better on protein intake – between eggs, cheese, and basic meats(beef, and chicken) I seem to be getting very close to my goals – additionally I have been making my protein shakes – putting them in the freezer and just before they are ice I drink em down. They are not to bad this way. What do you guys think about Tuna? Is this a good source of protein as well? Can you suggest other high protein/low cost ideas?

C. Does it matter when I take creatine(before, after, during a workout) ?

Thanks for your help!!!

A. It's probably worth loading, especially if you're lifting right now, or you might never notice the difference. Depending on your weight (if you have more muscle, you'll need a little more creatine) I think most people recommend trying for around 25g of creatine a day for 4-7 days. I usually do 25g for 5 days - and from there on out, about 5g a day.

B. A favorite of mine is 1/2lb of ground beef or so with 1/2 stick of unsalted butter - melt it all together in a mug and down it, then lick the rest of the butter out. I found these fish called 'Kipper snacks' too, they're 19g of protein with... 13g of fat? ... not too expensive, and they make a decent (if smelly) snack.

C. There's a lot of different ideas about this. Some people say to take it an hour before, and then right after the workout. I personally take it with a protein shake after my workout, because it logically seems to be the most efficient way on a small budget (your muscles are a lot hungrier after a workout, right?). Taking it before you run the risk of waste, because your muscles might be saturated already, or just ignore the creatine you took. If you've got the money though, before and after probably leads to the best results.