February 13th, 2006
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| Tribuni Angusticlavii | Quote: |
Originally Posted by FutureDevilDog I heard Creatin isn't good for people who want to build endurance and such. It's only good for getting big muscles. | Yes and no. Creatine is better for sprinters, as opposed to long distance runners. It is great for giving you a little extra energy (ATP to ADP back to ATP). It isn't going to hurt you if you're taking it while working on your distance, but don't expect it to give you much improvement. You'd be better off with a balanced diet.
Creatine isn't an automatic problem fixer either. The basic principle to understand is that creatine can make more energy available to the muscles. That extra energy can be used to increase training intensity and duration, which will improve overall performance. So the key is in the training.
The real problem comes in trying to balance building endurance and building muscles at the same time. When you want to build muscles, you need to put on mass, but when you're running and trying to do this, you generally cannot find a way to get enough protein, calories, etc. to pack on the mass. Creatine is good for muscle building, but studies have shown a less than 5% gain in long distance running.
There are some side effects to creatine though, headaches, stomach cramps and dehydration being the three most frequent. Usually you can avoid all of these by drinking a lot of water and staying hydrated.
I don't use Creatine at all. I drink a Weight Gainer, Protein suppliments, and I eat as healthly as possible. But the only thing I can think that's helped me get where I am is pushing myself and getting out there and doing it.
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