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Creatine

Trek DJ

Maximum Pace
Jan 27, 2009
324
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Nice, very cool.
Just curious, I was reading your blog and you had a short post on creatine. Did you feel that it affected your riding in a positive way? Did you tend to see an increase in cramps on long rides...??

I took creatine for a while when i was going to the gym (not riding) and I gained a lot of strength....huge gains for me at the time....when I took it. Howver, i wonder about its effect on endurance sports..!?

Also, for others out there, a friend and I used to order on bodybuilding.com, which ships to Japan. Protein, Cytomax, Endurox etc. etc. they have it all and great prices. 4.5lb honkin can of Cytomax for $28. 4.5lbs lasts a long time....just make sure to keep it in the fridge in Japan's humid summer. Worth checkin out especially if you can get a group together and order.
 
I started taking creatine 2 months ago after researching as much as I could about it online. Like DJ I also feel positive effects from it, in the gym but also running and riding (not so much swimming; don`t know why). It is linked to improved performance of muscle contraction, and I think it`s not just placebo effect that I feel my running and strength improving.

There seems to be a dark side though: increased performance (real or imagined) leads to pushing oneself harder which increases the risk of injury, and this may have just happened to me. After years of pretty hard, pain-free road and off-road riding, I`ve suddenly developed quite scary pain in my left knee. I injured this knee in my teens in a motorcycle accident, but since then I`ve never had pain or any trouble with it. This pain started suddenly on a recent short solo ride on arakawa where I was really pushing myself, and really enjoying it as well. It really feels like I damaged something, and I`ve been tweaking my seat/cleat/bar settings trying to work it out. As I eliminate one potential cause of this knee paing after another, the suspicion is growing that it was the damned creatine boosting my muscle-contraction performance, which inspired me to push beyond where I should have... If you google `creatine pain` you`ll get a long list of people with similar sudden inexplicable injuries and suspicions...

I`m not going to stop taking it, but I am going to be a lot more careful in the future.

I`d love to hear any others` experiences with creatine.
 
I don't take a lot of it, only a little before a very hard work out and after one.. I don't do enough hard work outs though....
A jar of the stuff lasts me more than a year...
 
I use BCAAs in addition to Creatine. I use alot of Protein, especially when on the bike or out running. Hammer Nutrition has a lot of great research regarding this. Fish oil is a regular supplement I use. And finally, I use Greens+ to add extra nutrients that I may miss out.

However, my purpose is not to gain muscle mass but to maintain what muscle I do have and to help with fat burning (amping my metabolism).

Alot of the negative news about creatine is stupidity. I'll leave it at that.

James
 
I took creatine regularly a few years ago when I was looking to build muscle. I definitely noticed an improvement in my ability to push harder and get more out of my workouts. I added nearly 10kg of muscle in that period. I was also taking lots of whey protein (I don't eat meat and have a fast metabolism, so I'm not an easy gainer).

However, it was also then that I seriously strained my right shoulder while going beyond my limits on the bench. I remember feeling so strong, and I probably started going for heavier weights than I should have. In this sense, creatine may have contributed to my injury.
 
I used creatine for the 2007 season.

I considered myself a slow starter in races. In hillclimbs this didn't matter too much as I could claw myself back up through the field. However, in road races once you are dropped you are dropped (well usually!). I was forever cursing being stuck in no-mans land between the top group and the autobus.

Someone suggested creatine to me to help me to be faster from the start. I am a vegetarian (no meat or fish) and creatine is reportedly at low levels in veggies, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I must say I thought I noticed the difference. In the first road race (Gunma CSC jitsugyodan) I felt really strong riding at the front all the way. I remember shouting to my mate "this creatine is the bollocks!" on the ultimate lap (before an untimely crash - no supplement in the world can help that!)

However I didn't take it at all last year and rode pretty much the same in general.

I would say it is useful to use it for a specific event - "creatine loading" - but would be weary of taking it just for the sake of taking it. I think far bigger improvements can be made by shedding a few pounds, eating right etc...

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com
 
Muscle Fit Protein

After a long ride, I usually make a special shake...a little yoghurt, two bananas, citric acid and lots of Weider Muscle Fit Protein Vanilla Taste...found it cheaply-priced at Costco, a bag of 1.2kg. The next day, I'm ready for another long ride and the stuff seems to help with my cramp problems too...
 
Tom,

After a long ride I usually call the missus to start running the bath and check there are beers in the fridge! I too have a protein shake but it's the carbohydrate fizzy drink that I look forward to most. It also helps to wash the nuts down - another great source of protein!

I keep an eye on your blog and see you put in some great rides. If you are ever over Niigata way, let me know. There are some great roads I could show you round here....

Andy

www.jyonnobititme.com
 
Itoigawa !!

Andy Hi !

You bet I'm not forgetting those carbos...the real reward !! Right now, I'm sipping another Peres Trappistes :cool: Only the post-ride bath...lately I'm getting sabotaged...have to fill up a new one while cleaning my bike first.

I know I can never beat your 8:34 (wish I were 10 years younger! :D) but this year I'll be aiming to be No.1 in my age group (the Quark-builder should be easy to beat) and a time better than 9:30 + average speed of 31 km/h. I'm signing up for a start in the 6:00 or 6:30 departure slot (am cycling from my place to Takao first...).

Looking forward to seeing you again around the finish line!

Niigata...I'd love to come over...when is the best season?

Cheers,

Tom

Tom,

After a long ride I usually call the missus to start running the bath and check there are beers in the fridge! I too have a protein shake but it's the carbohydrate fizzy drink that I look forward to most. It also helps to wash the nuts down - another great source of protein!

I keep an eye on your blog and see you put in some great rides. If you are ever over Niigata way, let me know. There are some great roads I could show you round here....

Andy

www.jyonnobititme.com
 
Hi Tom,

Andrew in Niigata is always feeding me Belgian beers when I visit. It doesn't take many of them to get you going! Maybe that's why Belgium produces so many strong cyclists!

For Tokyo-Itoigawa I'll be going all out to beat last year's time. I found writing the split times on my stem helped to motivate me last year. Aerobars also make a huge difference if you have any.

Visiting Niigata - I would say summer or autumn. The advantage of summer being you can reward a hard morning ride with a lazy afternoon down the beach.

There'll be a じょんのびTIME event in August

http://www.jyonnobitime.com/time/2008/08/summer-training.html

Or Yahiko HC in September

http://www.e-yahiko.com/2008hc-results.htm#1

if you are interested....

Andy
 
Aerobars...

Thanks for the pieces of advice Andy! I really want to be the No.1 finisher in my age group this year:).
The split times taped on the stem I will definitely do...
Will also bring my Garmin GPS so I won't get lost like last time!

My question about aerobars having never used this kind of contraption and being totally unfamiliar with them (always thought this was for triathlon). What type would you recommend...any affordable brand (don't want to spend to much on something I will only use once or twice a year)? I was thinking of a simple looking "Clip On Aero Bar Extension" type...these things weigh more than half a kilo though but with so little climbing to do, I suppose this will not be much of a disadvantage.

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Hi Tom,

Andrew in Niigata is always feeding me Belgian beers when I visit. It doesn't take many of them to get you going! Maybe that's why Belgium produces so many strong cyclists!

For Tokyo-Itoigawa I'll be going all out to beat last year's time. I found writing the split times on my stem helped to motivate me last year. Aerobars also make a huge difference if you have any.

Visiting Niigata - I would say summer or autumn. The advantage of summer being you can reward a hard morning ride with a lazy afternoon down the beach.

There'll be a じょんのびTIME event in August

http://www.jyonnobitime.com/time/2008/08/summer-training.html

Or Yahiko HC in September

http://www.e-yahiko.com/2008hc-results.htm#1

if you are interested....

Andy
 
Just about to order some more protein as my supplies are running low.
bodybuilding.com was recommended in this thread so will check that out.

Besides my increasing hematocrit levels rising my creatine levels are up too.

2007 0.85
2008 0.87
2009 1.01
range for norms 0.65 to 1.09

Been upping my meat consumption compared to previous years...I don't think the powder forms I take (rarely and in small amounts) would make this great an increase.

I'm mutating.
 
Have you thought about adding BCAAs to your supplement regimine? I use it prior, during and after my training, whether that be the weight room, cycling or running. One other supplement I have added is ZMA, taken prior to going to bed, which has been shown to help in recovery.

James
 
I had a jar of those last week...they were really delicious too...said have 2 a day on the pack but they tasted so good I had about 8.

Left them on the coffee table and went to my race.
Came home late at night and was going to have a few more...

My 15 year old son who stayed home all day to look after the puppies ate the whole lot...

2 months supply...

The next morning I asked him if his urine was going off like a Star Wars sabre and he replied that he had the trots...

:rescue:
 
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