[Famine]

Creatine mono gets more press than any other single supplement. I've read countless articles, studies, and personal accounts of how creatine changed their lives.

I have used creatine on and off for years...maybe decades...okay..."a" decade. I've used numerous brands, done the loading cycles, maintenance cycles, cycled off, taken it in water, taken it in protein shakes, taken it in juice. And I have to say, it just doesn't seem to do anything for me at all...ever!

I keep very detailed notes on the supplements I take, the workouts I do, my weight, even if I had a headache or other injury while working out. And as I look over everything, I can see the benefits/effects from everything I've ever taken, except for creatine. I don't feel better. I don't heal faster. I don't lift more. I'm not more exposive. I don't gain weight. Nothing. I can take creatine right before bed and still sleep like a baby (something I was told is very odd).

I bring this up now because I just started taking creatine again last month after having not used it for nearly a year. And again, I just don't think it does anything for me.

Can anyone shed some light on this quandry of mine? If more information is needed, I answer what I can.

[mindstar]

some peoeple are non-responders to creatine. My best advice is to try the other types like krealkalin or however it's spelled and see if they work.

At the end of the day, if it's not working for you, stop spending money on it. Put that $ towards something else...

[under construction]

bro, I have always said this about creatine. To tell the truth I think there are a lot more non responders than people think and that they suffer from the placebo effect. I have trained with people who swear up and down that creatine is doing wonders for them but as far as I can see from the outside looking in they are gaining no more ground than guys like me who do nothing but pound protein and food and then go train. Im sure there are guys that it does help but not as many as people think. Just an observation from a long time non responder.

[T.O]

That may be true but hard to argue due to the countless studies of positive research done on creatine mono. Now maybe there should be a study done on nonresponders. That would be interesting in maybe finding out why.

[A-Ron21]

Eh, whatever, don't worry about it. Its not the end of the world lol.

[Famine]

Not everyone responds to creatine supplementation. It is estimated that between 20-30% of the population will not respond to creatine supplementation. This isn’t to say that many “nonresponders” couldn’t convert to full-fledged “responders” given the right information. For example, taking creatine with highly glycemic sugars is sufficient in many cases to convert some nonresponders into “super” responders. (see Question #4). Furthermore, adding essential B-vitamins to your supplementing regimen will greatly accentuate the anabolic potential of creatine supplementation.

I would warn, however, against pounding your systems with highly glycemic carbohydrates in hopes of maximizing creatine absorption. When and how these sugars are taken is a very important consideration. The chronic consumption of highly glycemic sugars can eventually lead to a condition of insulin-resistance, which would be an anabolic dead end. In fact, insulin-resistance is currently one of America’s greatest health problems. Insulin is one of your most important anabolic hormones (next to growth hormone and testosterone) and you wouldn’t want to attenuate its effects.


Another important consideration is your existing muscle creatine levels. Persons with naturally high creatine levels typically benefit less from creatine supplementation. This is the reason that vegetarians typically respond so robustly to creatine supplementation. Furthermore, the benefits you perceive from creatine use depend on the exercise task being used to measure its effectiveness (see Question #5). There is also some indication that creatine may be less effective in children and the elderly. (see Question #10) Finally, your daily dietary habits, such as alcohol and caffeine consumption, can profoundly influence creatine’s effectiveness.

How to optimize creatine transport into skeletal muscle in order to more effectively increase muscle mass and enhance athletic performance (while at the same time mitigating harmful side effects) is discussed in detail in my practical guide to creatine use.

Creatine Background: Does everyone respond to creatine? | Creatine Information Center


I take plenty of B vitamins and eat a ton of meat (lots of red too). This leads me to believe I don't need creatine supplementation. On the other hand, I drink a fair amount of coffee too.

I've played around with all the factors that influence creatine transport, and I've always ended up with zero results.



It is interesting to see there are others that don't respond to it.

[A-Ron21]

Your body just might make all the creatine you need without having to supplement it.

[monkeybiker]

Originally Posted by under construction

bro, I have always said this about creatine. To tell the truth I think there are a lot more non responders than people think and that they suffer from the placebo effect. I have trained with people who swear up and down that creatine is doing wonders for them but as far as I can see from the outside looking in they are gaining no more ground than guys like me who do nothing but pound protein and food and then go train. Im sure there are guys that it does help but not as many as people think. Just an observation from a long time non responder.

This is kind of how I look at it. I tried creatine for a little bit but couldn't tell if it was working or not. Sometimes I thought it might be then other times I thought it was in my head and it was because I was eating better or training harder.

I've just started using protein drinks not because I think I need this protein(as I can get plenty from normal food) but because it makes me think more about my training and I tend to eat better as it seems daft to drink protein drinks then also eat a load of junk food on top of it.

[GeorgeT]

i can sorta relate, im ****ing random with creatine. Alot of times when i cycle off creatine i start making quick/big gains, i have a few theories on it but i gotta do more reading to back it up. But as has been stated if you're not gaining don't bother with it. Out of curiosity what supps have you noticed alot of gains from? (not counting the ph's if you've cycled them)

[Famine]

Originally Posted by GeorgeT

i can sorta relate, im ****ing random with creatine. Alot of times when i cycle off creatine i start making quick/big gains, i have a few theories on it but i gotta do more reading to back it up. But as has been stated if you're not gaining don't bother with it. Out of curiosity what supps have you noticed alot of gains from? (not counting the ph's if you've cycled them)

Back in the day before the ban, I was taking an Andro stack that was insane!!! I made HUGE gains and fast. Ergo Farms 1AD worked really good too, but I think that went away with the ban as well. NOxplode was great too when I first took it, but the second jug and beyond had little to no effect. I'm currently on my third jug (hmm..."jug" makes it sound big...how about "container") container of Jacked, and two scoops of that is still really working well for me. I take about 2-3 weeks off in between containers so I don't get too use to it. I should probably cycle off even more than that, but I miss it so much when I don't have it.

I've also tried about 10 other things ranging from creatine to NO products to HGH...all of them didn't do squat. HGH was the one that pissed me off the most. I spent a lot of money on that, all for nothing. Maybe I'll try that again when I'm in my 40's or 50's. It seems to work for Stallone.