Creatine : A simple guide

Creatine is often used as a bodybuilding supplement, you've probably already heard about it even if you aren't a bodybuilder due to its popularity. There are a lot of myths and misconceptions surrounding creatine; what it is, how it works and how to use it. BMW will give you all the information you need. 

First, I will answer all the commonly asked questions on creatine, dispelling all the myths. Then I will give you a basic breakdown of the common creatine products out there and my recommendations. Finally, I will show you how to use it.

Commonly asked questions

What is Creatine?

Creatine is a substance produced by the body and is used to provide energy to cells in the body, mainly muscle cells. It is also found in some foods.

Is it an anabolic steroid, is it legal?

Creatine is not a hormone; is not an anabolic steroid. Creatine is naturally found in food and produced in the body. It would be impossible for any sports body to ban creatine supplements, it would be as absurd as banning multivitamin supplements.

Can women take it?

Yes

Will it cause masculinising effects in women?

No, it is not a hormone. Substances that cause masculinisation/virilisation are typically male hormones with an androgenic component such as testosterone. 

What is the purpose of supplementing it?

By taking extra creatine, you ensure that you are not deficient as heavy exercise can deplete creatine levels. By ensuring adequate creatine, you improve muscular endurance and power.

Does taking creatine make a difference?

Taking creatine can improve muscular endurance, increase strength and power and help muscle growth in combination with a high protein diet and training program. It is clinically proven to improve performance.

How much difference does taking creatine make?

Not a lot. It will not cause you to pack on mountains of muscle. You may gain some water weight and it will make a small difference if taken in sufficient quantities alongside a sufficient training program.  

 

Is it worth the money?

Basic creatine monohydrate is very cheap if you shop around. If you are serious about your diet and training then yes, the boost is worth the small amount of money you will spend. 

If I have a perfect diet do I need creatine?

Probably not. But you probably don't have a perfect diet.

All the different creatine products

Supplement companies have devised an amazing range of creatine based compounds in order to find an optimum way to deliver creatine to the body. The original, most studied and readily available creatine is creatine monohydrate. Unless you have a specific reason I highly recommend just buying basic creatine monohydrate. There are thousands of different branded creatine products but most of them are just creatine monohydrate with a few fillers, a fancy name and tub and a high price tag to match. Don't waste your money on fancy packaging.

Creatine monohydrate

The original form of creatine. It is proven to work and is very cheap. 

Creatine Ethyl Ester

An alternative form of creatine. Has a strong plastic taste and is claimed to be more efficient and "not require loading". Creatine does not have to be loaded, so unless you find monohydrate gives you stomach cramps stick to monohydrate.

Magnesium Creatine Chelate

Creatine chelated with magnesium. Claimed to be more efficient than creatine monohydrate and absorbed through a different pathway so often combined with other creatine compounds. For the extra expense just buy more monohydrate.

Creatine Hydrochloride

A very efficient form of creatine with very few side effects but expensive. If other creatine compounds give you side effects then buy this.

In my honest opinion, you are far better off just buying cheap creatine monohydrate and taking lots of it than buying experimental, more expensive, creatine products. Unless of course you find creatine monohydrate gives you side effects such as stomach cramps in which case I recommend creatine hydrochloride which is relatively side effect free. 

How to use creatine 

Mix the powder with something, preferably your protein shake, fruit juice or water, and swallow it. For creatine monohydrate start with 5g daily and work your way up as you see fit. 5-20g daily is the typical range used by bodybuilders. 

You don't need to load it, pyramid the doses or anything along these lines which you may have read in bodybuilding magazines. You do not have to take "time off" taking it or anything else along those lines either. Just take it daily at a consistent dose. 

Basic creatine monohydrate is very cheap and it can help you gain some more muscle. Get some standard creatine monohydrate and add it to your regimen. 

BMW

Proper bench press form

The bench press is the top chest developer and if you can't make chest gains from bench press you need to look at your form. If you are struggling with barbell bench press or do not have someone to assist you then try dumbbell bench press though dumbbell bench press is a superior power movement. 

First warm up appropriately with a very light weight that does not strain the muscles and then choose a weight you can manage 8-12 reps with.

Lie down on a flat bench with your legs locked apart in the appropriate starting position. An image from Wikipedia shows the correct starting form:

The legs should be locked apart as shown and remain in this position throughout the exercise. I often see guys in the gym do all sorts of funny dances with their legs. However good your dance moves are this won't help you lift more. Locking your feet on the ground gives you the maximum power available to push the weight. 

The barbell should come all the way down and you should stop the bar on your chest. The bar must come to a complete stop and you should hold the bar in this position for at least 1 second. If using dumbbells they should come down below the nipple line for the fullest range of motion and stopped at this position for at least one second. 

Then push the bar back up but do not lock it out at the top of the movement, the weight should keep the muscles under tension throughout the exercise. If you cannot keep the bar under control it is too heavy for bodybuilding purposes and you should drop the weight. 

The bar should come up quickly and come down slowly. The positive part of the movement should be performed as quickly as safely possible for maximum muscle fiber recruitment. The bar should come down slowly under control for at least twice as long as it took to push the weight up. Imagine a car spring, bring the weight down slowly under control counting time and building tension then at the bottom after holding the weight for 1 second smash it back up as fast as you can!

BMW

Deltoids – importance of deltoid development

Where are the delts?

This is an old progress picture but I’ve chosen it because it immediately draws your attention to the right deltoid, highlighted in red. The delts are the most prominent muscles in this photograph and fill the width of the t-shirt creating the desirable v-taper upper body shape. 

Significance of the delts

At all levels of bodybuilding the deltoids add significant width to the physique and must not be neglected. Below is 2011-2012 Mr Olympia Phil Heath (pic from Bodybuilding.com), his delts are prominent and add explosive width. 

The deltoids add significant upper body width helping to create the v-taper body shape and must not be ignored. 

Androgen receptors 

The deltoids contain a large number of androgen receptors. Androgen receptors are receptors in the body which are sensitive to male hormones such as testosterone.  The deltoids typically develop after puberty, broadening in width when testosterone increases and subsequently developed deltoids are a symbol of masculinity. Developing the deltoids makes your physique appear dramatically more masculine helping your body to move away from “young boy” towards “developed man”. 

Why is deltoid training often neglected?

For the deltoids to develop properly they must be isolated and trained appropriately. Many bodybuilders complain shoulder training is painful and neglect it in favour of additional chest exercises which usually also target the shoulders. Most young bodybuilders rarely make the effort to learn to train deltoids properly and their delts are not significant when their physique develops. Delts should be targeted with individual exercises in addition to chest and back training. 

Dissecting the delts 

The delts consist of three heads shown below (picture from Wikipedia)

Anterior / Front delts – front raises target the front deltoids which are found nearest the pecs

Lateral / Side delts –  lateral raises target the side delts which are found between the front and rear delts

Posterior / Rear delts – often neglected, these are usually targeted by rowing exercises for the back but can also be isolated with exercises such as bent over rear lateral raises and face pulls

Until my deltoid training post I recommend checking out Dorian Yates’ training video for bodybuilding.com where he covers some solid exercises for deltoid development which have really helped me and could help you too http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dorian-yates-blood-guts-4.htm

 

BMW

Protein intake

I get a lot of questions from newcomers asking me about protein intake. This post aims to answer the bare basics. 

Why protein?

You need protein to get anywhere in bodybuilding, fact. Protein is digested into amino acids, the building blocks of muscle which are then used to build muscle tissue.

Protein and muscular development

If your protein intake is high enough and you damage your muscles through exercise your body will transport amino acids, the building blocks of muscle tissue, from your blood stream into your muscles to repair them. The body will overcompensate rebuilding your muscles bigger and stronger than they were before.

Consequences of insufficient protein 

No matter how hard you work in the gym, no matter how many calories you eat, if you don’t consume enough protein you won’t build any muscle. If your diet is low in protein and you’re working hard in the gym your efforts may even be counterproductive. If the level of amino acids in your blood is too low your body will break down muscle tissue to release amino acids into the bloodstream.

How much is enough?

BMW says 1g per pound of bodyweight, MINIMUM per day

Whilst the maximum protein intake required for athletes is touted at 0.8g per lb, think about it. Your protein intake is not going to be perfectly even and not all protein sources are created evenly (amino acid profiles). In reality you will need more protein than this in order to guarantee you will always have a positive blood nitrogen level and remain anabolic.
Muscle growth is a slow process; there is no reason to limit your progress through a poor diet. Go to any gym and tell the guys there you don’t eat at least 1g per pound of bodyweight protein per day and give them your excuse. They will tell you that’s why you’re skinny.

Calculating minimum protein intake

Bodyweight in pounds x 1

So if you weigh 175lb you need to eat 175g of protein per day. Spread this over 5 evenly divided meals and this equates to 35g protein per sitting. You need a solid protein source with every meal.

Excess protein

Excess protein is deaminated (removing the amino group, the nitrogen) and converted into fats and carbohydrates as required, producing ureic acid (which is diluted into urine) in the process. If you eat too much protein your body will simply use it for fuel or store it as fat, just as it would with fats and carbohydrates. There is no reason to skimp on protein in your diet other than cost (high protein foods are typically more expensive than fat and carbohydrate heavy foods).

RDAs and government health guidelines

Government guidelines are set for the average man who doesn’t lift a dumbbell in his life, not bodybuilders. The RDA(Recommended Daily Allowance) for protein is the minimum needed to survive based on a sedentary lifestyle not build muscle, just like the RDA for Vitamin C is only enough to avoid scurvy, not build an immune system.

Can I build muscle without protein powder? Why protein powder?

Yes you can! Just eat enough protein from food. Protein powders are simply a cheap, convenient way to get more protein in your diet. They are a supplement, not a food replacement. Your diet should also be high in protein.

High protein foods such as meat and eggs are relatively expensive. Protein powders, for the amount of protein you’re getting, are relatively cheap and they can be mixed in seconds. 

The hard line

The guys who go to the gym and never build any muscle rarely eat more than 100g protein per day. They have one shake after the gym and complain that everyone else must be on something they’re not. They waste all their money hunting out magic pill supplements when they just need some more protein in their diet. If you’re not eating enough protein, you won’t grow.

If you’re not eating 1g per pound per day you’re wasting your time and you’re not serious about bodybuilding. Simply increasing your protein intake to this level will dramatically improve your results without any extra effort at the gym. Given all the sacrifices you have to make for bodybuilding eating 1g per pound is easy!

BMW

The power of transformation - reinventing yourself and my personal transformation

The power of transformation is incredible; you can build the life you want. No one is coming to save you, and they don’t have to: you can save yourself. You’re the best person for the job! It isn’t easy; you must give 100% and do whatever it takes! You must destroy all your comfort zones and do the things you fear, the things you never thought you would do, but always secretly believed you could. 

You must do whatever it takes regardless of what other people think to meet your goals. You will meet resistance every step along the way but you will persist and you will reap the rewards that follow. You will build strength, character and glorious health. 

My personal transformation

Stage1 - Me at 16

At this stage there was no diet and no exercise! I hated PE at school and my motto for health was “I’d rather rest in peace than live in agony!” believing the short-term pleasures of food to be greater than any long term benefits of being in shape. After all, if only the person on the inside matters what is the point in worrying about it? I did not believe that the body affected the mind, believing them to be independent and as all my pursuits were largely academic rather than physical, such as video games, building websites, etc. I saw no need to pay any attention to diet or exercise, considering them a waste of time. 

My exercise consisted of walking home from school and compulsory school PE. My diet consisted of unlimited red Coca-Cola, chips, ice-cream, chocolate, crisps, crackers with cheese and/or butter, biscuits, more cheese, tea with 2sugars, lamb chops, burgers, battered chicken, Burger King super-size XLBDC meals, etc. 

At 17 I decided to pursue interests other outside video games to broaden my horizons and decided to try something completely different. I saw little point in fashion, so I thought this would be a good place to start, especially considering how much everyone else seemed to be wrapped up in it spending all their video game money on clothes! I considered this strange, so I figured I must be missing something.

I started reading GQ and spent time clothes shopping trying to acquire some of the ‘top’ designer clothes including Emporio Armani, Ralph Lauren, D&G, Vivienne Westwood and Ted Baker. I very soon came to the conclusion that designer clothes only work on thin people, so I would need to become a thin person! I was unaware that this one decision would completely change the rest of my life.

Stage2 – skinny Age 17-19

As you can see from some of the designer clothes worn in the pictures I achieved my goal and amassed a wardrobe of designer clothes in the process. My diet consisted of eating as little as possible, with sufficient protein for its appetite suppressing properties. I didn’t count calories and just went for the minimum food I felt I could get away with. A random day would look something like:

Breakfast – cornflakes with skimmed milk

Lunch – chicken and brown bread with low fat spread

Dinner – chicken and roast potatoes

Snack – glass of skimmed milk

Rough estimate = 1700kcal, 150g protein 

I ate as little as possible and as clean as possible. I was not weight training or bodybuilding at this point, my exercise consisted of walking around campus whilst at school/university and the gym once a week (compulsory PE) whilst at school. I was not a bodybuilder, just a skinny guy who liked his clothes and being skinny! 

I was happy being skinny but I wanted more, I wanted to better myself and I had always dreamed of being a bodybuilder, but just like the fat BMW dreaming of skinny BMW, I saw it out of my reach. I knew I could change this, my belief in my own ability to change was now concrete after my first transformation and I knew I could build myself into whatever I wanted to be, I just needed the impetus to go and do it. 

After my second year at university I did not feel I was growing any more, just surviving. I decided to change this and looked to reinvent myself again. I decided to join a gym and try weight training. From the minute I started pumping iron, I was hooked, I loved it. I knew I would become a bodybuilder and I would do whatever it took, taking one step at a time, building on small, consistent changes. This would ultimately provide the mechanism to catapult my life to yet another stage in my personal development.

Stage 3 – Year one bodybuilding, laying the foundations

In addition to regular weight training I read as much about bodybuilding as I could. I acquired a collection of bodybuilding books and magazines and pestered everyone who knew anything about bodybuilding to teach me everything! I enlisted the help of a personal trainer, asked everyone at the gym who would talk to me questions and absorbed as much knowledge as I could. I was hungry for success and it showed! 

My cousin, a 280lb bodybuilder offered to take me to the gym and show me how to train, I could not have been more grateful! If he had told me you needed eat broken glass to build muscles I probably would have done it! I followed him around the gym eagerly and listened to every word he said. His form was perfect; he was incredibly strong and very impressive to watch training. He benched pressed weights that I had trouble lifting off the rack! He highlighted my glaring training mistakes. I had been training my chest primarily with machines, managing to bench a reasonable weight yet I struggled to lift anywhere near the same weight with dumbbells. I could leg press comfortably yet I struggled with squats and lunges. I subsequently removed as many machines from my workouts as I could and found free weight alternatives, removing most of the exercises I had been doing and relying primarily on big compound exercises. Squats, front squats, deadlifts, T-bar rows, bench press, push-ups and pull-ups became staples in my workouts. The result was dramatic, I performed less sets and less exercises spending less time in the gym yet I grew much stronger much more quickly.

Initially I struggled to gain much weight despite getting stronger (left picture) and after speaking to others at the gym and my cousin I soon came to the conclusion that whilst my diet was high in protein and I was training around four times per week, I simply did not eat nearly enough calories to grow. I bumped up my calorie intake considerably and saw consistent weight gain, leading me to eat more and more. I believed that as long as I was training regularly the weight would be mostly muscle and not fat, and subsequently my food consumption skyrocketed. If the scales did not go up, I simply ate more. Initially this was mostly clean food but I found I could consume far more calories per day by supplementing with junk food leading me to feast on Burger King, chocolate bars and ice-cream! As you can see from the right picture above I built a considerable amount of muscle in this first year of training but I also gained a lot of fat.

Typical diet around this time =

Breakfast – porridge, cornflakes, protein shake

Snack 1 – protein bar, baked crisps

Lunch – two WHOLE roast chickens and a loaf of soda bread with butter OR

Kebab shop Double cheeseburger and chips, sometimes with extra fried chicken OR Burger King Super-Size XL triple whopper with bacon and cheese meal

Snack2 – chocolate, crisps

Snack3 – protein shake, porridge

Pre-workout – porridge

Post-workout – protein shake

Dinner – two large chicken breasts, a lot of roast potatoes

Pre-bedtime – casein shake, full-fat cheese and lots of it

At the weekends I feasted, supplementing protein shakes and chicken to ensure I was consuming sufficient protein with huge amounts of pretzels, Doritos, chocolate, pizza, cheese, crackers and other junk food. When I ate out and at this stage I ate out a lot, it was a sheer eating contest. If I was out shopping for the day I would stop for food twice while everyone else stopped once, and I would stop for meals not snacks! 

My most impressive record was at Pizza Hut on a Friday night after leg day. I ordered two (they were either medium or large) pepperoni pizzas with a ton of parmesan and a whole pitcher of diet coke and my training partner ordered a large pizza that was on special offer (no idea what it was). The waiter thought I was sharing with my friend and she was surprised when all three pizzas were for just for us, leading the chef to come out and make sure I wanted two pizzas before confirming the order. He even put a 5minute delay between my pizzas so both would be hot. The manager and some of the kitchen staff even came out from the back to watch my friend and I eat all this pizza and they all said goodbye to us when we left. Naturally we went home afterwards and carried on eating!

After my first year of training I learnt a lot about bodybuilding and made adjustments to my diet and training accordingly. In the second year of training I decided to focus on removing the excess fat I gained while bulking and to continue building properly without falling prey to the dirty bulk. I loved my new muscle but did not like having a belly again and I did not feel I looked like a bodybuilder as the fat covered most of my gains.

Stage4 – Year two bodybuilding, getting shredded

 

I started keeping a food diary, logging everything I ate (as you can see from my last blog post) and setting calorie and protein targets related to my goals. When cutting I ensured that I maintained a calorie deficit and a calorie surplus when trying to gain weight. With the help of my training partners, including a new training partner I started working with in year 2, I have been able to isolate some of my weak points and have learnt even more about bodybuilding. I widened my reading, learning more about muscle anatomy, injury prevention and cure and the science behind muscular development, particularly post-workout muscular insulin sensitivity. 

I am currently in the second half of my second year of bodybuilding. I have learnt a lot this year and have been able to lose fat and build muscle by eating mostly clean, keeping a food diary monitoring my food intake, training consistently and manipulating my calorie intake carefully. I have maintained a calorie deficit for most of the year with the exception of a short bulking period over the winter. My bodybuilding suffered at the end of my second term of university due to sheer academic pressure but I have learnt from my mistakes and am training regularly and eating properly even while preparing for my final exams. I have lost all the fat I gained whilst bulking and more, developing visible abs and I’ve never looked or felt better! I hope to continue shredding until autumn 2013 and then I will undertake a bulk with clean eating and a more sensible calorie surplus to focus on building as much muscle as possible over the winter.

BMW