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PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   2160 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for December 27, 2023

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Alright tell me about creatine. Is it good?

Also BCAAs. Do I need to eat this stuff? Are all these exercise supplements total BS?

Creatine is great, I'd take it everyday if it not for the two times I used it (a couple of months) I noticed thinning on my hair and hairs on my pillow after I wake up. There's a lot of anecdotal data on the internet confirming this, even though the studies do not support an increase in DHT, probably something else is causing the thinning. So beware if you have a genetic predisposition to losing hair.

Get more glycine, it helps with recovery.

I would be worried about supplementing BCAAs.

I've personally never noticed a difference when taking creatine or not, whether it be bad things like bloating and cramping or good things like better swoleness and gym performance.

However, I take at least 5 grams each day because why not? Creatine is cheap, might as well satiate the placebo effect. From The ScienceTM and gymbro word-of-mouth over the past 25 years or so, creatine is possibly the most effective legal supplement, aside from protein-supplementation. Gun to my head, I would estimate it has, on average, a mild positive effect.

It's also likely diet-dependent: Creatine is naturally found in red-meat, so there may be diminishing marginal effects if you eat beef. There's been some studies suggesting that creatine-supplementation can be especially good for vegetarians, including for cognitive ability.

Creatine is very well studied and has a real but pretty small effect. It's also been linked to reductions in depression.

Most other supplements seem like scams. BCAAs are not a 'scam' because it's just a fancy word for certain proteins that are present in your diet already, but additional supplementation is completely unnecessary if you are already getting adequate protein from high quality sources.

I will pile on with my regular creatine + weighlifting period being when my muscles looked and performed their best.

Hilariously, the hassle of dosing the powder into a cup and remembering to stir/chug the grit before a workout is my main limiter on taking it effectively.

I just take a few grams after each meal. Still an annoying trivial inconvenience, but harder to forget that way.

I always wondered what would happen if you just put it in the coffee grinds when making coffee. Almost certainly nothing, but man, that would be handy.

Creatine is actually interesting. It inflates your muscles. Also it binds to simple sugars and draws them into your muscles. You can actually add creatine to dishes to make them taste less sweet.

BCAAs are essentially pre-digested protein. You can drink them in the morning to get quick energy, but if you're on a high protein diet they aren't really needed.

Ephedrine is useful, it's a stimulant that opens up your airways. Just stick with one or two 8mg tablets. Some people take large does and that gets scary.

Creatine is good. I ran out of creatine once and noticed a small, but significant dip in my performance. The rest of the supplements are bullshit or steroids.

This article cites multiple studies about the benefits of creatine for strength-building.

https://legionathletics.com/creatine-monohydrate/

I have taken 5g creatine daily for several years. I've never noticed any ill effects; I feel pretty much fine in general all the time. I have made gains in strength that are commensurate with the amount of work I put in. In general it's so affordable, and so well-supported by reputable commentators, that I think you should go ahead and use it. That was the conclusion I reached for myself.

In the opinion of the same guy from above, BCAAs are overrated. He found that the evidence supporting their supposed benefits is very flawed, and that in general there appears to be no particular benefit vs. just consuming appropriate amounts of normal protein and carbohydrates. See below.

https://legionathletics.com/bcaa-supplement/

It's been a while since I looked into it, but IIRC, creatine supplementation having positive effect on strength training was very well supported by the scientific evidence. For BCAAs, I recall learning that there's basically never any reason to seek out supplements with specific types of protein or amino acids as long as you're already getting a typical high protein diet needed for strength training with regular food. The total protein intake matters, and supplements can help you meet that goal without having to eat a ton of meat or other stomach-filling foods. "BCAA" sounds fancy and science-y, making for a good marketing gimmick, I guess.

Creatine works. It increases your maximum short burst strength by a small but noticable amount. It's worth trying. Drink plenty of water to avoid the kidney risk.

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