Best Creatine Types...which to choose?

I'm out of NOW's Creatine Monohydrate, and am wondering if there's a more potent/better variety available. A few different types, and that LEF whey creatine looks pretty nice, but what is everyone taking? I'm trying to get on top of that scene.

Zoo, I fully expect a chime in. [thumb]

If you read enough bodybuilding forums you'll see plenty of talk about the Creatine Ethyl Esters -

I took a few about 2 years ago and these were my observations

1. Very little total weight gain - (It felt like my gains were mostly muscle - comparative to muscle and water with monohydrate)
2. I was noticeably stronger with the CEE (A tiny bit more than Monohydrate - I think it was due to extra "patented" sugars and aminos they added which increased uptake)
3. Weight fluctuation throughout was minimal (much less than monohydrate)
4. Loss in size and strength after my Creatine cycle was minimized

If you prefer the bigger look and don't mind the weight fluctuation - I don't think you can go wrong with basic creatine. Comparative to the price I just take the purest form of basic monohydrate. Considering I put about half as much time into lifting as I did before I graduated - the fact that the Monohydrate makes me look bigger is plus for me at this stage in my life.

I think if you want to cut - look leaner or you need to squeeze out that tiny bit of extra muscle it will give you stick with the Monohydrate

If you're a creatine non-responder you may have success with the CEE

Creatine ethyl ester technology can potentially lead to improved absorption, less bloat and minimal water retention - comparative to creatine monohydrate

Definately take Monohydrate if the extra cost isn't worth it for you - Some of those CEE brands are $35 and up whereas you could get much more Monohydrate for $10-20

If you want the best bang for the buck you can try a basic CEE powder without any of the "patented" delivery systems - heres a good one - http://www.1fast400....roducts_id=2237

I would consider taking the basic CEE or Creatine Monohydrate with some Alpha Lipoic Acid and Some Dextrose or Grape Juice to increase uptake
(It works great for me and why pay $15 more for a company to add the stuff for you) - Don't forget to drink plenty of water

Click HERE to rent this advertising spot for SUPPLEMENTS (in thread) to support LongeCity (this will replace the google ad above).

Da BUMP (said like "Da Bears")

creatine:

UN-micronized creatine monohydrate... converts very readily to creaNINE. toxic, bad.

micronized monohydrate is ok.. its somewhat stable but some of it does convert to creanine. if you decide to stick with mohonydrate... CreaPure brand is the only way to go.

creatine ethyl ester.. works good, but there have been speculations of possible health risks. should be avoided

di-creatine malate.. stable, safe, effective. 4$ / 100 grams at custom nutrition warehouse.. its what i use.

magnesiun creatine chelate.. produced by albion labs. best of the best, but no available in bulk. if you dont mind the splenda & artificial colors, and the 40$ pricetag...controlled labs makes a product called green MAG which is 1/2 magnesium-creatine chelate and 1/2 di-creatine malate. best creatine product on the market, hands down.

again, i use bulk di-creatine malate (2cm brand from HERE)

UN-micronized creatine monohydrate... converts very readily to creaNINE. toxic, bad.

micronized monohydrate is ok.. its somewhat stable but some of it does convert to creanine. if you decide to stick with mohonydrate... CreaPure brand is the only way to go.

creatine ethyl ester.. works good, but there have been speculations of possible health risks. should be avoided

di-creatine malate.. stable, safe, effective. 4$ / 100 grams at custom nutrition warehouse.. its what i use.

Great info! - I definately agree (you need micronized Creapure if you go Monohydrate)
- I forgot to add that I did try Swole and V12 which are Di-creatine and Tri-Creatine malate...Which is the same thing - and they definately worked very well - I just couldn't stand the artificial sweeteners - I also didn't look as big while I was on it, which turned me off a bit...(damn narcissistic tendencies)

The pure powder you posted looks like it'll be my next creatine purchase - [thumb]

Thanks ajna and shadowrun, this is just what I wanted to hear.

if you dont mind the splenda & artificial colors, and the 40$ pricetag...controlled labs makes a product called green MAG which is 1/2 magnesium-creatine chelate and 1/2 di-creatine malate. best creatine product on the market, hands down.

Plus you get a few other goodies tossed in.

if you dont mind the splenda & artificial colors, and the 40$ pricetag...controlled labs makes a product called green MAG which is 1/2 magnesium-creatine chelate and 1/2 di-creatine malate. best creatine product on the market, hands down.

Plus you get a few other goodies tossed in.

yup... its good stuff. i just cant stomach the splenda
i believe 300G increments can be purchased directly from albion... i will be looking into this in the next few weeks, and ill post back here.

note:
it is -extremely- important to stay very hydrated while taking creatine.
make note of your urination habbits vs drinking habbits vs creatine dosage...
i do believe the standard is 1/2 galon of water per 100lbs of bodyweight... more if youre drinking caffeinated beverages (tea included)

typical dosage is 3g di-creatine malate 30-45 minutes BEFORE workout
and an additional 3G di-creatine malate POST workout

3-5G anytime on off days

ajna, i found your magnesium creatine chelate:
http://customnutriti...wder-p-219.html

I'll be buying some soon and some dicreatine malate and comparing them against the LEF micronized Creapure monohydrate I currently run.

Great conversation all, trying to figure out a new workout routine that I can begin in a month and a bit when I'm done school..I'm out of creatine monohydrate and need to make a decision. I'm finally going to add some more mass and hit up all that shit serious like.

Zoolander still hasn't posted!!!!! [pirate]

Look at the end of the day I do not think there will be a huge difference between the different types of creatine. Most companies will sell their creatine monohydrate in the micronized form.

The aim is to get the creatine into the muscle. Hence, the difference will depend on how you load with creatine. Additionally time of consumption will be very important. Some good ways to shuttle something into the muscle is to consume it when there is an increase in muscle blood flow i.e just after exercise. Additionally, consuming the creatine with a high GI meal and a little Na+ will also help.

here's an example of how to load

Consume 5 g creatine with 60 grams carbohydrates (CHO) 4 x per day for 5 days. Consume each dose approximately 4 hours apart from the other i.e 7am, 11am, 3pm, 7pm.

After the loading phase all you need do is to take 2-3 grams creatine per day to counteract it's clearance. Once again, a good option would be to consume the creatine immediately post training or with a high GI CHO meal.

P.S: Sorry I took so long Tim

and if you want something a little more formal as opposed to something off the top of my head, here you go

Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2003 Mar;13(1):97-111.

    Creatine supplementation: a comparison of loading and maintenance protocols on creatine uptake by human skeletal muscle.


        * Preen D,
        * Dawson B,
        * Goodman C,
        * Beilby J,
        * Ching S.

    Department of Human Movement and Exercise Science at The University of Western Australia, Crawley, W.A., Australia, 6009.

    The purposes of this investigation were first to determine the impact of 3 different creatine (Cr) loading procedures on skeletal muscle total Cr (TCr) accumulation and, second, to evaluate the effectiveness of 2 maintenance regimes on retaining intramuscular TCr stores, in the 6 weeks following a 5-day Cr loading program (20 g x day(-1). Eighteen physically active male subjects were divided into 3 equal groups and administered either: (a) Cr (4 x 5 g x day(-1) x 5 days), (b) Glucose+Cr (1 g x (-1) of body mass twice per day), or © Cr in conjunction with 60 min of daily muscular (repeated-sprint) exercise. Following the 5-day loading period, subjects were reassigned to 3 maintenance groups and ingested either 0 g x day(-1), 2 g. day(-1) or 5 g x day(-1) of Cr for a period of 6 weeks. Muscle biopsy samples (vastus lateralis) were taken pre- and post-loading as well as post-maintenance and analyzed for skeletal muscle ATP, phosphocreatine (PCr), Cr, and TCr concentrations. Twenty-four hour urine samples were collected for each of the loading days and last 2 maintenance days, and used to determine whole body Cr retention. Post-loading TCr stores were significantly (p <.05) increased in all treatment conditions. The Glucose+Cr condition produced a greater elevation (p <.05) in TCr concentrations (25%) than the Cr Only (16%) or Exercise+Cr (18%) groups. Following the maintenance period, muscle TCr stores were still similar to post-loading values for both the 2 g x day(-1) and 5 g x day(-1) conditions. Intramuscular TCr values for the 0 g x day(-1) condition were significantly lower than the other conditions after the 6-week period. Although not significantly different from pre-loading concentrations, muscle TCr for the 0 g x day(-1) group had not fully returned to baseline levels at 6 weeks post-loading. The data suggests that Glucose+Cr (but with a much smaller glucose intake than currently accepted) is potentially the most effective means of elevating TCr accumulation in human skeletal muscle. Furthermore, after 5 days of Cr loading, elevated muscle TCr concentrations can be maintained by the ingestion of small daily Cr doses (2-5 g) for a period of 6 weeks and that TCr concentrations may take longer than currently accepted to return to baseline values after such a Cr loading regime.

    PMID: 12660409 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

It's basically what I just said

There you go Tim. Happy?

ajna, i found your magnesium creatine chelate:
http://customnutriti...wder-p-219.html

I'll be buying some soon and some dicreatine malate and comparing them against the LEF micronized Creapure monohydrate I currently run.

add it to your cart, its out of stock! and according to the owner, wont be back in stock for agood while.

Look at the end of the day I do not think there will be a huge difference between the different types of creatine. Most companies will sell their creatine monohydrate in the micronized form.

i dont agree at all..
the amount of the dose absorbed vs amount turned into creaninine in the gut between monohydrate and something like di-creatine malate... is rather significant. as the effective dosage for d-cm is around or less than 1/2 of mono... also it produces no 'bloat' and no gi disturbances like mono is known to do. its just a better, more scientifically advanced product all around...

and magnesium-creatine chelate is not even taken up via the same pathway other forms of creatine are...


also, loading phases and consumptions with high GI carbohydrates are NOT necessary

There you go Tim. Happy?

LOL, you know I'm just giving you a hard time

And yes, very! Thanks, I was only so insistant because I know creatine is one of your areas of specialty.

Edited by mitkat, 16 February 2007 - 03:35 PM.

ajna, i found your magnesium creatine chelate:
http://customnutriti...wder-p-219.html

I'll be buying some soon and some dicreatine malate and comparing them against the LEF micronized Creapure monohydrate I currently run.

add it to your cart, its out of stock! and according to the owner, wont be back in stock for agood while.

Yeah, I figured that out when I tried to order some. Laaaaaame. But check out this product, ATP Evolution:



According to Albion's site here, magnesium creatine chelate is 8% magnesium, so that would mean there's 3500mg of MCC in the above product, plus some monohydrate and ribose.

http://www.nowfoods....l&item_id=45916

Carnitine Creatinate? Damn, player. No wonder I get out of the loop sometimes.

Click HERE to rent this advertising spot for SUPPLEMENTS (in thread) to support LongeCity (this will replace the google ad above).

the amount of the dose absorbed vs amount turned into creaninine in the gut between monohydrate and something like di-creatine malate... is rather significant. as the effective dosage for d-cm is around or less than 1/2 of mono.

Creatinine is formed in the muscle and is cleared through the kidney. Creatinine is a creatine metabolic product. Creatine not absorbed in the gut will simply flow through unabsorbed.



Ajnast4r, I searched the literature for info on di-ceatine malate in case I was out of the loop. I couldn't find anything. Do you have any references that you could refer me to.

also it produces no 'bloat' and no gi disturbances like mono is known to do. its just a better, more scientifically advanced product all around...

I've lost count of the amount of cycles I've done on creatine. I can't remember getting bloated or having any GO disturbances.

and magnesium-creatine chelate is not even taken up via the same pathway other forms of creatine are

The most recent study using MgCre chelate

J Strength Cond Res. 2004 May;18(2):311-5.

    Mg2+-creatine chelate and a low-dose creatine supplementation regimen improve exercise performance.

        * Selsby JT,
        * DiSilvestro RA,
        * Devor ST.

    Section of Sport and Exercise Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.

    We tested the hypotheses that, compared with a placebo group or creatine (Cr) group, a Mg(2+)-Cr chelate group would demonstrate improvements in the 1 repetition maximum (1RM) on the bench press and be able to perform more work at 70% of the 1RM for the bench press. Thirty-one weight-trained men were randomly assigned in a double-blind manner to a placebo group (multidextran), a Cr group (2.5 g of Cr daily), or a Mg(2+)-Cr group (2.5 g of Cr daily). Baseline data were collected for the bench press 1RM and maximal work completed during a fatigue set at 70% of the 1RM. Following 10 days of Cr supplementation, follow-up tests were completed for the dependent variables. Groups were similar when the change in 1RM was evaluated either absolutely or relatively. Both the Cr and the Mg(2+)-Cr groups had significantly larger increases in work, both absolutely and relatively, when compared with the placebo group. Partial support for the hypothesis suggests that low doses of Cr are effective at increasing fiber Cr content, and consequently, performance. Further, the Cr and Mg(2+)-Cr groups were similar in both performance tests, suggesting that the proposed mechanism of entry is no better than the conventional method when 2.5 g of Cr is administered and performance is measured as work. This study raises the possibility that a low dose of Cr may be an effective means of enhancing performance after short-term ingestion.

    PMID: 15142029 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]