hey guys,

i've been training for a couple of years now and have never used any supplements beyond protein. last week i searched the internet high and low to find out the low down on creatine. today i purchased some pure creatine monohydrate. so i'm pumped and all ready to go right?

for the past year i've been using horley's awesome mass protein supplement. you can suss it out here.

i always knew it had creatine in it, i just never thought it would be a significant amount to be concerned about. i took it as a marketing ploy. now that i've learnt about doses etc, turns out it isn't as insignificant as i first thought. each serving has 750mg of creatine. i have two shakes a day so i consume 1.5g of creatine alone from my supplementing..... add that onto my base diet and likely clear 2g a day, and have been for the past year.

i'm probably looking into this too much, but i have to question it. do you think supplementing with creatine is going to benefit me? i mean i know it's impossible to predict but on face value i appears that i already have a creatine rich diet.

i only ask because i know any excess creatine just turns into a wasteful by-product and creates expensive urine.

i hope this is not the case, I was looking forward to using my first 'proper' supplement and seeing some nice strength/size gains.

thanks in advance

just incase someone responds...

the plot thickens. It just occured to me today that the protein is supposodly low G.I for prolonged release. Wouldn't this halve the creatine's effectiveness anyway?

Not sure about your second question, but as far as i konw Creatine Monohydrate is not the best form of creatine to use, try Creatine Ethyl Esther its dirt cheap (like few bucks for 100g) and does not cause water bloat that monohydrate is known for.
In regards to overdosing it, 2g a day is not too much by a long shot, I've seen people do 15g a day and like the results.

I haven't read creatine research for about a year now, but there has been no research done on CEE to my knowledge, so any "evidence" of it being effective is all anecdotal. As far as CM goes, it is highly effective and is the most studied ergogenic aid, with only the macronutrients of protein and carbs being studied more.

For maintainence, after loading only 5g/day is needed because saturation is lost slowly, about 1-2% per day. If creatine is benefiting you more depends on your workouts. Creatine can help for most routines, but is most effective for strength and hypertrophy workouts - not so much for muscular endurance.