swampwater

I have just decided to give up on using creatine for fighting. Although it was helping me gain strength it was also at the same time making me gain more water weight and pushing me into a higher weight class. Creatine also makes it harder to cut weight because of its water retention qualities. This makes me raise the question of why the heck do fighters like Liddell and Franklin use creatine when they're already having to cut 20 or more pounds to fight. This just doesn't make sense to me. Someone please enlighten me.

sitnspin

What kind of creatine have you been using -- Monohydrate? It's famous for causing a lot of water retention, while at the same time benefiting your muscles less than the newer and more expensive creatine ethyl ester.

Also, we don't know for sure that Liddell and Franklin even use creatine. They say they supplement regularly with NOX-CG3, but they're also getting paid a lot of money to say that. There are rumors that a couple of Xyience's most high profile spokesmen in the UFC don't even actually use the stuff.

Billy Rush, who's one of the top conditioning trainers in the sport, doesn't let his guys supplement with anything beyond a multi-vitamin. He believes that it all should come from your diet and nothing else.

But even if you're using monohydrate and getting that water bloat, if you go off soon enough before you have to weigh in, you should be able to sweat it all out, and you'll still have benefited from the extra lifting the creatine allowed you to do.

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Crashsti

Jeff Monson is another fighter that does'nt use creatine and he is among the strongest and most powerful fighters to ever compete in the UFC. you don't have to use creatine to be a great fighter but its one of only a handful of supplements that has scientific backing to support its claims. the truth is, Creatine works. Sitnspin metioned Creatine Ethyl Ester, its one of the newest forms of creatine and its also more expensive. however it does not have the associated bloating that can come with using the older Creatine Monohydrate. as for the Creatine's water retention causing you to have trouble weight cutting and forcing you into a heavier class? my advice, stop using Creatine a week out from competition. the majority of fighters stop thier strength and power training about 7 days out from fight day. if your not training you don't need creatine and you can still benefit from the strength and power gains that you earned in the gym during your fight. i would imagine you could even take some Creatine after weigh-ins if you really think you need it in your system all the time.

AikaImmortal

Creatine can cause dehydration very easily. It really is nowhere near as useful as other supplements on the market when it comes to long term muscular growth and retention. I take DHEA and 6-OXO (4-Androstene-3,6,17-trione) but you might want to check into the rules of your sanctioning body, as some allow these, others cite them with other anabolic agents.

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Crashsti

you're still taking DHEA? i was actually going to ask if you were. i had read some bad reports about it and how it effects people who don't really need to supplement it, ie. anyone under 40. i will have to dig up the articles i read. as far as Creatine, even the National Strength and Conditioning Association agrees that out of all supplements, creatine is one of a few that can really be helpful to power and strength athletes that require repeated bouts of explosive energy. i have read many studies that compare the ATP recovery abilities of Athletes who are using creatine vs. those who are not. overall the groups using Creatine experienced significantly higher ATP recovery versus those not supplementing. while Creatine does'nt directly stimulate strength and power gains it does give you the ability to work out at a higher intensity which translates into strength and power gains. but you only get out of it what you put in .if you're not working out at 100% effort creatine supplementation will not do as much for you as it will for someone who is pushing thier limits on a regular basis in the gym.

swampwater

I don't know about DHEA cuz I'm only seventeen and I don't think it would do much for somebody as young as me. I've been told not to mess with anything that messes with hormones cuz I've already got plenty of that at my age. I pretty much just take protein now and a multivitamin

Crashsti

i agree, its messing with hormones is a bad idea unless you really need it and its being overseen by a doctor. as far as DHEA, there is'nt alot known about it, however from all i have read it does'nt live up to the hype that it entered into the market with. DHEA is only about 1/10 as effective as testosterone, so you'd need to take alot of it in order for it to work. however taking alot of it has resulted in abnormal heart beats and other heart irregularities.