UK-Muscle Body Building Community - Bodybuilding Forum - View Single Post - Creatine + Protien: Advise for my situation?

jswill100 · 27-04-2008, 08:07 PM

Hello all,

Am totally new to taking creatine and any kind of protein supplement. I have just ordered some AST mono creatine and some of their protein supplement. I know there are answers to this kind of thing lying around, but was hoping to get some replies that helped with my particular goals in mind.

Basically my situation is that I am around 5ft 11 and weigh just over 10 stone. So as you can imagine im pretty skinny, but am in reasonable shape and tone (other than my love handles which miraculously always stick around lol).

Anyway, i work out around 3-5 times a week, with alot of cardio and a moderate amount of weights. Im not really making any progress and feel ive leveled out a bit. I thought I would try out creatine + protein in an attempt to put on a moderate amount of bulk and reduce my final supplies of body fat (which are around 14% and still giving me some very nasty looking love handles).

I am a vegetarian, so am aware that I wont have alot of creatine going on in my muscles naturally, so creatine could well be extremely effective for me. I intend to pick up some more weights in my routine and lower my cardio a bit.

Im basically wondering how you suggest I tackle this, since I dont want to be an utter beast, I naturally suit having a fairly slim build but would like to remain fairly slender but built. Please feel free to give me general advise, and below are some questions that spring to mind. If anyone can give me feedback that would be great. I know theres ALOT of questions there, so feel free to responds to as many or as few as you like!

FYI, my creatine and protein stuff arrives tommorow, so will be starting up with all this real soon.

How much should I be eating, should I up my calorie intake? I have the vague idea that to put on muscle im going to need something to work with, and since im pretty skinny, will this mean really eating alot? Right now I have been attempting to lose my body fat via exercise and calorie control (2000 or less a day) will this need to go up if I want to bulk up some? My diet is reasonably healthy, I try to get plenty of protein generally (lots of cottage cheese, eggs, etc) but am not all that aware of other aspects (cards, complex, simple, aaarghhahah, confusing!)

should I take exactly the recommended dose of creatine, or perhaps since im a vege lower to a little to involve bulking too far too fast? should I do the "loading up" week do you think? I have heard some saying thats a scam to get you to use more and has little or no practical affect.

how much protein supplement should I take (in grams of protein) given my 10st 3lbs weight, and is there any drawbacks to exceeding some limit?

Can taking protein supplements and creatine and NOT getting to the gym and lifting lots of times a week be bad for you in any way, or perhaps make you put on weight that isnt muscle?

If I got to my ideal body stage, but wanted to take creatine still for the extra cardio stamina and stuff (i also saw a BBC report saying some research has been done saying it can improve brain function, so would consider just taking it for even a small chance of that being true!), can you take very small doses and get a small amount of their effect, or does it not work like that?

The brands ive bought are AST Micronised Creatine Monohydrate and AST VP2 Whey Isolate. Are these generally accepted as being decent? I see tons of different brands being chucked around so thought Id just try some and see how my body reacts.

Are there any other supplements you can recommend? I hear alot of sciency stuff about carbs and acids and all that but would be useful to get a simplified run down of what might be helpful for a fairly casual user like me who isnt trying to become hulk hogan but still wants to build some pretty quick bulk.

Cheers
John

27-04-2008, 08:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
jswill100 Newbie Trainer Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1	Creatine + Protien: Advise for my situation? Hello all, Am totally new to taking creatine and any kind of protein supplement. I have just ordered some AST mono creatine and some of their protein supplement. I know there are answers to this kind of thing lying around, but was hoping to get some replies that helped with my particular goals in mind. Basically my situation is that I am around 5ft 11 and weigh just over 10 stone. So as you can imagine im pretty skinny, but am in reasonable shape and tone (other than my love handles which miraculously always stick around lol). Anyway, i work out around 3-5 times a week, with alot of cardio and a moderate amount of weights. Im not really making any progress and feel ive leveled out a bit. I thought I would try out creatine + protein in an attempt to put on a moderate amount of bulk and reduce my final supplies of body fat (which are around 14% and still giving me some very nasty looking love handles). I am a vegetarian, so am aware that I wont have alot of creatine going on in my muscles naturally, so creatine could well be extremely effective for me. I intend to pick up some more weights in my routine and lower my cardio a bit. Im basically wondering how you suggest I tackle this, since I dont want to be an utter beast, I naturally suit having a fairly slim build but would like to remain fairly slender but built. Please feel free to give me general advise, and below are some questions that spring to mind. If anyone can give me feedback that would be great. I know theres ALOT of questions there, so feel free to responds to as many or as few as you like! FYI, my creatine and protein stuff arrives tommorow, so will be starting up with all this real soon. How much should I be eating, should I up my calorie intake? I have the vague idea that to put on muscle im going to need something to work with, and since im pretty skinny, will this mean really eating alot? Right now I have been attempting to lose my body fat via exercise and calorie control (2000 or less a day) will this need to go up if I want to bulk up some? My diet is reasonably healthy, I try to get plenty of protein generally (lots of cottage cheese, eggs, etc) but am not all that aware of other aspects (cards, complex, simple, aaarghhahah, confusing!) should I take exactly the recommended dose of creatine, or perhaps since im a vege lower to a little to involve bulking too far too fast? should I do the "loading up" week do you think? I have heard some saying thats a scam to get you to use more and has little or no practical affect. how much protein supplement should I take (in grams of protein) given my 10st 3lbs weight, and is there any drawbacks to exceeding some limit? Can taking protein supplements and creatine and NOT getting to the gym and lifting lots of times a week be bad for you in any way, or perhaps make you put on weight that isnt muscle? If I got to my ideal body stage, but wanted to take creatine still for the extra cardio stamina and stuff (i also saw a BBC report saying some research has been done saying it can improve brain function, so would consider just taking it for even a small chance of that being true!), can you take very small doses and get a small amount of their effect, or does it not work like that? The brands ive bought are AST Micronised Creatine Monohydrate and AST VP2 Whey Isolate. Are these generally accepted as being decent? I see tons of different brands being chucked around so thought Id just try some and see how my body reacts. Are there any other supplements you can recommend? I hear alot of sciency stuff about carbs and acids and all that but would be useful to get a simplified run down of what might be helpful for a fairly casual user like me who isnt trying to become hulk hogan but still wants to build some pretty quick bulk. Cheers John Last edited by jswill100; 27-04-2008 at 09:36 PM.