Gym Bunny

I thought that everyone was aware that if you are supplementing with creatine you should lay off the caffeine. But talking with a friend the other day made me realise some people don't know.

There is an excellent article HERE, but I'll summarise for you.

When I first heard that you shouldn'T mix the 2 I thought that as creatine is reported to help your muscles retain water, but as caffeine is a diuretic it was counterproductive to mix the 2. I came across a really interesting article (see link) and I’ll quote from it:
So I was wrong, the problem has nothing to do with water retention.
[quote]It is thus relevant that one of PCr’s primary roles in muscle is to provide the energy to return calcium into these reservoirs. In this manner creatine (PCr) assists in muscle relaxation and enhances our athletic performance. Interestingly, caffeine has the opposite effect of allowing calcium to escape from these intracellular calcium storage sites. Caffeine would thus hamper muscle relaxation. In agreement with these findings a recent study has shown that caffeine interferes with creatine’s ability to facilitate muscle relaxation, especially during moments of fatigue. Caffeine might thusly confound the ability of PCr to store away calcium and in doing so nullify part of creatine’s benefit. [quote]

So it's not really about water it's about calcium. Creatine helps your muscles relax and boosts your performatnce by effectively helping to restock the calcium in your muscles. Caffeine does the opposite, letting calcium escape.

So if you are supplementing with caffeine you as basically stopping creatine doing it's thang.

Another interesting thing I learned from this article is that most of the problems come from continuous caffeine use. If you’re just grabbing a diet pepsi/coke/red bull from time to time you shouldn’t see any problems. But if like me you’re using on a daily, hell, hourly basis you can expect to see less benefit, if any, from your creatine use.

Thank goodness caffeine is a friend while cutting and creatine is better when you're bulking/strength training.

__________________
mens sana in corpore sano

BabyYoYo

Nice post GB - I actually didn't know that or even consider any problems using the two.....

Reps

x

Will101

Good post! I will stop mixing creatine powder in with coffee then! (yes, seriously!)

pastanchicken

Cheers for that GB. Reps on there way!

MASSIVEMONSTER

I thought everyone knew this

Gym Bunny

Will, that might be a good idea. If you still want a stim, try something like tyrosine, an amino acid.

It:

• increases mental focus and alertness
• increases feelings of well being
• helps reduce muscular fatigue
  

which means it should help you avoid overtraining. It also seems to boost the effects of other stims!

__________________
mens sana in corpore sano

Will101

Good info. Thanks for that, will give it a whirl. TBH have never really thought much about how / what I am doing with the Creatine, it is just one of those things I chuck in with multi vits etc. as it can't really do much harm! All good now though!

WRT

Nice post, wont stop me using them together though!

BabyYoYo

I dont strictly use them together. I have caffeine in the morning pre am cardio and then use creatine pre and post workout...

Does the same still apply?

x

MASSIVEMONSTER

No doesnt apply. It is only affected if the two are consumed together

Gym Bunny

Bingo! Or if you're consuming a stupid amount of caffeine a day.

__________________
mens sana in corpore sano

carly

cool post babes xxxx

__________________
Sponsored by www.Myprotein.co.uk http://www.missfitclothing.com


http://www.beefsandbabes.co.uk

John XTC-SE

Wasn't aware of this, and no one ever mentions it if you say you're taking Sida Cordifolia (which contains caffeine) as a pre workout boost, and then creatine after, will have to look into this more!

doubtofalex

Same goes for people working an ECA stack and cycling creatine they, in theory, shouldnt work with each other!
Thats if your tyring to gain muscle mass and cutting tho really

SK-XO

Thanks for that.
Gotta lay off the caffein haha, I drink a lot of sugar free caffein drinks, just due to job (bouncer) keeps me alert.
But im on creatine at the same time. I'll lay off it. Repped.