Creatine For tennis

J

^J-Rod^

New User
i am going to begin creatine supplementation on Monday. Hopefully it can help me build up some muscle mass in my upper body. I just wanted to know what the best loading phase period and amounts of consumption are. Would anyone be able to tell me what they have taken?? Also if there is anyone with horror stories about the supplement, they would be appreciated too. After all, I haven't engaged in the supplement just yet. :confused:
 
cramps with creatine

Not a horror story, but creatine certainly gave me foot cramps. It's kinda' funny to me looking back, because I didn't want it to be the creatine. My feet would really cramp up bad at night. Very painful! I take Lipitor for a hereditary high cholesterol level and I thought it was the Lipitor. Then, I thought my tennis shoes were too tight. Finally, I had the sense to try stopping the creatine and the foot cramps were gone in a couple of days and have never come back. Some would say I "wasn't drinking enough water," but I don't care to take something that requires drinking abnormal amounts of water to prevent side effects. And, I really don't think the creatine helped. It was just some sort of crutch for me. And, take creatine generally involves ingesting significant amounts of refined sugar and that's not good for you. So, give it a try if you want to, but I wouldn't recommend it myself.
 
did any of you guys get the water retention which is synonymous with it? I'm worried that could have injury side effects?
 
My senior seminar focused on creatine and my results found that creatine is actually very BAD for tennis and can actually slow your endurance and performance down on the court. Creatine's precursor is creatinine, which conserves the phosphate group in ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is, in molecular terms, energy. Creatine is beneficial for slow twitch muscles that are associated with expolsive bouts of power followed by extended periods of rest, ie weightlifting, football, and baseball. Mark McGwire, infamous for his bulk and home run publicity, was a major supporter of supplemental Creatine. However, tennis is associated with fast twitch muscle movement that needs prolonged phosphates over time. The retention of water by the body is a sign of phosphocreatine conservation. Athletes in soccer, tennis, and swimming should avoid creatine to maintain stamina and endurance in their respective sports. Creatine is found in small traces in foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, mostly seafoods like cod and tuna. If you want to get bulkier and wouldn't mind sacrificing your tennis, go nuts.
________
Extreme Vaporizer
 
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Weightlifting uses fast twitch muscles... slow twitch involves endurance related activity
 
Unless you get beat up by toothpicks and q-tips, you probably don't need to add mass. If you want to get stronger, hit the gym.
 
Believe me, I hit the gym. I have noticed slight increases in weight recently. I think that creatine could have helped supplement my diet but I think the smarter thing is just to ensure high protein and unsaturated fat intake. This seems to be working, And I am kind of worried about the fluid retention side effects. However, I think that there is a place for creatine in sport. It will just take time to better synthesise it for consumption while also giving individuals time to better understand the role it can play. Apparently Creatine is all the rave for cyclists.
 
Creatine is for the gym. I find tennis requires gym work, but really specific things. You work your quads, the shoulder tops, and so on, but the absolute rule of gym work is to work things in pairs. You must do the opposite corresponding pairs of any you work on.

I don't think muscle bulk is what tennis is about at all. Sorry my viewpoint is check that creatine doesn't interfere with what you want to achieve. You want strength -- core strength -- like abs, lower back and so on; and you want flexibility, which means stretching alongside strength. Creatine is bulk and mass, and perhaps to start with there are some gains, however in the long run it may be injurious to your game?
 
I doubt it. There's no such thing as being too strong, or too muscular.
 
Some muscle mass is advantageous in tennis. After all, didn't we just see Hewitt bulk up to help him deal with the power of other players? I suppose it all depends on just how skinny you are. I wouldn't really suggest Creatine. But if you're pretty skinny and want some added muscle, get on a smart weight lifting program (buy a good book) and supplement a healthy diet with some protein/weight gain shakes. If you have trouble gaining muscular weight, you need to drastically increase your calorie intake.
 
Mary Pierce went through a whole slew of injuries right after she started touting the benefits of creatine in pretty high amounts. This was not long after her last French Open win. She then got a bad back injury and was out for forever. Dunno if it's related, but I've heard certainly that it can make one more prone to cramping and injury if you take enough of it. I take a little for the gym whenever I remember to, but I don't think it's enough to do anything one way or another, I just need to use up the stuff I have.
 
Ha ha, good one. Yeah, obviously you don't need to look like Arnold, but on the other hand in today's tennis, you can't be a little wimpy sucker either.
 
you should go to www.wannabebig.com, it is a great working out website that has a board for supplements and even has a sticky topic with great links that tell you all about creatine. But watch out, they are all bulk guys, so just find out information about the supplement.
 
Not wimpy, for sure. But, I do get tired of the musclehead mentality of popular magazines like Men's Health and those that are much worse. I mean, lots of these folks thing it's all about getting bigger and bigger. When they start talking about how you won't keep getting bigger if you don't do this or that or about what to do when you've stopped gaining, I think to myself...uh, if the muscles get bigger and bigger at some point things won't work anymore. And you'll look like a freak. Federer is a great example of why we don't need extreme muscle bulk to play tennis. I lift weight twice a week, but if I do too much of it, my game suffers.
 
You don't need that much mass and muscle, rather you need more endurance.That's why it's better for tennis players to lift some 5-20lb weight (depending on your own strength) over a longer period off time then trying to do some 50lber as many as you can.
 
I took creatine my senior year of high school. I was always very scrawny my whole life up until that point. I started lifting very hard middle of senior year, I was very motivated to change. I started taking creatine then. Just take what is recommended to take. I took 100% creatine, from prosourceonline.com good stuff. Well from the time I started taking it, until about the end of the summer, I gained roughly 40 lbs. of muscle. BE CAREFUL though, some people's bodies do not like creatine at all, and will let you know. My body was fine with it, but my brother took it, and it wasnt pretty. He had issues in the bathroom, im just gonna leave it at that. Someone I know that took it as well, had extremely bad cramps, alot of stomach cramps. Ive heard of people getting really dehydrated, but everybody is different. DRINK LOTS OF WATER, but then again, you should do that anyway. Hope that helped.
 
My idea is that whatever you don't develop by natural means, won't help you too much in tennis. It'll be sooner or later a load to carry around.

And you're risking your health. Not worthwhile.
Stay lean and mean, like Fed.
 
When using Creatine it is very important to drink at least 1 gallon of water a day and if possible 2 gallons. It is better to cycle it using approx six week periods. The loading phase it pretty much BS. I would also say that Creatine ethyl ester is much much better, no loading phases are needed and it absorbed at a much higher rate. I also would like to comment on some of the weight training comments I read, I hear people say stuff like, focus on quads, shoulders etc. Most skilled trainers would agree to train your entire body, Tennis more than any other sport I have competed in is a total body sport and you need every bit of your body to be strong besides being mentally tough. Unless you are one of these kids I see hitting at the courts who just stand there, no split step, no rotation of their body when they swing, if that's the case....well good luck....

Scott
 
Creatine

There is no denying the effects of creatine to muscle cells. Make sure you read about what your doing before you start putting crap in your body. Understand what exactly creatine is and what it does to the muscle cells. This will aid in ATP phosphoralization. You can get the same effect if you train properly. Expect to gain weight and for your muscles to feel thicker and tighter. You will can strength, but mostly your muscles will be saturated with water. This will fade as soon as you stop taking the creatine. You should try a suspension formula... no powder crap and no liquid ATP. GNC has a suspension formula that they market for about $15 a bottle that works great. You should load for 3-5 days with about 10 grams, then maintain with 2-3 grams pre-workout and 2-3 grams post-workout ( 30 min's for each ). Drink more water than ever before or you'll dehydrate on the tennis court.

If you want to keep any muscle gains, you should increase your protein intake to you body weight in grams per day. Try 5 meals of protein per day. Being 2 shakes ( egg and whey protein ), ****canned tuna ****, salmon, chicken, and stay away from red meat.
Good luck!
MW
 
Do the work. Don't try to take a shortcut.

For tennis, more muscle mass than you need will only slow you down. If you want more muscle mass for other reasons, there's nothing wrong with that, it is useful for other sports and can look good.

Andre Agassi bulked up too much and had to re-tune his workout regime to lose weight to get faster and play better. The trend in pro players now is to try to lean out as much as possible and still maintain their strength.
 
Tennis players want a good muscle to weight ratio - not so much pure strength. Creatine will help you get bigger lifts up but you will quickly gain water weight. I wouldn't bother..

You can easily get 'big enough' for tennis without touching the creatine. I'd go fish oil/protein powder as the two first supplements to start with before getting into creatine. Now if you are just looking to bodybuild - creatine is a proven supplement. It does work.
 
I have been taking creatine again..lessened the dosage so I dont retain as much water. My movement has been improving, and I have only gained lean muscle..im not getting bulky.

Definitely have to drink a ton of water though.
 
Creatine really isn't going to do much for tennis. Even when doing real lifting, any help it gives WRT muscle mass is at best almost negligible.
 
So you're gaining muscle and losing fat (which is unlikely, but that's besides the point). "Lean muscle" is a term that doesn't itself mean anything. Muscle is muscle and fat is fat - there is no "lean" muscle versus "bulky" muscle.
 
Ok well go to a bodybuilding forum and argue that one. I don't feel like getting into the debate, but I have bulked and cut enough times in my life to know the difference.

I know my waist has shrunk, and I look leaner but have more muscle.

Call that whatever you want.
 
Have not used Creatine as a workout supplement but rather used as Match Supplement.

When my legs lose some power and I feel fatigue....I drink some Creatine Whey powder. I feel a boost in power and energy.

Most of the time the body use natural phos-creatine....and the ammount is only last so long. Creatine replenishes for a temporary time.
 
Power Player said:
Ok well go to a bodybuilding forum and argue that one. I don't feel like getting into the debate, but I have bulked and cut enough times in my life to know the difference.

I know my waist has shrunk, and I look leaner but have more muscle.

Call that whatever you want.
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By all means, head to a bodybuilding forum (be sure to choose one that has a culture based in demonstrated fact and research). You will hear that it is only absolute noobs who have a shot at actually gaining muscle while losing fat. It's difficult and pretty much impossible for anyone who is already athletic.

None of the people I've ever met who say that they have accomplished this have backed it up with actual data, such as charts of weight and lean mass over time.

Your evidence is that you look leaner and "have more muscle," but losing just a few pounds of fat while maintaining lean mass invariably makes people look like they've gained muscle. I know several guys who lost serious mass (like 10-20 lbs) and looked much more muscular at the end, but the reality is that the majority of the mass they lost was fat. Getting more cut creates the appearance of having gained muscle, but that pretty much never happens.
 
kishnabe said:
Have not used Creatine as a workout supplement but rather used as Match Supplement.

When my legs lose some power and I feel fatigue....I drink some Creatine Whey powder. I feel a boost in power and energy.

Most of the time the body use natural phos-creatine....and the ammount is only last so long. Creatine replenishes for a temporary time.
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According to the research I've read, creatine does nothing at all in the short term like that. Creatine mid-match is pointless.

Fast-digesting protein, however, is a halfway decent idea. A little Gatorade or Cytomax is even better.
 
jonnythan said:
Your evidence is that you look leaner and "have more muscle," but losing just a few pounds of fat while maintaining lean mass invariably makes people look like they've gained muscle. I know several guys who lost serious mass (like 10-20 lbs) and looked much more muscular at the end, but the reality is that the majority of the mass they lost was fat. Getting more cut creates the appearance of having gained muscle, but that pretty much never happens.
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This is what I am saying I did..I went from 17% BF to 12% and I look more muscular..what is your point? I burnt fat and gained a more defined muscular build..is this really worth nitpicking over?
 
Power Player said:
This is what I am saying I did..I went from 17% BF to 12% and I look more muscular..what is your point? I burnt fat and gained a more defined muscular build..is this really worth nitpicking over?
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What was your weight during that change, and how did you measure BF?

It kinda is, to me. I think "gain muscle and lose fat at the same time" is one of the biggest myths in the fitness industry and the source of endless confusion for people who don't really understand what's going on.

If you don't want to have the discussion, all you need to do is not reply.
 
jonnythan said:
None of the people I've ever met who say that they have accomplished this have backed it up with actual data, such as charts of weight and lean mass over time.
Click to expand...

I did it!!!!

5 years ago I was 198.3 @ 19.3%.

4 months later I was 184.9 @ 12.6%.

I lost 13.4 total pounds while gaining 1.6 lbs. LBM

I have the bod pod printouts :)

(This is true, but yes, I'm being facetious. My "gain" isn't even outside the error rate of the machine.)
 
Yeah, you talk down and tell me "I don't understand what's going on" and expect me to not reply to that? LOL. Please.

My weight has not changed that much..my body has..my body fat has as well. I have worked out under multiple coaches and played collegiate athletics..I know whats going on.I went from a 33 waist to a 31 and am more muscular.

What have you done to qualify yourself as an expert to talk down to people here? Something we should know, or are you just a college kid who reads a lot?

It doesn't matter in the end..you are going to argue and do your thing and no one wins.

I know I look in the mirror and like the results of what I have done ..thats all that matters..the rest of this stuff is just ridiculous.
 
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I imagine these classic bully tactics have worked for you in the past judging by how quickly you default to them.
 
You feel bullied on the internet from this conversation?

That's pathetic..lol. Seriously..thanks for jumping in and attacking me and then bailing out with that gem though.
 
I don't feel bullied; I'm pointing out classic bullying tactics.

"Go get a girlfriend"

"That's pathetic..lol. Seriously"

"Something we should know, or are you just a college kid who reads a lot?"

Name calling, generic insults, dismissing statements without argument or defense, etc.
 
You are so brilliant. Really a higher level of intellect. How dare I engage you in discourse when you have such a stellar history of not trolling and always taking the high road on here.

Next time I will be sure to make charts and graphs to prove my fat loss and muscle gain to you so that way we all can verify it is real.
 
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Relatively untrained indviduals can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. It's quite possible - this idea that you need to either 'bulk or cut' is the real myth that hurts people IMHO. You get to a point where its very difficult to add muscle without adding fat - but that's far off in most people.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_carb_cycling_codex

Here is a primer on how to do it. its diet related - of course. Short answer - carbs should be taken before and after your workout to stimulate anabolic growth. But they should be restricted on non workout days to prevent fat growth. This is why for sedentary office workers - and the like low carb is awesome. But I digress..

This is coming from an already developed bodybuilder. Its even easier to do without being trained IMHO.
 
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