I’m looking at adding Glutamine to my protien shakes. Can anyone tell me what it does to/for muscles? I assume it should be taken post workout? Also, does anyone have any throughts on taking Creatine after workouts? I can’t see the benefit of taking it post workout out but it seems many do.
Thanks!
Chris
Of course you’ll find all sorts of contradicting opinions if you do a web search, but most of those will be due to financial interests.
Here is some info on your creatine question.
I’ve been a bodybuilder for 25 years and my advice with the majority of supplements is- save your money. About the only type of supplements I find worth spending my hard earned money on are protein shakes. If you can get a good deal on creatine, I’d give that a maybe. The size bodybuilders put on due to creatine is from intracellular and extracellular fluid retention and I’m not so sure it does much in terms of long term results. In my own experiences I’ve found the results to be fleeting. Although you do get a pretty awesome “pumped up” feeling while you’re on it, which would explain why it’s been one of the #1 selling supplement for some time now. I find eating a relatively high in protein diet and getting in enough calories to be expensive enough. I couldn’t afford to fall for all the typical muscle-mag hype.
Thanks! That helps. I’ll save my money.
I’ve just written a review paper on creatine. My conclusion was that it most probably works in the long term, on some people. Some studies conclude that it doesn’t, some that it does, and the meta analyses are favorable. Every study has a lot of non-responding individual cases.
If you load up on creatine correctly, then the levels in your body will be permanently raised, which is the point, so it shouldnt make much of a difference when you take it. (Although your body might have slightly more preference for uptake at certain times, but it shouldn’t be that important a factor.)
What does “most probably works in the long term” mean? Are you saying that any gains in size are permanent? What is it that brought you to that conclusion?
Just to clarify, by long-term I meant an effect over and apart from the weight gain from water retention. Which of course you lose again once you stop taking creatine.
Creatine lets (some) people lift heavier amounts. If you lift heavier than you otherwise would have, don’t overtrain, and eat correctly, then you gain muscle mass.