One important thing that hasn't been mentioned so far is that creatine is often more initially impactful for those on a plant-based diet. Those individuals tend to have lower baseline muscle creatine levels than omnivores as they don't get the dietary creatine from animal products (meat, fish, poultry).
@@aleksandrsscedrovs4476 have you seen the same clip? She got 1,3 kg muscle mass and was able to do work progress in 6 weeks as a female! Thats amazing!
This is awesome to know! I’ve been taking creatine for almost 2 weeks and almost quit taking it until this video! I’ve been feeling all the things you talked about
Excellent job. Creatine was one of those supplements where it was "oh yeah, I see the difference in performance". You might want to consider continuing taking the creatine given that as a vegan, you don't consume the natural sources that provide creatine. As another commenter stated, being vegan might be the reason why your loading phase was so rough. Keep in mind there are many other benefits to creatine than just muscle building (brain, bone, etc.), and it's a safe supplement.
Pura verdade! Aconteceu e acontece comigo até hoje. Desde que comecei a tomar, meu corpo mudou e aumentei minha massa magra e delineei meus músculos em todo o corpo.
How creatine effects show in a training calisthenics athlete was fun to think about and now we finally have it. Would love to see for how long this progress continues whether or not it hits plateau in case of summerfunfitness. Those reps after creatine were really explosive and speaking of explosives, those abs are really popping out and in the posture pics. Overall, it's a really good progress, one that everyone would love to see when they are taking creatine. Nice job documenting it.
I'm a 43F calisthenics intermediate who has been on the fence about creatine for the exact reason you were -- I notice a ridiculous performance cost to even 1 or 2 lbs weight gain due to water retention (PMS, for example), and can imagine that creatine could very easily not be worth it to me because, I guess just the way my body is, being lighter is a better deal than being more muscular. It might have to do with my limb lengths, proportions, etc., but I've always found that even gaining a pound of muscle is hard to justify when it comes to performance. I seem to progress better from skill practice rather than actual muscle tissue gains. So, so far, no creatine. This video is fantastic and helps add to my things to think about. For now, I think I'm going to continue without creatine, because something that a lot of people don't mention is that for a lot of people, myself included, going for a month feeling bad might actually be enough to throw me off track for a long period of time. I'm sensitive (lol), and going throug a hard time in my peresonal life in the past has led to me giving up on the gym for years at a time. I have to consider the risk to my long-term progress of becoming depressed and frustrated by a month of struggle. At the same time, I'm the type of person who is perfectly fine setting 10-year calisthenics goals. This year, I was able to do the single-leg dragon flag variation so I set a goal to unlock the full dragon flag by the end of 2025, but if it takes 2-4 more years I actually don't care. I don't want "results" because results means you're done and I don't want to be done. So for me, I think even if the negative effects are temporary, being miserable for a month might be enough to end my calisthenics "career", and it's not worth that risk to me, but that could change in the future. Thank you so so much for addressing this particular aspect of creatine use and for being the guinea pig. I love your videos and you inspire me so much!
It’s so interesting hearing different people’s perspectives on various supplements, activity, etc. I take creatine on and off and never notice any negative things. I didn’t even realize you should drink more water on it. I do drink a lot of water normally as well though.
Congrats! You look amazing! So sporty and agile! Very exciting to hear how your performance improved so much, and you were able to break plateaus at the end of the video. Thank you for being honest about your feelings and experience, I didn't realise the how much of an impact it could have on energy levels and thurst in the first few weeks. Your videos are so well-made and informative and it's so nice to see someone caring for themselves and glowing from the onside out. You should be very proud of yourself.
Agreed. The results blew my mind. I thought I'd maybe gain 1 pound, if that. I also thought any weight gain would be from water alone. I was truly surprised, especially since I've weighed the same for so many years.
@Summerfunfitness At 15:45 of the video the diagram clearly shows that Summer's skeletal muscle mass increased by ~2lbs, not 4lbs. It's still impressive nonetheless. It's also important to note that, while DEXA is the gold standard, there is still a margin of uncertainty. You can get rather different results taking 2 DEXA scans on the same day just 15 minutes apart, even if you don't eat anything in that period. @poleag Yes, indeed you are right.
@@Wolfgang-k1o The results shown at 15:45 were from the BIA machine. We did not use the BIA machine's results for fat percentage or muscle gain as it isn't as accurate as the DEXA scan. Instead, we used it to measure changes in water as it is best used for that. We used the DEXA results for muscle gain and fat percentage. That is where the ~4lbs is coming from. The BIA machine results were quite different from the DEXA results - for example, it measured my body fat percentage at just 15.4%, whereas the DEXA measured it at 19.6%. To conclude, we got 2 scans done and were advised to follow the DEXA scan results as it is far more accurate than the BIA machine. However, we still did the BIA as it does a good job at measuring the water held within your cells. So yes, the less accurate BIA results were different from the DEXA results.
The overall caveat - as with everything in fitness - is that 'everyone is different'. Saying that, however, creatine is one of the most researched and positive supplements a regular person can take and will often give good results. As you are a trained athlete (and for a self-trained athlete you look fantastic btw) I think you can be very pleased with these results. I'm curious to see if you can maintain your performances when the creatine is finished. Subscribed...
Very interesting topic. I like how thorough this video was. Just like you, I never had the habit of consuming creatine. I only tried it once, for a week or two, and was starting to develop problems when urinating, so I decided to cut it off of my diet forever.
❤Bin(53) ein,Fan'von Dir!!😅 Du inspirierst mich was-mehr zu tun für Mich!😊❤ Klimzugstange ist bestellt seit gestern. Sie dient als ,Motivation' für Mich vorerst bis ich Kraft habe daran nach und nach was zu machen. Meine 2 Jungs interessieren sich auch für das Gerät!😅 Du motiviertest mich und ich meine Teenys(16 und 12)😅❤ Das kann nur gut werden!!😅 Dankeschön für Deine Videos!!❤❤❤ Toll!!
Huh your experience sounds intense, almost like you caught a light cold or something. However people respond differently to creatine, for many it doesn't make a difference, for others it makes them much stronger. For me personally I get slightly heavier, slightly stronger and feel no different at all. Also I don't think that you usually need to drink more water after muscles have saturated with creatine (after the loading phase). I also don't know if most people really need to drink that much more. In my experience drinking the creatine along with a cup of water has been enough to meet the additional need for hydration. Overall I think creatine is something everyone can try it's probably beneficial to take it but it's also not a game changer for most people. It can just be a nice little addition for some.
Creatine isn't just for bulking... it is the primary ingredient for ATP synthesis which your fast twitch muscle fiber consume as an energy source during anaerboic respiration. Creatine is useful for anyone who isn't a nonresponder.
So awesome to hear!! I take it doing Crossfit, but i enjoy the extra bit of weight lol. I def thought water mass would increase!! Im sorry you had such a rough transitional start, water is huge. Thanks for the video and information this was so insightful!! Your calisthenics are insane!! 😎
Wow! that's a really interesting experiment! I don't use Creatine, so your investigation is really educating before considering consuming it. In my case I have a regular intake of Peruvian Maca, and it helped me a lot to have more energy in my daily life (but not necessarilly more strenght). Thank you so much for your content, and best wishes from Argentina.
People who aren't used to it, it will definitely feel different and peculiar. But to me, it is the most drastic and necessary supplement I've ever taken. It makes 350lb deadlifts feel light to me. Like steroids without being steroids. That is how powerful Creatine is. I prefer Creatine HCl as it is easier to absorb and has less side effects than Creatine Monohydrate. But all Creatine forms work similarly well. It is after all the most researched athletic performance supplement available. So, we can be 100% confident with it. And might I add, you look absolutely stunning, even more so than before. That's gotta be a good sign that it works!
Back when I was powerlifting. I experimented with creatine for a length of time I don’t remember. What I do remember is my bench press going from 135 to 225 for 5 sets of 5 in less than 12 weeks, my deadlift going from 225 to 450, and my squats going from 205 to 275. I was training 4 days a week following a 5x5 protocol under a mentor 60+ California powerlifting champion. My strength skyrocketed and my muscles were very full. I don’t remember any side effects, just the benefits.
You are right about the HCL, it is better in my experience, but malate is even better and you can take a lower dose to achieve same results. Mono was a nightmare for my stomach, I felt like a hot air balloon.
@@wolven777 yeah even HCl causes some bloating for me but I have IBS so HCl is necessary. I don't even want to contemplate how bloated I'd be on mono lol
@@jmcsquared18 Mono was kinda funny for me, minutes after I took it, I felt pregnant and I'm a dude... The best in my opinion is creatine malate or tricreatine malate, no bloating and no methane production, which is not compatible with squats or any activity where you squeeze your abs. Other than that, creatine was a game changer for me too, helped me soo much in getting in better shape, but the "rumors" about it contributing to hair falling seem to be real (I don't care, I'm already past that point lol)
Great video. I started using creatine a few months ago. I didn't really notice a huge change apart from far less muscle aches in the 1 or 2 days after a workout, particularly with running, but also in the gym.
Very interesting! I’ve been using creatine for almost 6 months and didn’t have any of those issues but I’ve also been on a high protein diet (average 100g a day) for almost a year.
Did you see any changes in general? Or just positive ones? I was so tired and heavy because I had put on ~4lbs of muscle in just 6 weeks (which is quite alot for the average person). Building muscle requires a lot of rest. I've been at the same weight for over 5 years, so it was definitely a big change for me.
@ I had actually lost weight but I started your beginner calisthenics program so I think I needed to up my calorie intake . I am seeing more muscle definition and strength gains and I’m actively trying to slowly gain weight. I was 123lbs dropped to 120lbs and now I’m at 124lbs. I’m 5’5”. I noticed major muscle gains and definition in my husband after only 3 months. I’m also almost 41 years old so I feel like everything is slower and takes longer than it did in my 20s & 30s. 😂
Great video! I too started taking creatine (about 6months ago) and noticed similar results on my body scan. I would usually hover around 153lbs and now I'm consistently 157ish. My muscle mass didn't increase all that much, maybe 1.x lbs or so, but where I really noticed the difference as far as scans go is my BF%. I went from a consistent 12.x% down to 10.6-10.8. That decrease helped me out a good deal with skills training. I too am in the same progression level with my front lever, but your pull-up's are way above mine! I wish I had a DEXA scan near me, but for the time being I'll just continue to monitor the changes via the InBody measurement at my local supplement store.
Nice vid! I see that you use some climbing training gear - don't you want to do a video all about climbing? :) that could be cool to watch! Especially with your callisthenic - enormous - strength!
Thanks for this analysis. I was taking creatine just before covid hit when I was going to the gym. I got to eventually be able to max out all the leg machines for 3 sets of 8. I think it did help my performance, but I got to weigh 99.7kg and the extra body weight became too much for my joints to be able to carry. These days I've switched to yoga and callisthenics and am taking a combination of super lean protein and BCAA. My weight is down to 65kg and I am seeing a lot more muscle definition as opposed to chunky, bulky size. Am tossing up Wether or not to take fish oil for joint health, because that has definitely helped in the past but walnuts and spices seem to be enough to help at the moment if I'm not pushing too hard.
Hey queen! It’s been a minute since I’ve watched your videos but I’m happy this one popped up! You’re a savage and I hella respect your transparency in your videos! I took creatine for the first time over summer training for a reps comp and I felt like a balloon!! And even when I stopped taking it, I felt like I took forever to “deflate” 😂 I’m curious to know how you feel for the following weeks once you’re off of it. Keep us posted 🤓
Summer, you seem like a genuinely positive person who shares their journey and test results in good faith, but I have to set some facts straight regarding this video: • DEXA segments body mass into three categories: bone, fat, and lean mass. It cannot differentiate the subcomponents of lean mass (water, muscle proteins, glycogen, etc.). Therefore, it will not directly indicate whether an increase in lean mass is due to water retention, muscle hypertrophy, or some other factor; • The BIA test results will vary significantly based on hydration level, time of the day (having just woken up or exercised, for instance) or where you are in your menstrual cycle (more on that below); • ECW/TBW, as measured by the BIA test, is the ratio of extracellular water over total body water, but it doesn't directly measure your intracellular water level. Your ECW could have increased proportionally which would make the ICW increase undetectable; • Assuming your menstrual cycle is close to the 4-week average, since you did the two tests 6 weeks appart, you would have been at the opposite end of your cycle on the re-test, and given your appearance as well as results at the end, I would venture to guess that you were in your late luteal phase where the ECW/TBW ratio would have been the highest (increase in extracellular water), that is had you not increased your ICW in tandem by taking creatine. Doing the tests 8 weeks apart would have been preferable; • The mechanism by which creatine promotes intracellular water retention as well as increased muscle glycogen levels is well documented and your body mass gain of 3.7 lb falls in the range of increase that would be expected after 6 weeks of creatine supplementation; • For creatine to work, you would *have* to have experienced this increase in intracellular water due to the osmosis principle, else it would mean that you didn't actually stock creatine in your muscles and the supplementation somehow failed; • That fact that you found yourself feeling dehydrated, thirsty, and having to drink significantly more water is evidence of my previous points; • Lastly, gaining 3.7 lb of contractile tissue in 6 weeks for a trained woman (or man) with your level of experience is, as you should be well aware, not realistic. If one fourth of that were actual muscle, those would already be incredible results in that short a period and without a dramatic change in your training volume and methodology along with nutrition. TL;DR: You didn't gain 4 lb of muscle ; perhaps 1 lb if even that. It is unfortunate that the madam who accompanied you in the process ended up not understanding the results and drastically misinforming you, which in turn led to you spreading misinformation to tens of thousands of people. Hopefully this comment serves to set the expectations right for a few of them. Besides what I consider to be major faults in the analysis part of the video, the supplementation did work as intended and you seem to have had great results, so well done on that front, and I'm sorry for serving you what may look like a turd sandwich with very thin slices of bread at first glance, but which was in fact meant as an informative and non-derogatory, er, sandwich 😉
I also notice it's much easier to consistently progressively overload with creatine compared to nothing, but I had surgery recently and had to cut all supplements the two weeks leading up to it, and I dropped 8 lbs of water weight within a month. My husband was like wow you are skinny now,and my stomach felt much flatter without the little bloat. No change in body fat or lean mass, but i agree you are thirsty all the time and feel very full and tight all over your body esp after a workout pump. I was taking it for 1.5 years consistently. Overall, creatine is worth it and I will cycle back on it after my wedding and start the process again. Just know it takes about a month to see the water volume decrease totally, especially if you've been on it awhile.
I started taking creatine last year. I started with 3 grams for the first few months, and then bumped it up to 4 or 5 depending how I feel. I’m a petite person as well, so I figured to not take the recommended dosage for a while until I felt comfortable enough to bump it up. That might be the reason for your perceived heavy achiness and tiredness. 🙃✨ also, I have been taking trace minerals electrolytes, so that might have helped😊
5 grams is too much for most of us, but it's good for the manufacturers... 2.5 grams is enough for me (180cm) but I don't take monohydrate as I don't tolerate it.
Summer, tenho 69 anos. Revolucionei minha saúde a partir maio de 2018 para cá. Tenho 1,60m de altura. Pesava 74kg e hoje peso 54~55kg, desde agosto de 2018. Minha massa magra era muito baixa, todavia após começar a tomar creatina, há dois anos, e diminuir meus HIITs e exercícios aeróbicos juntos com o treino de musculação intenso, tive ganho, substancial, de massa muscular, ou seja, aumentei meus músculos sem perder "a ternura" pois continuei com menos de 10% de Body Fat, 1 de Visceral Fat, e o mesmo peso. Sugiro que continues a tomar a creatina, não te fará mal nenhum, apesar de tua jovialidade e a convicção de não precisar tomá-la.
Very informative video, thank you, Summer! I took Creatine for a while and I can't remember side effects when I started, my strength just increased over time and my muscles felt like someone had oiled a rusty car chain😅 I didn't like the feeling of relying on an external source for my strength and it also seemed to me, that my jaw muscles increased in size which as a female I didn't like very much, so I stopped taking it. Working out felt much harder again😆 It would be interesting, how your experience continues without it
Just an fyi from my experience taking ~4-5g of creatine/day: check your kidney function. Creatine was negatively affecting my kidney function and I only found out because I had a kidney stone (had well before taking creatine) and my bloodwork showed reduced kidney function and high creatinine levels. It was only after I stopped using creatine that it went back to normal. I had been taking creatine for ~1 year at that point.
You are completely right ! People do not imagine how it's not natural to take these supplements. You have maybe a benefit on one side but you deplete your health on another side. We should juste consumme what god gave us on earth without too much processing products or food. Have a nice day ! Greg.
Great video... aesthetically, to be honest, didn't see any differences, but it is all about your own experiences. I might not be taking creatine... given your own experience. Not really into all out heavy 2 times a day gym work yet. I was wondering if it was your training coupled with more rest days (more you rest, the better your performance over time) that did the trick for you? Either way, keep up the good work, your videos are inspirational!
Maybe all those negative effects and the impressive gains have something to do with your vegan diet. We normally do produce our own creatine and then increase that by consuming animal muscle tissue. Maybe the supplementation was such that your body had to struggle to really adapt to such increased intake. I almost began training while supplementing with creatine, so I never really noticed side effects. Since it's not an expensive supplement and has many health benefits, I've kept taking it.
That’s an incredible result for anyone, but it’s particularly impressive given that you’re a vegan who doesn’t concern herself much over protein intake
It would be really interesting to compare what results you would achieve if haven’t taken creatine. Because there also would’ve been some muscle gain and skill progress
Omg you're Canadian, how do I end up following all these Canadian fitness RUclipsrs lol. Y'all seem like nice and balanced people, I guess maybe I just naturally gravitate to that. Back to the video, it's an interesting concept and the results were really intriguing. I find it strange that the recommended amount is 5mg for everyone regardless of starting height weight gender etc. As someone mentioned, you being Vegan probably played a big role in your body's reaction because creatine is naturally found in animal protein and gives muscles (and other tissue like brain tissue) the building blocks to make ATP which our mitochondria use as currency for energy production for metabolic function in our cells. Generally the research tells us athletes should expect a little more energy to get an extra rep or two more in their regular exercise, which is what your results show. An additional 4 pounds of muscle is also quite solid for your frame (122 pounds) in just 6 weeks without changing anything else. I wonder if starting at 5mg was just a lot for someone of your relatively small frame compared to let's say a 6' male athlete who would have more muscle mass (in theory at least) to store creatine. Would be interesting to note how much of the creatine bag you had used up at this point, and whether you noticed any strength loses 6 weeks from coming off creatine. Either way, great video idea and interesting results. Thanks for sharing 👊🏿👍🏿
@@SummerfunfitnessRemarkable. I do and it worsens my rhinitis after a few days. However it certainly helps mental performance and strength endurance...
It's roughly 4 pounds of muscle per the DEXA scan results, which are more accurate than the other scan which showed 2 pound increase. Her body weight also went up 4 pounds with lower body fat and no changes in water weight.
@@brotendo no it's about 4 pounds, those results you indexed were not DEXA scan results, it was the other less accurate test. She clarified in another comment
Hello Summer, thank you so much for inspiring us. If you just increased muscle mass in the 6 weeks test, do you think it's worth doing this until you reach your strength goals? Then stop taking the creatine. Thanks again for so much information you're awesome!!
One variable that changed with creatine was increase in sleep. I know professional athletes that purposely sleep more to gain more potential growth hormone with the added sleeping time. Is it possible that you could just increase your sleeptime as a means to improve your training gains? In my mind there were 2 variables in this test, the addition of creatine as well as increased sleep. Strangely I meet allot of people that train hard and when I ask them how much sleep they get, the answer is rarely over 6 hours. So sleep seems to be an underutilized variable in training. BTW" ordered the book in your kitchen since I need more plant based oil free recipes to keep things interesting.
I've always prioritized sleep, normally getting 8 hours every night. I believe I had to sleep even more then usual when taking creatine as my body was working hard to create more muscle. I didn't choose to sleep more, rather my body made me :P
I wonder if it's a bodyweight difference (currently 164 lbs, 3-5 g a day), but your first few weeks seemed wild by comparison to mine. I just notice a little smoother progression and a little easier recovery when I regularly take it. Crazy interesting.
This is great since i just started taking creatine and worried it would make me bulky. Not what i want as an asian female. Not sure how much more creatine is in your bag but im curiously for a followup scan.
8:56 Yikes, I never experienced any noticeable change whenever I suddenly start or stop taking creatine, but I always tend to drink a lot of tea throughout the day anyways
Creatine causes bloating and makes you plump with water retention. Your face will become puffy. Any gains are insignificant and one could gain strength by proper diet, exercise, and rest. 🙏
i expected these results as i have used creatine while doing calisthenics for several years now. IF you stop using and did start up again i really doubt the next go around would be as bad as this time. Maybe if its a year or more before you use it again. But i actually think doing something like 6 weeks on 6 weeks off creatine is good.
I did like the results of creatine when I was body building but now that I am training calisthenics I also do not think it is as great for this sport. If I ever do begin weight training again, I might consider taking it again.
4lbs in 4 weeks?! I'm not convinced...I started taking it 4 grams a day. I drink normal water. I have been doing less weight training and more body weight movements...I hardly work my arms anymore and do variation pullups instead and Lhangs currently working on inverted plank, the frog pose is fun and the helicopter I did for one second and sloppy as it was I'm counting it. I'm female and 69! I also had the nappies but I train at 4 and 5 a.m. by 1 I want a nap. i've slep for 5 hours once...I just stayed in bed and feel asleep again.
Und zw.,Kreatien'werde ich mehr und nehr neugierig darauf😊-Ich wollte eigentlich garnicht dem ,Konsum'verfallen und irgendwas auch immer einnehmen.🤔Und nun??😅🤔 Kann man nicht ohne das Zeug auch durchtrainiert aussehen??
I train at a rock climbing gym and belay my partner outdoor climbing every weekend. I don't climb much these days as I'm trying to get good at calisthenics but I'm very integrated in the community here .
Hi Summer thank you for testing creatine and having a dexa scan and sharing this video with us. I have never even tried one serving of the stuff and I do not ever plan on using it. My brother used creatine for a little over a year, and I believe it played a role in his death.
My only concern with creatine is that I feel like it might be like testosterone in the sense where it could be bad for your liver and also your body may become dependent on it and produce less creatine when you stop taking it then before you started taking it. Like with testosterone or other hormones, the body will shut down the production of producing those hormones because they are taking artificially and then sometimes they get dependent on it and they end up taking it for the rest of their lives. Like there's not a lot of research on that part of it. Sort of like how I would take liquid melatonin and then that messed up my body's ability to create melatonin on its own and I can't sleep more than 6 hours
Actually find it very difficult to get to sleep unless I take something unless I'm really really tired. And sometimes I only sleep for 4 hours. And it's because of taking that melatonin
Creatine monohydrate is one of the most studied supplements for athletes. It's great
Can you do another scan 6 weeks after stopping creatine?
Genius
One important thing that hasn't been mentioned so far is that creatine is often more initially impactful for those on a plant-based diet. Those individuals tend to have lower baseline muscle creatine levels than omnivores as they don't get the dietary creatine from animal products (meat, fish, poultry).
that is an excellent point, not immediately obvious... *thumbsup*
As this individual tried to go on creatine several times with the same outcome with getting bad weight without any strength related result.
@@aleksandrsscedrovs4476 have you seen the same clip? She got 1,3 kg muscle mass and was able to do work progress in 6 weeks as a female! Thats amazing!
This is awesome to know! I’ve been taking creatine for almost 2 weeks and almost quit taking it until this video! I’ve been feeling all the things you talked about
Do you take creatine on an empty stomach? I have heard people get more side effects if they take it on an empty stomach.
@ not usually, I normally add it to my post workout shakes
So happy for the new vid🤩 Very interesting and well put together😊
This makes me so happy! I'm hoping to have another video out this month!
Excellent job. Creatine was one of those supplements where it was "oh yeah, I see the difference in performance". You might want to consider continuing taking the creatine given that as a vegan, you don't consume the natural sources that provide creatine. As another commenter stated, being vegan might be the reason why your loading phase was so rough. Keep in mind there are many other benefits to creatine than just muscle building (brain, bone, etc.), and it's a safe supplement.
Pura verdade! Aconteceu e acontece comigo até hoje. Desde que comecei a tomar, meu corpo mudou e aumentei minha massa magra e delineei meus músculos em todo o corpo.
How creatine effects show in a training calisthenics athlete was fun to think about and now we finally have it. Would love to see for how long this progress continues whether or not it hits plateau in case of summerfunfitness. Those reps after creatine were really explosive and speaking of explosives, those abs are really popping out and in the posture pics. Overall, it's a really good progress, one that everyone would love to see when they are taking creatine. Nice job documenting it.
Swimming and hiking and calisthenics, this is the best life!!!! Nice video :)
Workouts just feel "easier" when taking creatine. Maybe good for the brain too, or so I've read.
yes for brain too, it increase ATP.
I'm a 43F calisthenics intermediate who has been on the fence about creatine for the exact reason you were -- I notice a ridiculous performance cost to even 1 or 2 lbs weight gain due to water retention (PMS, for example), and can imagine that creatine could very easily not be worth it to me because, I guess just the way my body is, being lighter is a better deal than being more muscular. It might have to do with my limb lengths, proportions, etc., but I've always found that even gaining a pound of muscle is hard to justify when it comes to performance. I seem to progress better from skill practice rather than actual muscle tissue gains. So, so far, no creatine. This video is fantastic and helps add to my things to think about. For now, I think I'm going to continue without creatine, because something that a lot of people don't mention is that for a lot of people, myself included, going for a month feeling bad might actually be enough to throw me off track for a long period of time. I'm sensitive (lol), and going throug a hard time in my peresonal life in the past has led to me giving up on the gym for years at a time. I have to consider the risk to my long-term progress of becoming depressed and frustrated by a month of struggle. At the same time, I'm the type of person who is perfectly fine setting 10-year calisthenics goals. This year, I was able to do the single-leg dragon flag variation so I set a goal to unlock the full dragon flag by the end of 2025, but if it takes 2-4 more years I actually don't care. I don't want "results" because results means you're done and I don't want to be done. So for me, I think even if the negative effects are temporary, being miserable for a month might be enough to end my calisthenics "career", and it's not worth that risk to me, but that could change in the future. Thank you so so much for addressing this particular aspect of creatine use and for being the guinea pig. I love your videos and you inspire me so much!
Nobodys gonna read a novel about someone taken or NOT taking creatine for fuck sake! Nobody gives a fuck!
It’s so interesting hearing different people’s perspectives on various supplements, activity, etc. I take creatine on and off and never notice any negative things. I didn’t even realize you should drink more water on it. I do drink a lot of water normally as well though.
Congrats! You look amazing! So sporty and agile! Very exciting to hear how your performance improved so much, and you were able to break plateaus at the end of the video.
Thank you for being honest about your feelings and experience, I didn't realise the how much of an impact it could have on energy levels and thurst in the first few weeks.
Your videos are so well-made and informative and it's so nice to see someone caring for themselves and glowing from the onside out. You should be very proud of yourself.
4 lbs of lean muscle as a highly trained woman in 6 weeks is sick.
Agreed. The results blew my mind. I thought I'd maybe gain 1 pound, if that. I also thought any weight gain would be from water alone. I was truly surprised, especially since I've weighed the same for so many years.
@@Summerfunfitnesswhy do you want to go off it then? Don’t you expect further increased gains with creatine?
Isn't it mainly that creatine increases intracellular water and that gets counted as "lean body mass"?
@Summerfunfitness At 15:45 of the video the diagram clearly shows that Summer's skeletal muscle mass increased by ~2lbs, not 4lbs. It's still impressive nonetheless.
It's also important to note that, while DEXA is the gold standard, there is still a margin of uncertainty. You can get rather different results taking 2 DEXA scans on the same day just 15 minutes apart, even if you don't eat anything in that period.
@poleag Yes, indeed you are right.
@@Wolfgang-k1o The results shown at 15:45 were from the BIA machine. We did not use the BIA machine's results for fat percentage or muscle gain as it isn't as accurate as the DEXA scan. Instead, we used it to measure changes in water as it is best used for that.
We used the DEXA results for muscle gain and fat percentage. That is where the ~4lbs is coming from. The BIA machine results were quite different from the DEXA results - for example, it measured my body fat percentage at just 15.4%, whereas the DEXA measured it at 19.6%.
To conclude, we got 2 scans done and were advised to follow the DEXA scan results as it is far more accurate than the BIA machine. However, we still did the BIA as it does a good job at measuring the water held within your cells.
So yes, the less accurate BIA results were different from the DEXA results.
That is awesome you were able to increase your strength and gain muscle! Thanks for sharing your experience!
You're GREAT ATHLETE!!! 👍👍👍 Please DO another scan 6 weeks after stopping creatine!!!
The overall caveat - as with everything in fitness - is that 'everyone is different'. Saying that, however, creatine is one of the most researched and positive supplements a regular person can take and will often give good results. As you are a trained athlete (and for a self-trained athlete you look fantastic btw) I think you can be very pleased with these results.
I'm curious to see if you can maintain your performances when the creatine is finished. Subscribed...
Your level is amazing! Love you’re progress ❤
Creatine DEFINITELY helps me get an extra pullup or 2
Placebo
Always felt like I had a tad more in the tank taking creatine but I would really balloon up on water weight as I drink a lot of water normally
Nice video its refrshing to see a longer and informative videos like this
Very interesting topic. I like how thorough this video was. Just like you, I never had the habit of consuming creatine. I only tried it once, for a week or two, and was starting to develop problems when urinating, so I decided to cut it off of my diet forever.
❤Bin(53) ein,Fan'von Dir!!😅 Du inspirierst mich was-mehr zu tun für Mich!😊❤ Klimzugstange ist bestellt seit gestern. Sie dient als ,Motivation' für Mich vorerst bis ich Kraft habe daran nach und nach was zu machen. Meine 2 Jungs interessieren sich auch für das Gerät!😅 Du motiviertest mich und ich meine Teenys(16 und 12)😅❤ Das kann nur gut werden!!😅 Dankeschön für Deine Videos!!❤❤❤ Toll!!
Huh your experience sounds intense, almost like you caught a light cold or something. However people respond differently to creatine, for many it doesn't make a difference, for others it makes them much stronger.
For me personally I get slightly heavier, slightly stronger and feel no different at all.
Also I don't think that you usually need to drink more water after muscles have saturated with creatine (after the loading phase). I also don't know if most people really need to drink that much more. In my experience drinking the creatine along with a cup of water has been enough to meet the additional need for hydration.
Overall I think creatine is something everyone can try it's probably beneficial to take it but it's also not a game changer for most people. It can just be a nice little addition for some.
Creatine isn't just for bulking... it is the primary ingredient for ATP synthesis which your fast twitch muscle fiber consume as an energy source during anaerboic respiration. Creatine is useful for anyone who isn't a nonresponder.
So awesome to hear!! I take it doing Crossfit, but i enjoy the extra bit of weight lol. I def thought water mass would increase!! Im sorry you had such a rough transitional start, water is huge. Thanks for the video and information this was so insightful!! Your calisthenics are insane!! 😎
Wow Summer Amazing Video!!!
Love the Work you put in over these 6 weeks!!!
😀❤️💚👍🏋️♀️💪🔥🇦🇺
Wow! that's a really interesting experiment! I don't use Creatine, so your investigation is really educating before considering consuming it. In my case I have a regular intake of Peruvian Maca, and it helped me a lot to have more energy in my daily life (but not necessarilly more strenght). Thank you so much for your content, and best wishes from Argentina.
People who aren't used to it, it will definitely feel different and peculiar. But to me, it is the most drastic and necessary supplement I've ever taken. It makes 350lb deadlifts feel light to me. Like steroids without being steroids. That is how powerful Creatine is.
I prefer Creatine HCl as it is easier to absorb and has less side effects than Creatine Monohydrate. But all Creatine forms work similarly well. It is after all the most researched athletic performance supplement available. So, we can be 100% confident with it.
And might I add, you look absolutely stunning, even more so than before. That's gotta be a good sign that it works!
Back when I was powerlifting. I experimented with creatine for a length of time I don’t remember. What I do remember is my bench press going from 135 to 225 for 5 sets of 5 in less than 12 weeks, my deadlift going from 225 to 450, and my squats going from 205 to 275. I was training 4 days a week following a 5x5 protocol under a mentor 60+ California powerlifting champion. My strength skyrocketed and my muscles were very full. I don’t remember any side effects, just the benefits.
You are right about the HCL, it is better in my experience, but malate is even better and you can take a lower dose to achieve same results. Mono was a nightmare for my stomach, I felt like a hot air balloon.
@@wolven777 yeah even HCl causes some bloating for me but I have IBS so HCl is necessary. I don't even want to contemplate how bloated I'd be on mono lol
@@jmcsquared18 Mono was kinda funny for me, minutes after I took it, I felt pregnant and I'm a dude...
The best in my opinion is creatine malate or tricreatine malate, no bloating and no methane production, which is not compatible with squats or any activity where you squeeze your abs.
Other than that, creatine was a game changer for me too, helped me soo much in getting in better shape, but the "rumors" about it contributing to hair falling seem to be real (I don't care, I'm already past that point lol)
Great video. I started using creatine a few months ago. I didn't really notice a huge change apart from far less muscle aches in the 1 or 2 days after a workout, particularly with running, but also in the gym.
I’m a beginner in calisthenics, I love to workout with your videos 🩷 keep up the good work
Thank you. My next two videos will be follow alongs :)
Very interesting! I’ve been using creatine for almost 6 months and didn’t have any of those issues but I’ve also been on a high protein diet (average 100g a day) for almost a year.
Did you see any changes in general? Or just positive ones?
I was so tired and heavy because I had put on ~4lbs of muscle in just 6 weeks (which is quite alot for the average person). Building muscle requires a lot of rest. I've been at the same weight for over 5 years, so it was definitely a big change for me.
@ I had actually lost weight but I started your beginner calisthenics program so I think I needed to up my calorie intake . I am seeing more muscle definition and strength gains and I’m actively trying to slowly gain weight. I was 123lbs dropped to 120lbs and now I’m at 124lbs. I’m 5’5”. I noticed major muscle gains and definition in my husband after only 3 months. I’m also almost 41 years old so I feel like everything is slower and takes longer than it did in my 20s & 30s. 😂
Great video! I too started taking creatine (about 6months ago) and noticed similar results on my body scan. I would usually hover around 153lbs and now I'm consistently 157ish. My muscle mass didn't increase all that much, maybe 1.x lbs or so, but where I really noticed the difference as far as scans go is my BF%. I went from a consistent 12.x% down to 10.6-10.8. That decrease helped me out a good deal with skills training. I too am in the same progression level with my front lever, but your pull-up's are way above mine! I wish I had a DEXA scan near me, but for the time being I'll just continue to monitor the changes via the InBody measurement at my local supplement store.
Nice vid! I see that you use some climbing training gear - don't you want to do a video all about climbing? :) that could be cool to watch! Especially with your callisthenic - enormous - strength!
Great video! Fan of you from now on ❤
Thank you :)
Thanks for this analysis. I was taking creatine just before covid hit when I was going to the gym. I got to eventually be able to max out all the leg machines for 3 sets of 8. I think it did help my performance, but I got to weigh 99.7kg and the extra body weight became too much for my joints to be able to carry. These days I've switched to yoga and callisthenics and am taking a combination of super lean protein and BCAA. My weight is down to 65kg and I am seeing a lot more muscle definition as opposed to chunky, bulky size. Am tossing up Wether or not to take fish oil for joint health, because that has definitely helped in the past but walnuts and spices seem to be enough to help at the moment if I'm not pushing too hard.
Perhaps it's due to your increased water intake. Staying hydrated has a significant impact on performance.
Useful info.
Thanks for documenting and sharing.
Hey queen! It’s been a minute since I’ve watched your videos but I’m happy this one popped up! You’re a savage and I hella respect your transparency in your videos!
I took creatine for the first time over summer training for a reps comp and I felt like a balloon!! And even when I stopped taking it, I felt like I took forever to “deflate” 😂
I’m curious to know how you feel for the following weeks once you’re off of it. Keep us posted 🤓
Never heard of this channel before. Liked the videos
You inspire me so much! Love you!
super cool to know you are choosing to not continue using it! awesome video
Summer, you seem like a genuinely positive person who shares their journey and test results in good faith, but I have to set some facts straight regarding this video:
• DEXA segments body mass into three categories: bone, fat, and lean mass. It cannot differentiate the subcomponents of lean mass (water, muscle proteins, glycogen, etc.). Therefore, it will not directly indicate whether an increase in lean mass is due to water retention, muscle hypertrophy, or some other factor;
• The BIA test results will vary significantly based on hydration level, time of the day (having just woken up or exercised, for instance) or where you are in your menstrual cycle (more on that below);
• ECW/TBW, as measured by the BIA test, is the ratio of extracellular water over total body water, but it doesn't directly measure your intracellular water level. Your ECW could have increased proportionally which would make the ICW increase undetectable;
• Assuming your menstrual cycle is close to the 4-week average, since you did the two tests 6 weeks appart, you would have been at the opposite end of your cycle on the re-test, and given your appearance as well as results at the end, I would venture to guess that you were in your late luteal phase where the ECW/TBW ratio would have been the highest (increase in extracellular water), that is had you not increased your ICW in tandem by taking creatine. Doing the tests 8 weeks apart would have been preferable;
• The mechanism by which creatine promotes intracellular water retention as well as increased muscle glycogen levels is well documented and your body mass gain of 3.7 lb falls in the range of increase that would be expected after 6 weeks of creatine supplementation;
• For creatine to work, you would *have* to have experienced this increase in intracellular water due to the osmosis principle, else it would mean that you didn't actually stock creatine in your muscles and the supplementation somehow failed;
• That fact that you found yourself feeling dehydrated, thirsty, and having to drink significantly more water is evidence of my previous points;
• Lastly, gaining 3.7 lb of contractile tissue in 6 weeks for a trained woman (or man) with your level of experience is, as you should be well aware, not realistic. If one fourth of that were actual muscle, those would already be incredible results in that short a period and without a dramatic change in your training volume and methodology along with nutrition.
TL;DR: You didn't gain 4 lb of muscle ; perhaps 1 lb if even that. It is unfortunate that the madam who accompanied you in the process ended up not understanding the results and drastically misinforming you, which in turn led to you spreading misinformation to tens of thousands of people. Hopefully this comment serves to set the expectations right for a few of them. Besides what I consider to be major faults in the analysis part of the video, the supplementation did work as intended and you seem to have had great results, so well done on that front, and I'm sorry for serving you what may look like a turd sandwich with very thin slices of bread at first glance, but which was in fact meant as an informative and non-derogatory, er, sandwich 😉
I also notice it's much easier to consistently progressively overload with creatine compared to nothing, but I had surgery recently and had to cut all supplements the two weeks leading up to it, and I dropped 8 lbs of water weight within a month. My husband was like wow you are skinny now,and my stomach felt much flatter without the little bloat. No change in body fat or lean mass, but i agree you are thirsty all the time and feel very full and tight all over your body esp after a workout pump. I was taking it for 1.5 years consistently. Overall, creatine is worth it and I will cycle back on it after my wedding and start the process again. Just know it takes about a month to see the water volume decrease totally, especially if you've been on it awhile.
Nice use of expert in explaining the test, body changes.
Chugging out of that blender container cracked me up 🤣🤣
LOL SAME
Incredible content...
except for the earring in the eyebrow (imo).
Keep up the awesome work!
Just a small tip for your front lever, implementing false grip is a game changer. Almost all advanced cailsthenics athletes use it
I started taking creatine last year. I started with 3 grams for the first few months, and then bumped it up to 4 or 5 depending how I feel. I’m a petite person as well, so I figured to not take the recommended dosage for a while until I felt comfortable enough to bump it up. That might be the reason for your perceived heavy achiness and tiredness. 🙃✨ also, I have been taking trace minerals electrolytes, so that might have helped😊
5 grams is too much for most of us, but it's good for the manufacturers...
2.5 grams is enough for me (180cm) but I don't take monohydrate as I don't tolerate it.
Summer, tenho 69 anos. Revolucionei minha saúde a partir maio de 2018 para cá. Tenho 1,60m de altura. Pesava 74kg e hoje peso 54~55kg, desde agosto de 2018. Minha massa magra era muito baixa, todavia após começar a tomar creatina, há dois anos, e diminuir meus HIITs e exercícios aeróbicos juntos com o treino de musculação intenso, tive ganho, substancial, de massa muscular, ou seja, aumentei meus músculos sem perder "a ternura" pois continuei com menos de 10% de Body Fat, 1 de Visceral Fat, e o mesmo peso. Sugiro que continues a tomar a creatina, não te fará mal nenhum, apesar de tua jovialidade e a convicção de não precisar tomá-la.
Very informative video, thank you, Summer! I took Creatine for a while and I can't remember side effects when I started, my strength just increased over time
and my muscles felt like someone had oiled a rusty car chain😅 I didn't like the feeling of relying on an external source for my strength and it also seemed to me, that my jaw muscles increased in size which as a female I didn't like very much, so I stopped taking it. Working out felt much harder again😆 It would be interesting, how your experience continues without it
Just an fyi from my experience taking ~4-5g of creatine/day: check your kidney function. Creatine was negatively affecting my kidney function and I only found out because I had a kidney stone (had well before taking creatine) and my bloodwork showed reduced kidney function and high creatinine levels. It was only after I stopped using creatine that it went back to normal. I had been taking creatine for ~1 year at that point.
You are completely right ! People do not imagine how it's not natural to take these supplements. You have maybe a benefit on one side but you deplete your health on another side. We should juste consumme what god gave us on earth without too much processing products or food.
Have a nice day !
Greg.
Great video... aesthetically, to be honest, didn't see any differences, but it is all about your own experiences. I might not be taking creatine... given your own experience. Not really into all out heavy 2 times a day gym work yet.
I was wondering if it was your training coupled with more rest days (more you rest, the better your performance over time) that did the trick for you? Either way, keep up the good work, your videos are inspirational!
Maybe all those negative effects and the impressive gains have something to do with your vegan diet.
We normally do produce our own creatine and then increase that by consuming animal muscle tissue. Maybe the supplementation was such that your body had to struggle to really adapt to such increased intake.
I almost began training while supplementing with creatine, so I never really noticed side effects. Since it's not an expensive supplement and has many health benefits, I've kept taking it.
Nope.
That’s an incredible result for anyone, but it’s particularly impressive given that you’re a vegan who doesn’t concern herself much over protein intake
This was surprising thank you!
Good video 👍💪♥️. I'll love to see you do a video with Dana linn Bailey one day.
Thank you, and that would be so fun!
impressive as always... might have to get back on the tine
I really liked creatine from day one because I swear it helps me feel way less muscle soreness!
It would be really interesting to compare what results you would achieve if haven’t taken creatine. Because there also would’ve been some muscle gain and skill progress
Summer, great video. Do you think that 5 g of creatine is the right dose for everyone? Or does it vary with body weight, age?
That is great information.
Glad you liked the video :)
Try anavar next,you will be amazed
I usually take creatine in the morning, then changed the intake right before i go to sleep and i feel very well rested since then.
Omg you're Canadian, how do I end up following all these Canadian fitness RUclipsrs lol. Y'all seem like nice and balanced people, I guess maybe I just naturally gravitate to that.
Back to the video, it's an interesting concept and the results were really intriguing. I find it strange that the recommended amount is 5mg for everyone regardless of starting height weight gender etc. As someone mentioned, you being Vegan probably played a big role in your body's reaction because creatine is naturally found in animal protein and gives muscles (and other tissue like brain tissue) the building blocks to make ATP which our mitochondria use as currency for energy production for metabolic function in our cells. Generally the research tells us athletes should expect a little more energy to get an extra rep or two more in their regular exercise, which is what your results show. An additional 4 pounds of muscle is also quite solid for your frame (122 pounds) in just 6 weeks without changing anything else. I wonder if starting at 5mg was just a lot for someone of your relatively small frame compared to let's say a 6' male athlete who would have more muscle mass (in theory at least) to store creatine.
Would be interesting to note how much of the creatine bag you had used up at this point, and whether you noticed any strength loses 6 weeks from coming off creatine.
Either way, great video idea and interesting results. Thanks for sharing 👊🏿👍🏿
Thanks for sharing😁🙏
I'm sure it helped with power movements like pullups and so on. But lever holds might get harder as you might get a little harder via water weight.
I didn't gain any water weight :) Here's the chart with my results: ruclips.net/video/8r1U5V-jy_E/видео.html
@@SummerfunfitnessRemarkable. I do and it worsens my rhinitis after a few days. However it certainly helps mental performance and strength endurance...
hi girl. Awesome video.
What dosage and scedule did u use for creatine ? thx
Correction: 2.2lbs of muscle as shown on your chart (57.3lbs to 59.5lbs of skeletal muscle mass) at 15:45.
It's roughly 4 pounds of muscle per the DEXA scan results, which are more accurate than the other scan which showed 2 pound increase. Her body weight also went up 4 pounds with lower body fat and no changes in water weight.
@@trainerorange0632 No, it's 2.2lbs of muscle.
@@brotendo no it's about 4 pounds, those results you indexed were not DEXA scan results, it was the other less accurate test. She clarified in another comment
Hello Summer, thank you so much for inspiring us. If you just increased muscle mass in the 6 weeks test, do you think it's worth doing this until you reach your strength goals? Then stop taking the creatine.
Thanks again for so much information you're awesome!!
One variable that changed with creatine was increase in sleep. I know professional athletes that purposely sleep more to gain more potential growth hormone with the added sleeping time. Is it possible that you could just increase your sleeptime as a means to improve your training gains? In my mind there were 2 variables in this test, the addition of creatine as well as increased sleep. Strangely I meet allot of people that train hard and when I ask them how much sleep they get, the answer is rarely over 6 hours. So sleep seems to be an underutilized variable in training. BTW" ordered the book in your kitchen since I need more plant based oil free recipes to keep things interesting.
I've always prioritized sleep, normally getting 8 hours every night. I believe I had to sleep even more then usual when taking creatine as my body was working hard to create more muscle. I didn't choose to sleep more, rather my body made me :P
I wonder if it's a bodyweight difference (currently 164 lbs, 3-5 g a day), but your first few weeks seemed wild by comparison to mine. I just notice a little smoother progression and a little easier recovery when I regularly take it. Crazy interesting.
Creatine gives me a 40kg difference in some lifts. 16:16
Creatine and testosterone is all i need 😊
Good Thanks
Requesting collaboration with other freedivers, like Adam Freediver, and sailing LA Vagabonde..
I'm buying it tomorrow 😅
Thanks, you are great.
Thank you :)
You should do another scan after you complete the bag, depends on how many servings you have left though
This is great since i just started taking creatine and worried it would make me bulky. Not what i want as an asian female. Not sure how much more creatine is in your bag but im curiously for a followup scan.
8:56 Yikes, I never experienced any noticeable change whenever I suddenly start or stop taking creatine, but I always tend to drink a lot of tea throughout the day anyways
Creatine causes bloating and makes you plump with water retention. Your face will become puffy. Any gains are insignificant and one could gain strength by proper diet, exercise, and rest. 🙏
14:34 ... and they say vegans can't gain muscle because we don't get enough protein. 😂😂😂😂😂
CUTIE WITH MUSCLES🎉
Also make me use the restroom more... due to the water intake
i expected these results as i have used creatine while doing calisthenics for several years now. IF you stop using and did start up again i really doubt the next go around would be as bad as this time. Maybe if its a year or more before you use it again. But i actually think doing something like 6 weeks on 6 weeks off creatine is good.
I did like the results of creatine when I was body building but now that I am training calisthenics I also do not think it is as great for this sport. If I ever do begin weight training again, I might consider taking it again.
I mean I did see huge front lever progress in just 6 weeks. So it's up for debate for sure.
4lbs in 4 weeks?! I'm not convinced...I started taking it 4 grams a day. I drink normal water. I have been doing less weight training and more body weight movements...I hardly work my arms anymore and do variation pullups instead and Lhangs currently working on inverted plank, the frog pose is fun and the helicopter I did for one second and sloppy as it was I'm counting it. I'm female and 69!
I also had the nappies but I train at 4 and 5 a.m. by 1 I want a nap. i've slep for 5 hours once...I just stayed in bed and feel asleep again.
Best sales pitch ever " tastes like drinking baking soda..." LOL...
Und zw.,Kreatien'werde ich mehr und nehr neugierig darauf😊-Ich wollte eigentlich garnicht dem ,Konsum'verfallen und irgendwas auch immer einnehmen.🤔Und nun??😅🤔 Kann man nicht ohne das Zeug auch durchtrainiert aussehen??
could you post more stretching follow-alongs? thanks
Noted!
Благодарим за рассказ и показ, умница!)
Have you ever tried rock climbing? I have a feeling you would absolutely crush it.
I train at a rock climbing gym and belay my partner outdoor climbing every weekend. I don't climb much these days as I'm trying to get good at calisthenics but I'm very integrated in the community here .
Looks good on you
creatine is must be if U wanna get fast results: muscle, strenght or endurance.
Hi Summer thank you for testing creatine and having a dexa scan and sharing this video with us. I have never even tried one serving of the stuff and I do not ever plan on using it. My brother used creatine for a little over a year, and I believe it played a role in his death.
Interesting, it never affected me in all those ways. Ive been taking it for 2 years now.
iI had the same expirience of driking so much water.
It seems very strange to me because I never had such problems and symptoms from using creatine
My only concern with creatine is that I feel like it might be like testosterone in the sense where it could be bad for your liver and also your body may become dependent on it and produce less creatine when you stop taking it then before you started taking it. Like with testosterone or other hormones, the body will shut down the production of producing those hormones because they are taking artificially and then sometimes they get dependent on it and they end up taking it for the rest of their lives. Like there's not a lot of research on that part of it. Sort of like how I would take liquid melatonin and then that messed up my body's ability to create melatonin on its own and I can't sleep more than 6 hours
Actually find it very difficult to get to sleep unless I take something unless I'm really really tired. And sometimes I only sleep for 4 hours. And it's because of taking that melatonin
When you stop using the creatine will your body slowly gp back to how it was before taking it ?
9:40 Yeah i think that's definitely enough water lol