# Weight gain with creatine or cittruline?



## dmo (Apr 21, 2006)

I've heard mixed things about these. They can aid in strength gains and with recovery but may cause weight gain or at least slow weight loss. I'm trying to get more lean, increase watts/kg for racing this spring but the winter weight is slow to drop despite training hard and eating well.


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## Ironchefjon (Mar 23, 2007)

dmo said:


> I've heard mixed things about these. They can aid in strength gains and with recovery but may cause weight gain or at least slow weight loss. I'm trying to get more lean, increase watts/kg for racing this spring but the winter weight is slow to drop despite training hard and eating well.


At the very least, it will increase your bodies ability to retain water, so i'd expect an easy 3-4 lbs the first week just in water weight


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## TrailGoat (Sep 6, 2016)

Ironchefjon said:


> At the very least, it will increase your bodies ability to retain water, so i'd expect an easy 3-4 lbs the first week just in water weight


this is true, but you drop the water weight very quickly when you stop taking creatine. you may gain a bit more lean muscle than you would if you were not taking it, but that shouldn't hurt your power to weight ratio


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## dmo (Apr 21, 2006)

So is it worth using?


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## dave54 (Jul 1, 2003)

dmo said:


> So is it worth using?


What are your goals? Creatine does little for cardio endurance. Its main value is weight lifting for hypertrophy or strength.


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## dmo (Apr 21, 2006)

dave54 said:


> What are your goals? Creatine does little for cardio endurance. Its main value is weight lifting for hypertrophy or strength.


For now I want to increase power. Since the start of the year I've seen PRs in my avg power except for my 5 sec avg and 30 sec avg. Admittedly, I hate working on sprints. By the time spring comes in a few months I don't want to be carrying around extra pounds on the climbs especially on race day.

I'm small to begin, 5'6", and am 157lb, up from 150 at the end of last season, so could stand to loose some weight.


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## dave54 (Jul 1, 2003)

dmo said:


> For now I want to increase power. Since the start of the year I've seen PRs in my avg power except for my 5 sec avg and 30 sec avg. Admittedly, I hate working on sprints. By the time spring comes in a few months I don't want to be carrying around extra pounds on the climbs especially on race day.
> 
> I'm small to begin, 5'6", and am 157lb, up from 150 at the end of last season, so could stand to loose some weight.


Unlikely you gained 7 pounds of muscle mass in only a few months, so I suspect the weight is holiday festivities combined with winter inactivity. The best exercise for that is push-aways at the dinner table. 
Creatine is for anaerobic resistance exercise. It helps a little for cardio because almost any endurance riding also involves short bouts of anaerobic intervals. Sprints (intervals, fartleks, et al) develops endurance better than long rides at steady pace. Creatine may help with the sprints, which in turn helps endurance. As noted above, creatine causes water retention in the muscles. A lot of users think they are rapidly gaining muscle mass on creatine because of the sudden change in size and definition. Nope. The muscles are just swollen with water. As soon as you stop taking creatine you will start peeing like a fire hose as the body gets rid of the excess water. 
One caveat with creatine is to avoid Tylenol while using. Use other NSAIDS for workout pains. Research is still continuing, but some anecdotal accounts of Tylenol and creatine combined triggering strokes in some people.


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## Cerberus75 (Oct 20, 2015)

Creatine it's self doesn't cause muscle growth. As stated it increases muscle cell volume, and is the first fuel used in anaerobic activity. The extra cell volume cause stronger contractions and more leverage. This helps in short quick power motion. The increased cell volume can add 10lbs of water and a major pump, both are great in the gym, not so much on a bike.  I use it in the winter, since Im a bouncer to pay for my biking stuff. It definitely slows me down though.

Beta alaine is a good suplement to try. It won't make you hold as much water. But it helps in the final stages of quick onset fatigue. In the gym it helps get one more rep, in sprints, it give a few more seconds.


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