Yes another creatine question :)

On impulse today i picked up some Xpand from Dymatize. Lately during the day, and at the gym, i feel i have good cardio and eat well(and clean) ive been very tired and dragging my ass when i know i should and can push myself harder.

So after reading the thread about the top 3 supplements that Barr suggested it made me buy Xpand today while i was in the store to buy some Whey.

Anyways at 72 bucks a Jar for this i wanted to make sure i bought some decent creatine. I did a search and found some people getting flamed for bumping an old thread, so i figured i would make a new thread and get flamed from the other people :icon_chee

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f15/what-creatine-would-you-recommend-302999/index4.html

I picked up the Xpand with the Caffeine so i can hopefuly have a bit better buzz and have better muscle endurance and maybe help with some weight loss(threw being able to work harder) during my Muay Thai class's.

Before i pop the lid on this wanted to see if people would suggest me going with another bran like No-Xplode or ive read some on RPM. new to the creatine picture so looking for friendly advice, dont bite :icon_lol:

 

i think you might have overpaid for xpand dude, i usually pay 55 dollars. all depends on where you live tho.

if youve never tried a product like this only take half a scoop to begin with. this first time i tried expand i was weak at the knees and i have heard several people say the same thing. it was so bad i could not continue my workout. once you get used to it its one of the best products IMO

 

Bought it at GNC, i thought the price was high, without a gold card they have it 89.99, 71.99 with a gold card. Thats why i havent opened it, wanted to make sure its a good bit better then No-Xplode because i saw it for like 65 i think.

I tried a scoop about 2 years back going to the gym with a buddy and like you it was too much, at first ill start with half a scoop. I dont drink any caffine so im sure 1/2 a scoop will be good for me for a bit.

 

I just got the same stuff because I had heard good things from people at the gym. I paid the same amount you did but after a week I have noticed results. I have way more energy at the gym and am lifting more weight. I have been just going with the recommended dosage of 1 scoop pre work out and it has been good.

 

1. Bumping an old thread is not bad if you have a valid question. People get flamed for stating something stupid in a 6 month+ old thread.

2. You are asking what kind of creatine to buy. The correct answer is monohydrate. However, you are talking about xpand. This is not creatine. It is a mix of supplements, some of which are useless. Now, some people like "combo supplements" like Noxplode because it has what they need before a workout and they don't have to measure out ingredients.

I prefer to keep most of my stuff separate. In fact, I am currently finishing my PWO shake mix from trueprotein which has creatine in it. My new mix will not have creatine, because I am planning to take it separately so I don't have to drink my workout shake if I am on an off day.

Madmick (you should know him, if you don't read the FAQ again) has a great quote in his sig "Sage advice to follow: if you have to ask questions about any drug or drug mimicker, you should not be thinking about using it." I take this to include all supplements, which is why I am researching each and keeping them separate.

Edit: just saw your post about the caffeine and that emphasizes what I am saying. I am also sensitive to caffeine, so I am planning to try it in a form I can measure it to determine what is best for me.

Sorry for the long post. You don't have to do exactly what I am doing. The short version is that xpand is not just creatine.

 

I dont mind long posts, im sure im at fault for it more then half the time.

My main reasons for taking/trying these supplements is because im training very hard, 5-6 times a day and im 25 now, so i know i need to take care of my body in order to go at this pace for a while. I use to be the guy who thought taking supplements was bad for your body because it dependant on them, now i take 5-6 a day and could reason myself into another 4-5 if my wallet would let me

Edit : removed a OT question, didnt want to derail my own thread

 

I saw your question. You can probably get it a lot cheaper online even if it is at GNC.

I'm not telling you not to take a lot of supplements. I'm telling you to be aware of what is in those combination supplements and only take them if they are exactly what you need (I take a custom PWO mix, but if I was more tolerant of caffeine I would probably take something like Noxplode for convenience). Also, often those mixed supplements cost significantly more than a custom mix (from a site like trueprotein or mixing it all yourself).

But, for example, you are limiting your intake of that combination due to the caffeine. It only has 4.5g of creatine, so you are getting ~2.25g when most articles I've seen 3g minimum (usually 5g).

 

Xpand isn't meant to be a creatine supplement. It is meant to be a NO supplement. For $72 a jar, you are getting ripped off. For $50 a jar, IMO you are still getting ripped off.

 

Is there something better you could recommend? What thethirddiaz is helpful, but ideally i want to take a "simple" supplement and make sure i at least feel some gains before i try to perfect it. What im trying to say is if the over the counter in the jar type isnt the best thing if i want to try creatine is there something simple out there i could try for a month or two before i spend hours making my own Pre workout supplement somewhere like true protein?

The main things that drew me to asking in GNC for a creatine was the post that Barr made about muscle endurance and other benefits. Now i understand GNC employees work on commission, and im sure he was more then happen to show me the 72$ Bottle, but im looking to try this supplement then if i like it, i'll read more and maybe take it to the next step like a custom order. But until i prove to myself it is what im looking for i was looking for some advice.

Im looking for weight loss(not lots, about 10 pounds now), increased energy, muscle endurance, muscle recovery, and anything else that goes with training MT 5-6 times a week(i already take the staples of Protein/multi/fish oil/join supp). If Xpand wont help id love to save the 70 bucks, but if it will i dont mind spending the money as long as it isnt a compleat rip off as you may have suggested, then id need to know whats a better alternatives(No-xplode ect?) other then the custome made like thethirddiaz has shown me(just wanted to add i will check there site out, but i dont belive i know enough to make my own just yet)

 

Visit, David Barr's site: HERE and you'll see that at $5 a jar, you're still overpaying.

And T.J.T. if you're looking for a creatine supplement, just get monohydrate. I'm sure they have it at GNC, but I get mine at True Protein. It's pretty cheap anywhere though.

 

To answer this question: creatine monohydrate. Preferably with "Creapure" on the label.

Forget about "delivery systems," avoiding all caffeine, insulin spiking, etc. The hard evidence for the effectiveness of creatine comes from studies that isolate creatine monhoydrate as the active agent.

Food for thought: initial studies used creatine dissolved in black coffee, and Berardi recommends dissolving it in warm green tea.

John Berardi - Supplements (Creatine)

 

I agree with him. I just didn't to be rude to the people that live and die by the NO. I'm an avid supporter of a caffeine pill and a teaspoon of creatine with every workout. It is an order of magnitude cheaper than any NO stack, and nearly as effective.

$2.99 gets you 90 caffeine pills at walmart
$18 gets you 1000g of good "creapure" creatine monohydrate

That is 90 doses of caffeine and 200 doses of creatine for $20.99 + shipping

edit: And I take my creatine after a workout, just noting that is the only workout nutrition I have, other than my carb/protein drinks. Those are on a whole different level than NO supplements, though.

edit2: Read David Barr's article. Just figured I'd note in case he's reading:
NO2 = Nitrogen Dioxide
NO = Nitric Oxide

 

I just threw up a little in my mouth.
The product you purchased contains both Crea-Toxin and Anti-Creatine. I absolutely do not recommend using it.

 

Agreed. But in this case, "NO2" was in reference to the name of the first arginine AKG product, which was quite prominent at the time of writing.

I'll be sure to mention that when I update the article next month.

 

I never knew that. It is crazy some of the names companies get away with using...

 

Yeah it seems i tried to take what little knowledge into GNC and made a pretty broad statement(I'd like some creatine) and ended up comming out with a jar of a pretty over priced product that was not what i really wanted. Im going to take it back today and try to get some creatine monohydrate.

I did some more reading in your 3 supplements thread that linked me to your site about "dangerous creatine" and came away with the handy summery at the end

 

lol no worries. I just felt horrible thinking that you were taking that product because of something I had written.

 

The creatine yes, the xpand no. i got some creatine monohydrate today after i returned the xpand, so im going to get some dextrose(sp?) tomorrow and take the creatine that way. Till then il look more into true protein and maybe order from them after.

Your posts are a great read, sometimes i get ahead of myself and impulse buy things, thats what happened here, you didnt steer me wrong, i just decided to go with no direction