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This is the second part of a two-part series comparing creatine monohydrate and creatine kre-alkalyn. If you missed the first part, please read it first by clicking here.

In part 1 of Creatine Monohydrate vs. Creatine Kre-Alkalyn, we discovered the two important things:

• Creatine monohydrate does not produce much waste product (creatinine).
• Since stomach acid does not degrade creatine monohydrate, there is no need to PH buffer it like Kre-Alkalyn does.

Now we move into…

So what about Kre-Alkalyn needing a smaller dosage?

Well, as of right now, there are no studies that directly tested the dosage needed for Kre-Alkalyn to reach full muscular saturation levels (which says something right there). However, we do have the next best thing! Read More »

 

Last post I compared creatine monohydrate to creatine ethyl ester, and concluded that monohydrate definitely has the upper hand for multiple reasons. Just because something is new, doesn’t make it better (and much of the time “new” supplements don’t have the kind of research backing it up that “old” supplements do).

Fortunately, though, the amount of people buying creatine ethyl ester has been declining in recent years since many people are starting to realize that it is not better than monohydrate.

What has not been declining, however, is creatine kre-alkalyn. This is supposedly the “new and improved” creatine, and the supplement companies essentially make two assertions (From bodybuilding.com):

1. Ph buffered – Kre-Alkalyn is formulated with a higher Ph than other forms of creatine
2. Kre-Alkalyn produces less waste product when digested*
3. Take a smaller amount of Kre-Alkalyn per serving with the same results as other forms of creatine*
4. No loading phase*
5. Better absorption by muscle tissue*
6. Less chance of holding water or bloating

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Since this article became longer than I had originally planned, I have split it up into two parts. This is part 1. You can read part 2 here.

Alright, so let’s do some digging! Read More »

 

Ever since creatine came out, it has been pushed as the next best thing after steroids, and for good reason: It is one of the only supplements that has a substantial amount of research behind it backing it up. Now, of course creatine will in no way, shape, or form, be comparable to anabolic steroids, it is a supplement that I recommend you at least try because it is pretty darn cheap and can actually make your workouts a little bit better.

Creatine is a little bit misunderstood. Many people think that all creatine does is add water weight, which will make you look a little bit bigger but won’t really do anything for you. Creatine does add some water weight initially, and the amount of water weight will vary person to person. Some people might notice a big increase in water weight while others might not notice much of a change at all. One of the reasons that this can happen is if one person routinely eats steak or other red meat, then he might already be getting in enough creatine from his diet alone, so adding more won’t really benefit him much more. However, most people do not eat red meat every day which is why I recommend buying the powder.

Also, after the initial water weight gain, if you keep taking creatine your body will get accustomed to it and a lot of the water weight will eventually come off. Again, this doesn’t happen for everybody, but it does occur in the majority.

The most prevalent form of creatine is the powdered form of creatine monohydrate. Creatine also comes in pill form, but generally these are inferior to the powder and a lot more expensive.

Today, I am going to see how creatine monohydrate stacks up against the “new and improved” form: creatine ethyl ester. There are other forms, but this one receives the most attention and is one of the most popular at the moment besides monohydrate. (Kre-alkalyn will be in a future article.) Read More »