Need suggestions about taking creatine for sport

[Veretta9]

I am a D1 college hockey athlete and want to gain more speed. I am going to supplement with creatine after the season is over, however I was thinking about doing it right now midseason. My team practices 4 days a week with 1-2 days a week being a lift after the practice and one other day being plyometrics after practice. 2 games on the weekend. Would it be wise to take the creatine after my practices to increase my speed, or am I better off just waiting until the season is done?

 

[Dave949]

Do it now. You have nothing to lose but everything to gain.

 

[Veretta9]

Thanks for the response Dave, any more opinions?

 

[bbock7272]

do it now.. unless u think 10lbs is really gonna slow u down.. thats how much ull probably gain in 2 wks.. mostly water.

but its a good idea to take it asap

 

[Sebass67]

U better plan to drink tons of water...

 

[Assertive Guy]

Im not sure if this will encourage you

But my experiences on creatine are that the extra water weight slows me down. Allot of people dont find this, but better to be prepared.

 

[Veretta9]

I think I am going to just wait until after the season when I am in control of my schedule.

 

[raestacio]

Veretta9, I highly suggest starting to take creatine now. I'm currently ranked top 8 in all of DIII swimming in several different events. With swimming speed and endurance are my two main concerns and both increased within a week of taking creatine. as sebass67 stated you should plan on drinking at least a half gallon of water a day, but that's a good idea for an athlete such as yourself anyway. Additionally I've found taking creatine about 30 minutes before your practice/workout with some form of sugar will help you practice harder and thus make better gains in strength and speed. The weight gain that can be expected will be a split between muscle and water with the latter being larger, but the increased muscle will help you burn more fat. Therefore, you may actually maintain your weight and increase muscle, which obviously translates into increased speed and performance.

 

[Dieselstud23]

Hey man I Play semi pro Football and soon D 1 college, I wouldnt recomend it taking during the season. Mainly because creatine can give you cramps during the games (has happened to me) and second in the off season you can focus more on your speed and train harder then in the season. Season you focus more on games and all the other stuff.

 

[Veretta9]

^^^Exactly why I am going to wait until the summer.