I'm 22 now and fitness has been important to me for almost a decade. I had been enrolled in Martial Arts since Elementary School and have always idolized my grandfather who was a body builder. It was nothing too serious at that age, just enough push ups and sit ups for a six pack and a little bit of bulge in the arms. High School rolled around and I hated every minute of it except for lunches. I would spend every lunch hour in the massive weight room at my school...and I was usually the only one. It was a refuge. I had no routine of any kind. I just lifted what I felt like until I felt a burn, and discarded exercises that didn't quite do it for me (quickly discarding sit-ups in favour of leg lifts). My arms got pretty big, but in retrospect I could have done a lot better. I often skipped lunches to workout, and without the nutrition backing my efforts I remained smaller than I would have liked. I also made mistakes like too much cardio after a workout, and not keeping my protein intake up. In fact, I was a Vegetarian during High School and for a few years after. Lesson learned: Peanut Butter as your only source of protein is a terrible way to bulk up.
After High School I didn't have access to the massive weight room anymore, so my weight lifting fell by the wayside. I stayed active however, I like extreme sports and trail running and those kept me in shape. I didn't get back into muscle building until last May. After a nasty breakup I decided to spend some of my free time (and money) getting my old body back. I picked up a nice chin-up bar and some free weights. I started chin-ups and push-ups every day before breakfast. I made a point of running to work every day. I found this helped me get lean quicker than in the past. I also noticed the benefits of muscle memory (which I had read about) from having previously been in shape. Shortly after this my greatest gains came once I started eating meat again.
It didn't take long before I was in the best shape I had yet been in.
A few months later I ended up moving to another city (for work)...but with one glaring downside: my house wasn't ready yet so I was living in an R.V. with the two other guys I moved with. This makes it harder to exercise, especially considering my chin up bar only worked in regular house hold doorways. I kept up with free weights and picked up an ab wheel for ten dollars (this proved greatly beneficial).
Upon getting into the house I could resume my full routine. I added a few more toys to my collection: rotating push up platforms, and my roommate had a fancy free weight bench. They've treated me well, and I've been doing good with nutrition (compensating with protein bars whenever I need to). Though in the past few months I have noticed that I've reached a plateau. Gains are not coming as fast as I would have liked.
I started researching Creatine about a month ago. There are a lot of myths about the supplement and it took a fair bit of reading before I decided I might want to try it. I just didn't want to experience the bloating and awful taste that I had read about. Also, I spend a lot of time away from home (which is the primary reason for my focus on bodyweight exercises) and it wouldn't always be convenient to have to mix a Creatine drink twice a day and match that with juice.
After looking into it further I started hearing about Creatine Hydrochloride (as opposed to Creatine Monohydrate). Supposedly it is delivered to the muscles more efficiently than Monohydrate and thus doesn't cause bloating. It also comes in pill form which is perfect because I can just carry it around in my backpack and keep up with the recommended daily dose wherever I am. Beyond that, there wasn't that much information online, and not of a lot of testimonies by people who had actually tried it. Of course I found the occasional positive review on message boards, but those members all had 1 post each, so I was wary.
I checked it out at the local GNC: it's not cheap - about $40.00 for a two month supply. Still, I was curious. I figured that I would give it a shot and post my experience online for anyone who cares. I spent (possibly wasted?) the money and walked out of GNC crossing my fingers.
That was three days ago. Since starting this first cycle I have already noticed that I am much, MUCH thirstier and now have a water bottle on me at all times. I had a workout yesterday (mostly biceps) and found that I wasn't hurting from the 'burn' as much as usual..I just felt more pressure within my biceps during the actual workout. I made sure my workout was more difficult than usual so I would expect to be feeling it today but I am not. As for appearance, it is only day three so it is hard to tell, but I have not seen any noticable difference in the size of my muscles.
My fingers are still crossed.
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