Taking Creatine & Hydroxycut Supplements

I can't answer regarding DODMERB regulations, but this combination really has me wondering what the ultimate goal is here. Creatine/creatinine products are used to build muscle and weight and the hydroxycut is used to lose weight.

I'm a big proponent of trying what someone wants in the herbal/natural category as long as it is not harmful. With that being said just because it is natural/herbal does not mean it is healthy, take for example water. Drink too much water and you will get hyponatremia and have problems like the poor woman from the radio show contest.

I bring this up because I did a quick literature search on Hydroxycut as I was unaware of its contents and came up with a few troubling reports. Although there weren't a ton of reports one had a report of liver damage from the use of this product.

As to the creatine supplement an article out of the Univ of Connecticut dept of kinesiology published in the Journal of Nutrition came to the conclusion that "creatine supplementation represents a safe, effective, and legal method to enhance muscle size and strength responses to resistance training"
 
I too, feel that Creatine would be fine (I found it’s encouraged by the USNA power lifting club) if used by directions. The hydroxycut query led me to the same search results as you KP, weight reducer and all. So I asked my boy why take a weight reducer in order to build strength. He said that weightlifting burns fat and fat has no effect on muscle building itself, by taking this hydroxycut stuff it increases fat burning by 5X’s. He also emphasized that the nasty ingredient ephedra had been removed from hydroxycut.
 
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From a DoDMERB standpoint, the only thing the supplements will do is increase the possibility of spilling protein into the urine. Other than that it is not a concern of DoDMERB.
 
Our son is a powerlifter and has been involved for several years. He will be making his third trip to state next month, and has qualified for the High School Nationals in Alexandria, LA in April. I am not trying to brag, here, I am telling you that so my opinion has some credence.

Now, for my opinion. Son has never taken any supplements to help. His coach will not allow it. The premise is that you can make up for any advantage of supplements by working HARDER at your lifting. Son lifts year-round, only slowing down during football season on the day before games. Even though the coach has never tested anyone for use, all of his lifters are on their honor not to use them, and this coach has one of the most successful high school programs in the state. Everyone can make their own decisions, but in my opinion, using substances other than your own hard work is not what I want my son to be doing. I would rather have him take a second or third place through his own sweat than take first because of supplements.

There..now I am done. Best of luck to everyone, and I want to say that I am making no judgement on anyone here, I am just stating my opinion.
 
repIII said:
I too, feel that Creatine would be fine (I found it’s encouraged by the USNA power lifting club) if used by directions. The hydroxycut query led me to the same search results as you KP, weight reducer and all. So I asked my boy why take a weight reducer in order to build strength. He said that weightlifting burns fat and fat has no effect on muscle building itself, by taking this hydroxycut stuff it increases fat burning by 5X’s. He also emphasized that the nasty ingredient ephedra had been removed from hydroxycut.
Click to expand...

I had a feeling this would be the response.

Yes, luckily ephedra has been removed from the market; however, the case reports of liver damage from Hydroxycut come from after the reformulation. Here's the list of ingredients I got from the Annals of Internal Medicine case report:

Table. Listed Ingredients in Newly Formulated Hydroxycut*
Calcium
Chromium
Potassium
Garcinia cambogia
Gymnema sylvestre leaf extract
Glucomannan
-Lipoic acid
Willow bark extract
L-Carnitine
Green tea leaf extract
Caffeine
Guarana extract
Others (gelatin, silica, cellulose)
-----------------------------------

I tend to disagree somewhat with Stealth, but am very excited by what the coach has done. I worry that using supplements in a high school age child, especially the younger ones, has the possibility to do more harm than good. With that being said I do think there are some benefits that cannot be overcome by simply working harder. I will use myself as an example: I played soccer all four years at KP and came into the school weighing around 150 lbs. I worked out alot in the gym, and ate ALOT trying to get my weight and strength up. I gained strength; however, it was very difficult for me to put on weight due to the fact that I ran so much in soccer. The running simply canceled out any weight gains I may have had. I took creatine for a short time and was able to not only increase my strength, but also gain a few pounds (although it was probably mostly 'water weight').

Now, I definately would not argue for any type of steroid or growth factor that has potential serious medical side effects.
 
Thanks for that research kp2001. Even though I wouldn't agree with it, maybe some point in the future he will use creatine if he continues powerlifting. I know that he is excited about getting on the USAFA powerlifting team next year. He lifts in the 148# weight class, so adding bulk wouldn't really help him...it would just move him up a weight class and raise his qualifying total for meets.

If anyone out there has info on the USAFA powerlifting program, please let me know. S has tried to find some info, but it is kind of rare. I have asked a couple cadets that I know, and they don't seem to know much about it either.
 
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