Curiosity about Creatine: A High School Athlete's Experience
Will Simpson

As a junior in high school, one of the most powerful influences in my life is my athletic career, which almost single-handedly dictates my entire schedule 365 days a year. I complete homework and projects around daily practices and workouts; I sacrifice my weekends for away games, and devote countless hours to icing and mending various injuries sustained during sports. I literally devote my sweat, blood and tears to my football and lacrosse teams, spending hours on end running sprints on the field, lifting in the weight room or memorizing plays late at night. Being a varsity football player in a school with a prestigious record (not to mention defending 2006 State Champs), I feel like it is my duty to quite literally, “be all I can be” athletically. In my pursuit of greatness (and another State Champ ring) I have developed a love for lifting weights. For almost two years now I have lifted weights religiously, skipping homework and setting my social life aside while I focused only on getting bigger, faster, stronger. It was this passion that would eventually lead me to creatine.

I began with the basics, a bench press and a jar of peanut butter, consuming as much protein as I could right after my workout. In the beginning I would lift for maybe a half an hour, do some ab work and call it a day. As I began to see results, I became obsessed with the possibilities weight lifting held for me. I went out and bought heavier weights, and consulted experts about bigger, better workouts that would yield even greater results. I extended my workout from a mere half an hour of bicep curls and calf raises to a solid hour and a half of deadlifts, bench presses and squats. This insatiable desire for bigger results, faster, eventually led me down the path so many high school athletes are following today: creatine use. I started hearing friends mention the product around the weight room, and after a few cautious inquiries, I believed it sounded perfect for me. I investigated further and found that creatine is an organic acid that occurs naturally in the human body that directs energy to muscle cells. I also learned that creatine supposedly increases ones size and muscle mass quickly and effectively. Of course, I ran out to the nearest store and bought what was supposed to be the safest, yet most productive creatine supplement on the market; CellTech. On my first workout with CellTech, I became nauseous, dizzy and lightheaded a mere 45 minutes into my lift. I struggled to finish and could not imagine repeating the dreadful experience. Later that night I was treated to unbearable stomach pains, which I was told were common side effects of the product.

The next few workouts on CellTech were similar, and I was beginning to lose faith in creatine. To compound my doubt, I had conducted further research, only to learn that many researchers believe that creatine can and will lead to future heart and kidney problems. I finished the container of CellTech in the following weeks and found that all creatine really did for me was make my muscles retain more water, giving them a bulging, swollen appearance while actually doing very little. I gained almost no weight, although I was promised by “creatine experts” that I would gain 6 to 10 pounds in the first few weeks. After finishing the CellTech, I returned to the same store and asked for something natural, and this time, truly effective. I purchased a whey protein shake called CytoGainer, a substance promising me 54 grams of proteins and complex proteins proven to work. This time my supplement contained only 3 grams of creatine. I also went to the strength training coach at my high school and went over better, more effective workouts that would yield obvious, yet healthy results. I have now increased my workout to two hours in length with the new shake, I’ve gained 10 pounds, my bench press has increased 40 pounds, my deadlift a full 100 pounds, and my squat has increased 60 pounds and counting.

So, while I have no doubt that creatine works for some people (I have seen the results some of my friends and fellow lifters have gotten), I personally have found no benefit, and have been much more satisfied with all natural protein supplements.
Many of my fellow athletes, especially the naturally smaller guys, have turned to creatine as kind of a last resort. Athletes who cannot gain weight, or keep muscle mass on, turn to creatine as an answer, a supplement that is sure to work for them. Especially in high school, many athletes work out daily with hardly noticeable results, due largely to the fact that their bodies are still growing and developing. Many turn to creatine in frustration, determined to get bigger and better. In addition, many athletes who are already working out successfully feel they need to become even bigger to please coaches, play on the starting team, appeal to college scouts, etc. There is an entirely different class of creatine user as well - the vain lifter who works out only for appearance.

While all may have different motivations for working out, the bottom line is that many young athletes today are driven to use creatine. Personally having experimented with creatine, I do not feel that the minor benefits one may see are worth the potential future risk. Yes, your muscles might swell up for a few weeks and you might be able to bench press a few more pounds, but is that really worth heart and kidney trouble a few years down the road? Heart and kidney problems might not even be the worst of it, researchers still have years of study to do before we can positively identify the negative impacts of creatine. In the end, hard work and natural proteins are without a doubt a safer alternative to creatine.

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