Creatine = Cretin?

[anpuZA]

Hi

The guy that stays with me, plays rugby and has quite a nice build to him but for a lot of padding. He wants to gym, but the other night he said one of the reasons he doesn't like the gym scene (especially amongst the Rugby guys he plays with) is that most of them are on creatine and this apparently makes them a great deal more aggro (or butch from my pov) and he doesn't like it.

He gave an example of a friend who is on the stuff and has suddenly turned into this whoohaa marine kinda person.

I said I couldn't think that it's the creatine... perhaps it's psychological what with all the bigger muscles and so on.

But I don't know, so I thought I'd ask u guys... is this true? Does it make you more aggressive?

[WhoDunIt]

Sounds like somebody is full of horse$#!t in all honesty. I'm thinking it must be more mental that Creatine related. I don't use the stuff, but that's because I never drink enough water.

[Rarity]

Creatine does cause your body to take water from your small intestines, so even while you're on the stuff, you'll probably always be in need of some water. My guess is that if someone is done working out (or heck, even in the middle of a workout) they would be dehydrated to some extent, which normally makes people cranky and tired; but obviously how they feel when "dehydrated" vary from person to person mood wise.

When you lift weights your body is pretty much surging with endorphins, testosterone, and other hormones. If you combine the feeling of being "pumped" and "dehydrated", you'll probably end up with someone who is excited/confident and cranky. . Not a great mixture, if you ask me. So perhaps its a little from column A and a little from column B.

[inm]

With roid rage being mostly an unsubstantiated myth, creatine will not make you aggressive. Creatine has been studied time and again, and the issue was never raised.

[dodoria21]

it is most likely mental. there's creatine in the pre-workout supp I take, and sometimes the rush I get can make me feel good enough to where I could act aggressive, but it's all a choice. I don't act aggressive because of it, but I can see how a bunch of buff rugby guys may choose to act as such when they're having that rush. Like others said though, it's psychological, not a direct effect of creatine

[anpuZA]

Thanks, I thought as much, honestly I'm not one to talk, but he is a bit lazy to go and hit the gym. And it's a damn shame because he honestly would make an incredible bodybuilder. Although his family tends towards bulk, apparently on his fathers side, his grandfather and uncle pick up muscle mass really fast. In fact his grandfather was so big at one stage his wife had to scrub his back. And that's the other reason he said he doesn't want to bodybuild, he would like to be able to undress himself. Obviously I offered to help if that would get him to lift weights, alas, he doesn't want to.

Though just from rugby practice I can tell you lot he has some amazing shoulders, big bi's and terrific tri's. Sigh, anyway, he is str8 (presumably) so it's a no go situation either way.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by ★whim★

Creatine does cause your body to take water from your small intestines, so even while you're on the stuff, you'll probably always be in need of some water. My guess is that if someone is done working out (or heck, even in the middle of a workout) they would be dehydrated to some extent, which normally makes people cranky and tired; but obviously how they feel when "dehydrated" vary from person to person mood wise.

When you lift weights your body is pretty much surging with endorphins, testosterone, and other hormones. If you combine the feeling of being "pumped" and "dehydrated", you'll probably end up with someone who is excited/confident and cranky. . Not a great mixture, if you ask me. So perhaps its a little from column A and a little from column B.

Good answer! In short, mostly psychological, but triggered by a physical excuse.

Some guys are hair-trigger whackos. Give 'em an excuse and they'll do anything that they think exudes macho, regardless of how lame it looks to rational people. I'm sure that with the right advertising you could convice some of them that grinding up a couple ounces of cockroach wings and blending it into a smoothy will add muscle and they'll be jumping at any chance to show you their progress.

I'm not denying that creatine has an effect. It certainly does. I used it on and off for years. Mostly made me look rounder, till I stopped wanting to look rounder.