Weight Training Blog

A lot of times – especially in the younger crowd or the crowd that’s just starting to lift – will think that the most important thing in terms of seeing results are the right supplements after working out.

I’ll agree with them that taking a supplement right after working out is very important since your muscles are basically screaming for nutrients, but saying that supplements are the single biggest thing that you can do to make gains in the gym isn’t true.

Supplements are just that: They are supplements, not complements. Remember in high school geometry when you learned about supplemental angles  - the same logic can be used here. Supplements are used to make something whole, not to replace it all together. You still need to eat – and eat a lot – in order to see results in the gym. You can’t expect your body to make gains by eating 900 calories a day, and then throwing in a protein shake twice a day (If you’re lucky) in hopes of speeding things up.

Supplements are used to add to your diet, not to replace it so be smart when using them.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m not one to really try all of the new products that you see advertised in magazines, on TV and on various other web sites. I pretty much stick to the basics: whey protein, glutamine, creatine, and a multi vitamin to cover all of my bases. Though from time to time I do find myself trying some new things that I’ve either read about or hear good things about from close friends. I’ve tried Super Pump 250 about a year ago, and was eventually disappointed when I realized it was just like N.O. Xplode and you build up a tolerance to it over a few weeks, and I’ve also tried Anabolic Halo, which I’m convinced was simply cool aid laced with a little bit of creatine for water retention.

I purchased Gakic by Muscletek a little over a month ago and have been using it for just about that same time period now. Before letting you know my thoughts and experiences with Gakic, I should start by telling you what Gakic is and what it’s said to do for you. Gakic is a pre-workout supplement that is said to give you better focus and more energy in order to lift more weight for more repetitions – very similar to NO Xplode and Super Pump 250, but the only difference to the average consumer is that Gakic is not in a powder form, whereas the other two are. I suppose this could either be a good thing or a bad thing – depending on what you’re looking for.

Initially I didn’t want to take the maximum recommended dosage of 6 tablets at first because I wasn’t sure of how strong it was nor had I used a pre-workout supplement in a while, so my tolerance was probably low at that point, so I started with half of it and monitored how I felt / reacted. Initially I didn’t notice much. However, after several times of taking Gakic, I realized that it wasn’t something that would become fully active (at least to me) until about an hour to almost an hour and a half after taking it! I have the suspicion that if Gakic was in a powder form, it would be digested much more quickly, thus allowing your body to use it more quickly. So a word of caution: don’t plan on taking Gakic at 5:15 right after you get out of work, workout between 5:30 and 6:30, and plan to be in bed at 8 or 9. It won’t work out. As I’ve said before, I’ve found out that Gakic doesn’t truly kick in until about an hour and a half after taking it, and it can have lasting effects for hours. So time it out just right, and I think you’ll be pleased with the results rather than taking it right as you walk into the gym.

So the million dollar question: Was I able to put up more weight than ever before while taking Gakic? The answer is yes! I set a personal record (PR) when dead lifting one day, and was able to pull 20 pounds heavier than I ever have prior to that time. The focus that it gives you is amazing – Once I got the weight up off the ground and the entire load of the bar was transfered to my body, there was no way I was letting the bar back down to the ground without locking it out.

Was this a direct result of Gakic? It’s hard to say since I wasn’t involved in some fancy double-blind test, and there are a lot of other variables that come into play when lifting – what you ate, how much water you ingested, the amount you slept, etc. But I can safely say that my new dead lift PR was set when I took Gakic, so you decide.

Though it’s only been about a month of usage, it’s still too early to tell whether or not a tolerance will be established rendering Gakic ineffective. I try to avoid this from happening by only using it three days a week – squat, bench, and dead lift days, and also switch up the amount that I take. Some days I’ll take the full dosage, and others I’ll only take half.

This post isn’t intended to cover the exact chemical composition of creatine, the history of creatine, and any other technical aspects of creatine. Instead it’s to give the reader a better since of just what creatine is on the surface, and what benefits it may bring your way if you take it.

Creatine is naturally occurring in the body, and helps aid in delivering energy to muscles. It’s no wonder why creatine has been put in the lime late over the last decade or so – it’s responsible for delivering energy to your muscles, and more energy means more strength, power, and endurance.

The benefit of creatine isn’t the substance itself. The benefit of creatine comes from what it allows your muscles to do. Users who take creatine and don’t work out will not see any significant gains in strength, but instead just a bloated look due to increased water retention. Users who supplement with creatine and workout as well will find themselves being able to workout for longer periods of time and using more resistance than when they were not supplementing with creatine.

Creatine allows the user to go above and beyond what they were previously able to do, thus pushing their muscles beyond their breaking point. If you’re stuck at a 200 pound bench press, creatine might help you push up 205, 210, or maybe even 215. But when using creatine, be careful! Those who are new to lifting may find the urge to jump from 200 to 230 pounds and find themselves getting crushed and injured from pushing themselves too far. Experienced lifters know their breaking points, and know when enough is enough… usually.

I have seen much debate as to how much creatine should be ingested in order for optimal performance. Some recommend a loading phase in which you take 5 gram dosages about 4 to 5 times a day for a week, others have said to simply take one serving per day. Personally, I am a fan of the loading phase idea as it will allow you to reach your saturation point much quicker than simply taking one dose per day for the next month or two.

It’s important to remember though, you must drink extra amounts of water when supplementing with creatine as your body will need it. Trust me… you’ll feel thirsty a lot more when taking creatine, so make sure you stay hydrated!