Kevin Andrews: I am trying to find out a bit more about Creatine 8000-es; the product is advertised in many health magazines and claims to be a very effective way to improve and increase muscle mass within only a few days.I am reasonably fit and train about three times a week, running and rowing. I am very interested in ways of improving my performance on the Rower and reading the advert on Creatine 8000-es this seems to be the product I am looking for. Could you possibly give me any more info on it or can you point me in the right direction to find out more before I part with any money.Terry O'Neill: Creatine phosphate is present in the muscles and is the initial source of energy feeding muscular contraction. Some extraordinary claims of improved performance have been made by loading up with Creatine prior to exercise. However, before you rush out and blow your wedge on the stuff you'd better read on. Top elite athletes are training right on the limit of human capacity (where you're training three times a week, they're training three or four times a day). To try to get an edge, in come the biochemists, and the main aim is to provide drugs that will aid recovery and hence allow the athlete to train even harder. There is no drug that just by taking it will improve performance a single percent: you have to do the training. So for you, at the volume of training you are doing, you would be wasting your money. If you are still interested in reading about Creatine here are some references. Guerrero-Ontiveros, M.L. and Wallimann,T (1998) Effects of Creatine supplementation inviv: Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry 184,427-437. Harris R.C., Sonderlund, K., and Hultman,E (1992). Elevation of Creatine in resting and exercised muscle of normal subjects by Creatine supplementation Clinical Science 83, 367-374. Hultman,E, Sonerlund, K., Timmons, J., Cederblad, G., and Greenhaff, P.L. (1996). Muscle Creatine loading in man Journal of Applied Physiology 81,232-237.