I hear from a lot of sources that taking ECA with creatine during a cutting cycle is not a good idea. I assume people believe because the ECA stack has diuretic properties and leads to an excretion of water, whereas creatine acts to cause retention of water in the muscle fiber, thus they are counteracting each other. However, I take creatine exclusively because it greatly decreases my recovery time between workout, and I was under the assumption that the water retention was simply a unrelated side-effect. If this is the case, than I really don’t care if the ECA stack short-circuits creatine’s water retention mechanisms. Can someone shed some light on this? Can I take creatine without compromising the effectiveness of my ECA stack?
If you do, prepare for cramping. I tried using them both, and got painful cramps in my calves even I was drinking a lot. It seems that ECA causes the water to run straight through you… I don’t know if water retention is just a side effect, as protein synthesis should be improved with good intracellular hydration.
I aggree that some of creatines anabolic effects are directly related to increased cellular hydration. However, since ECA will dehydrate you anyway, creatine might lessen the blow. The creatine won’t be as effective as usual but I can’t believe that its worthless or a waste of your time. I have done this before and yes I did get some cramping but only in the first few days/week. I also seemed to hold on to more mass but who knows maybe it was water. Try it out.