Creatine, intervals, breathing exercises

Here's a fitness update so I can keep up the posting momentum on this blog. I decided I really had nothing to lose by trying out creatine, so I started on that this past week--fuller report below on the effects so far. As a result of trying out creatine, I've gotten more serious and regular about my breathing exercises and once again stopped taking the blood pressure meds: more on that below as well. And finally, we've now started working interval training into our stationary bike sessions--see below for some greater detail on that also.

First thing to report on is creatine. I decided to just buy a small quantity and try it out for awhile. As you will be aware if you read my previous post, I'm hoping as much for a mental benefit from this as I for physical benefits.

Here's how it's going so far. I decided after doing some reading on the topic that, initially, I should take a larger dose of the creatine. So, for the first week--which will end this coming Thursday--I'm taking ca. 15 grams a day.* After that I'll cut down to the more normal daily dosage of about 5 grams daily.

We've only done one strength-training workout since I started this and I would say that so far I've noticed zero effect from the creatine so far as endurance or recovery are concerned. It's too early to say definitively whether it will have much effect in those areas but I can at least say that the initial impression I have is that it's unlikely to have any dramatic effect. That said, I will revisit this topic later. After a longer trial period I should be able to say something more conclusive.

Though I can't say anything especially positive (or negative, for that matter) about creatine on the physical front, I can say that I've felt positive effects mentally. I actually do feel more sharp and alert when I take it. As a result, I intend to extend the trial period I'm now undergoing and will probably be on creatine for at least the next three months or so. Again, I will post more information about its effects in the mental realm as I progress through this trial.

Relatedly, since, as I posted earlier, my blood pressure medicine (hydrochlorothiazide or HZ) would conflict with the creatine, I've stopped taking the HZ again (last dose taken on 1/6). This, in turn, has led me to be more conscientious about doing my breathing exercises. And I have to say that, most of these days I've not felt any high blood pressure indications--that is until today. I'm hoping I can attribute today's symptoms to the fact that, owing to some obligations that took up much of the day yesterday, I did not do my breathing exercises yesterday. I continue to hope that being very regular about these exercises is going to allow me to stay off the HZ and on the creatine.

On the breathing exercise front I do continue to feel immediate benefit from these. Just a little while ago I thought I felt a blood-pressure-related-headache coming on, but now that I've done my second set of breathing exercises for the day, the nascent headache seems to have dissipated. I'll certainly be posting more in the future about this.

For the record, I'm trying to do these breathing exercises twice a day--in the morning and right before bed--for about 10 to 15 minutes at a time. My breath-per-minute (BrPM) count continues to be lower than what's recommended--at about 4 BrPM--but I'm not doing any special straining to attain that, so I have to assume what I'm doing is safe.** My working hypothesis is that the recommended BrPM is higher than mine because most people with blood pressure problems are in much worse physical condition than me.

And, finally, we've started our interval training on the stationary bikes. I have to say that I really like this form of off-season training--it really offers a great way to mix things up in our fitness regimen. And, if certain studies are to be believed, doing intervals will allow us to keep in a form at least as good as what we'd get from a pure cardio stationary-bike routine while putting in less time.

I've modified things a bit from the regime the researchers used in the article I posted about (Fitness 'takes 6 minutes a week') some time ago and that touted the benefits of this type of training. The participants in that study used a pattern consisting of a 30-second burst followed by 4 minutes of leisurely riding over a 15 minute period. But I've found that I feel fully recovered after only about 2 minutes of leisurely riding following the 30-minute burst. So I've cut down the leisurely riding period to 3 minutes. I also feel that 15 minutes total time on the stationary bike is just too short so I'll increase it a bit. I'll be putting in between 20 and 30 minutes when doing this interval training over the remainder of the cycling off-season.

So the current routine is 4 times per week (Sat., Sun., Tues., Thurs.) stationary bike interval training and twice a week (Mon., Fri.) strength training. We now do our modified Power 90 routines for strength training, but we will soon move to a different routine for our twice-weekly strength-training sessions--at least up until cycling season begins in earnest.

Thanks for reading.
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* Ok, I know it's recommended to take 20 grams a day during this initial "loading" phase. But I'm trying to make the small quantity of creatine I bought for an initial test last until the next credit card billing cycle when I can buy some more. So I've made some dosage adjustments.
** I've read information indicating that the ideal BrPM is 5 to 6. Below 4.5 is said to be too low.