Six Star Body Fuel Advanced Whey Protein

Are you lactose intolerant? (you should not be cramping)

Why are you taking creatine (or any synthesized energy supplements for that matter), are you trying to bulk up?

My recommendation:

(A1) Eat high quality steak (something from the Tenderloin group; maybe "Medallion's" which are 3 to 4 ounces) no later than 5:30 PM as the main ingredient of your evening meal. Drink plenty of water during the day.

(A2) Raise your cardiovascular rate to within 15% of maximum for your present physical condition for 15 minutes (does not include warm-up time) each day by jumping-jacks or swimming. You should be perspiring halfway through and breathing like a horse who's been on a gallop.

(B1) On top of that, every other day workout for 20 minutes, switching muscle groups each time, and doing it at least 4 hours off from your daily conditioning. Working the muscle group properly should ache by the end (but not to the point of cramping if you 'make a muscle' afterwards), and should recover from the ache by the next morning.

It is important to deal with both PT (A & B) elements. They assist each other in expanding capacity.

This whole routine should lend to increasing your muscle mass without neccessarily giving you a 'cut' look, and do it fairly quickly... within 2 months you should easily see growth that has occurred. If you were to keep this up for 7 to 9 months you would probably need to buy a new wardrobe of clothes because of the increase in size.

If you wish, once you get to the general muscle mass you want, you can get into a 'sculpting' routine to shape and cut the individual muscles.

Additionally, remember if you have a great increase of muscle mass but keep your body extra lean, your veins will migrate to the surface. Some people like it, others don't; but it will make you a bit more susceptible to surface wounds that would be a magnitude more serious than usual.

Note: Never do "sit-ups", always do "leg-lifts".

The whole point behind sit-ups obviously is to strengthen the abdominals. The act has one 'jerking' up in a spinal curl action, while at the same time compressing the diaphragm, and that is not generally good as an exercise. Leg-lifts are a smooth, controlled muscular exercise that allows complete control over difficulty (slow or fast, with/without weights), extension (how high or low), and diversity (legs together, apart, scissor, alternating split, T-spilt rise, etc.). Take it from the Gymnast bunch... they never do sit-ups, just leg-lifts.

I know you're talking to Duke, but I'll stick my big mouth in here (as usual) as Duke hasn't responded yet...

Long laps in a pool (a lot of women know this secret). Do not cheat (DON'T bend your legs at all), use your rigid legs as an extension of your feet to propel yourself. If you don't cheat, in short order you'll feel the burn. the whole lower 'trunk' should tighten up from this. If you look at a professional swimmer's lower abs and hips you'll see what I mean.

OK now it is nearly a year later....

So how did all this information help or not help you Duke? Just wondering. I hope that what you were trying to do worked out for you and Steve?