Creatine

HY EVERY BODYBUILDER NEEDS CREATINE?

Creatine is the most popular and commonly used sports supplement available today. There are numerous studies backed by anecdotal evidence that support the efficacy of creatine supplementation. Find out everything you ever needed to know about creatine.

What Is Creatine?
Creatine is the most popular and commonly used sports supplement available today. There are numerous studies backed by anecdotal evidence that support the efficacy of creatine supplementation. Find out everything you ever needed to know about creatine.



Creatine is the most popular and commonly used sports supplement available today. There are numerous studies backed by anecdotal evidence that support the efficacy of creatine supplementation. For the majority of the population, including both elite athletes and untrained individuals, creatine supplementation increases fat free mass and improves anaerobic and possibly aerobic performance.

While the effectiveness of creatine is well known, the most effective way to take creatine is not known. In order to design an "optimal" cycle for creatine, a number of factors must be considered.


What Is Creatine?


A French scientist discovered creatine in 1835. Creatine is a natural constituent of meat, mainly found in red meat. Creatine is manufactured naturally in the body from the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine. This process takes place in the kidneys, liver, and pancreas.

Approximately 40% of the body's creatine stores are free creatine (Cr), while the remaining 60% is stored in form of creatine phosphate (CP). The typical male adult processes 2 grams of creatine per day, and replaces that amount through dietary intake and fabrication within the body.

Creatine is used for the resynthesis of ATP. ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is the "power" that drives muscular energetics. When a muscle is required to contract, the bonds in the ATP molecule are split, yielding ADP (adenosine-diphosphate). The energy released by breaking this bond powers the contraction of the muscle.

When ATP is depleted within the cell, the cell can no longer contract. There are several methods by which the body rebuilds ATP. The fastest method, without oxygen, is through CP. Creatine phosphate is "split" to yield the phosphate portion of the molecule.


What Is The Most Effective Creatine Dose?

Effective doses will be examined later in this article. Current studies tend to follow a very standard protocol:

20 g / d for 5 - 7 days ("loading phase")
5 g / d for remainder of cycle ("maintenance phase")

Is Creatine Supplementation For Everyone?

Creatine supplementation may not be effective for everyone. There are possible safety concerns with creatine supplementation that will be discussed later. Due to the mechanisms by which creatine supplementation works, it may not be effective for endurance athletes to supplement with creatine. A significant percentage of the general population appears to have no response to creatine

Is Creatine Supplementation Safe?

The majority of studies indicate that supplementation with creatine for prolonged periods of time using large doses are safe. One study concluded that supplementation from nine (9) weeks up to five (5) years did not adversely affect renal function . Yet another study examined muscle damage, hepatic (liver) and renal (kidney) function, and found no adverse effects from creatine supplementation.

There is potential cause for concern, however. The by-product of creatine use in the muscle is creatinine. Creatinine is typically harmless, and is flushed by the kidneys. When the kidneys are not functioning properly, however, any type of excess strain can cause problems.