THE MISCONCEPTIONS OF CREATINE One of the most common topics regarding supplementation that I hear in the gym is about the use of creatine. You always hear that one guy in the gym ranting of about how he’s “all natural” and would never touch creatine because all it does it bloat your muscles with water. If you are that person in the gym I encourage you to read this article and take a moment to learn the facts, and if you’re someone considering supplementing with creatine I also recommend you take a moment to read this. So what is creatine? The scientific definition is that it is a nitrogenous organic acid that occurs naturally in the body and helps to supply energy to the body, primarily to muscle. I’ll explain what that means later in more simple terms, but 1st we need to learn about all the different kinds of creatine. Yes, there are multiple forms of creatine. If you’re not interested in learning about all the forms of creatine than skip to the portion of the article that discusses the effects and safety of creatine. 1) Creatine Monohydrate is the most popularly used creatine. This form of creatine needs sugar to be ingested and has a loading phase of around 5-6 days. In this phase you would take in 5 grams of creatine monohydrate 4-5 times a day. 2) Ethyl Ester is the type of creatine that you’ll normally see in the pill or powder form. This creatine does not require sugar to be ingested and also doesn’t have a loading phase. In short, this form of creatine requires less total grams in order to be effective. 3) Tri-creatine Malate is a compound made up off creatine monohydrate and malic acid. It is made of three creatine molecules and one malic acid. Malic acid is involved in the Kreb’s cycle, one method that our body uses to provide energy. 4) Kre-alkalyn is one of the most researched forms of creatine in the body. It is commonly known as buffered creatine. The amount of creatine your body can absorb is based on your pH levels. The higher the pH levels the less efficient creatine is absorbed. This form of creatine solves the problem because it has already been altered so that your body immediately absorbs it and doesn’t have to “buffer” the creatine. 5)Micronized creatine produces smaller particles than regular creatine powders and therefore improves absorption. This form of creatine follows the same guidelines as creatine monohydrate and has a loading phase. 6) Liquid creatine is the least popular form of creatine, the main complain being that it lacks stability in the liquid form. When weight lifting or exercising our body’s need energy. There are three energy pathways that our bodies use to produce energy. The 1st method is ATP/CP conversion, the 2nd is Glycolysis, and the 3rd is the oxidative pathway. Your body will use ATP/CP conversion for anything you do that requires physical exertion. This method, however, can only provide 10-15 seconds of great physical exertion. The ATP/CP energy pathway uses a molecule creatine phosphate (CP) to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP). After your body uses ATP for energy, the ATP converts to ADP (adenosine diphosphate). This is where creatine phosphate comes into play. Creatine phosphate donates its phosphate molecule to the ADP so that it becomes ATP and can be used for energy again. The problem is it takes our bodies about 5 minutes to fully replenish its ATP supply. That’s why many weight lifting programs require short intense interval of exercise followed by a longer rest period. Therefore by supplementing with creatine your body has a greater supply. This greater supply will allow you to workout longer, train harder, and it’ll also increase your energy levels. In the long term it will lead to better results. Creatine also helps push water into your muscles, which results in increased muscle size and strength. Now this is the part where the gym rat says: “See, I told you all it does it bloat your muscles with water and when you stop taking if you deflate like a balloon.” Well that statement can be used in all areas of fitness. If you stop supplementing with creatine your body will no longer have that SUPPLEMENT to aid in its progression. But if you stop taking protein shakes and cut your protein intake you’ll lose muscle size. If you stop running you lose endurance. This list can go on forever. As far as safety goes, creatine is one of the safest supplements in the market. The dosages for creatine products today are so low that they will not cause harm to your kidneys, liver, or pancreas. Moving forward from today I hope that you have a better understanding on creatine. Do not be so quick to listen to the media about supplementation, the moment any risk is associated with creatine they strike with great enthusiasm saying how bad it is. However, the moment that study is disproven (99% of the time) they aren’t so excited to report it. Here is an informative article on creatine: bodybuilding/fun/babyboom43.htm
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 21:01:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015