Creatine Monohydrate is arguably the most popular nutritional supplement of the last decade. Creatineís immense popularity rivals even protein. Creatine is an extremely effective product from both a performance and cost perspective.

Creatine is produced by the body from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methinoine, and 95% of the bodyís Creatine is stored in skeletal muscle. Small amounts of Creatine are found naturally occurring in foods such as beef and fish, with only trace amounts occurring in vegetables. The creatine that you purchase at the store, however, is produced by a controlled synthesis process. Athletic vegetarians have diets chronically low in foods containing high amounts of Creatine, making them among the people most likely to benefit from supplementation.

Creatine helps the body produce fuel, namely ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). ATP is the bodyís energy molecule that supplies fuel for cellular functions. During anaerobic exercise (weight training, sprinting, etc) ATP stores are depleted rapidly. However, there is a limit to the amount of ATP that can be stored by a cell at any one time. The amount of ATP contained by a muscle and its ability to produce it directly determines how long the muscle can perform. Supplemental creatine doesnít increase the amount of stored ATP, but rather accelerates the rate at which ATP is replaced or re-synthesized by the PCr (phosphocreatine) system of the cell. Creatine does make the body ìretain waterî, but the key here is ìwhereî. The very large percentage of water is stored intracellular, or inside the muscle cell, as opposed to under the skin (subcutaneous). Itís subcutaneous water retention that makes people appear soft or puffy. However, intracellular water retention (ìcell-hydrationî or ìvolumizingî as itís often referred too) is actually a beneficial ìside effectî but not the direct effect of Creatine supplementation. Super hydrated cells have higher rates of protein synthesis and therefore repair themselves quicker. Supplemental creatine can help push you though ìone more repî, or get ìone second faster,î and recover quicker when participating in high intensity, muscle damaging sports.

Muscles appear to have a limit regarding the amount of creatine they can store (~160 mmol per kg of dry muscle mass). What this tells us is there comes a point when taking more creatine doesnít improve results. The benefit that ìloadingî provides is that the saturation point or limit is reached quicker. Muscles that are saturated with creatine can work harder, repair faster, pump-up harder, and appear much fuller. Once reached, saturation can be maintained using only about 5g a day. The most common strategy used for loading is four to five days taking 20g per day divided into four 5g servings. One serving should be taken immediately post workout. Females can begin with about half of that. Activity level, muscle mass, diets and many other factors can affect the amount of Creatine you require for optimal performance. Take good notes the first few times you use creatine because there will undoubtedly be an optimal serving size for your body, and some trial and error will be necessary to find out what that is. Most people still find that loading is the quickest way to begin seeing real results from Creatine.

Creatine is not very soluble stuff and often gastric distress is due to unabsorbed Creatine in the gut. If bloating has been a problem in the past, reducing the amount to 2.5g per day will help. The incredibly high carb content of some of the Mega Creatine Pre Mixes can also cause GI distress in some people. Large amounts of simple carbs ingested quickly can cause large volumes of water to be drawn into the gut, creating GI distress. Using pure Creatine powder with little or no carbs relieves this problem for most people.

Thereís really no evidence that suggests that cycling is necessary, but most people do. Two months on followed by one off works quite well. Like dosages, this timeline may not be optimal for you or your sport schedule. Athletes should keep using Creatine until the effect becomes less noticeable than when you began. Many people become accustomed to their new level of performance and mistake it for the Creatine ìnot working anymoreî. After a short break, most people are quickly reminded of just how powerful a supplement Creatine really is.

Creatine has received blame for several things, including muscle cramps, dehydration, and kidney failure. After all the ugly name-calling that Creatine has suffered, none of these claims have ever been proven. In fact, most have been proven to be false. Perhaps in an industry that sees the introduction of new products and ingredients daily, one of the best things about Creatine is the amount of actual research that has been done regarding safety and effectiveness exceeds that of every other supplement. This combined with millions of ìcases studiesî who are pumping iron in gyms around the world allows for a degree of confidence greater than many of the most common drug store products. Creatine is not on the list of IOC (International Olympic Committee) banned substances and is legal for use in Olympic Competition. Considering the zero tolerance stance of the IOC regarding doping and risk to an athleteís health (even caffeine is banned by the IOC), the fact that Creatine is not on their banned list should also provide some reassurance as to the safety of Creatine use.

With the exception of protein powders, no other supplement delivers amazing results with the same degree of documented safety as Creatine. For those looking to maximize strength and explosive power, Creatine is still the undefeated champ!Ý