Creatine is a nitrogen-containing carboxylic acid found in meat products. It was first isolated in 1832 by the French organic chemist Eugène Michel Chevreul from skeletal muscles. The carboxylic acid got its name from the French derivative krеatin from the Greek "kreatos", which translates as "meat". Creatine is found only in products of animal origin, that is, exclusively in meat.
What is creatine for? Its main and perhaps only purpose is to improve the physical functioning of muscle tissue. According to studies, the higher the concentration of creatine in the muscles, the greater the strength they can develop.
How does creatine work?
Although creatine is an integral part of most energy reactions in cells, it is not used directly by muscles, being only a starting point for the body to obtain adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an acid that is the end product consumed by muscles during contraction.
In addition to creatine, muscles can also store another acid – creatine phosphate. Because creatine phosphate is a faster source of energy, it is assigned the role of the first supplier of ATP at the beginning of muscle effort. After the energy is released, the phosphate group is split off and a new molecule is formed – adenosine diphosphate (ADP).
Since the reserves of carboxylic acid are sufficient for only a few seconds, the body has provided for a continuous process of replenishing ATP using a rephosphorylation cycle - the transfer of acid from one organic compound to another: creatine + ATP <=> creatine phosphate + ADP.
Creatine can be stored "for future use" and it is the increased reserves of this acid that allow you to develop greater muscle effort at the beginning of any workout, and, accordingly, to work with greater weights. And increasing the load, as is known, stimulates increased muscle mass growth. The daily human need for creatine is approximately 2 grams.
Increase in strength
During high-intensity training, the working muscles' need for ATP increases hundreds of times compared to the resting state. In cases where ATP and phosphocreatine reserves are depleted, the muscles will not be able to contract at peak frequency and intensity levels. When taking creatine monohydrate, phosphocreatine reserves are restored and the amount of ATP increases, thereby increasing muscle strength.
Increase in muscle mass
Regular training and proper nutrition combined with creatine monohydrate supplementation are associated with increases of 2-5 kg of lean body mass. According to available data, creatine monohydrate increases sprinting ability as well as bench press repetition maximum by 10 kg after just one week of supplementation. The increase in strength helps to achieve the necessary growth-stimulating effect on the muscles.
True, there is one nuance: with a weak sensitivity of the body to creatine, determined genetically, such an effect will manifest itself much weaker and it is quite possible that it will be expressed only in a slight increase in performance, without any increase in strength qualities.
Increase muscle quality
As creatine is absorbed by muscle cells, it binds to water molecules. Since creatine is stored “for future use,” more water penetrates into the muscle cell, exerting a hydrating effect on it. According to the claims of seasoned bodybuilders, hydrated muscle looks rounder, fuller, and, most importantly, more pumped up.
According to scientific research by EAS Anthony Almada and Ed Byrd, during the increase in volume due to superhydration of muscle cells, protein synthesis increases and the process of its breakdown is reduced to a minimum. Today, this concept is widely accepted in the sports nutrition industry.
Increased secretion of hormones
In response to exercise (before exercise fix the mat slippery issue), creatine increases the secretion of endogenous anabolic hormones such as somatropin and testosterone. The level of somatropin in the blood increases approximately 2 hours after taking creatine monohydrate.
This is due to the fact that the release of somatropic hormone is not specifically associated with creatine, but is indirect in nature and occurs as a result of a cellular response. Creatine also promotes a 15% increase in the secretion of insulin-like growth factor and suppresses the appearance of myostatin.
Forms of Creatine
There are more than a dozen different forms of creatine. They are formed by the addition of a molecule to a creatine molecule. In such cases, additional properties appear that are usually associated only with absorption. Creatine can be produced in the form of powder, tablets or pills, and can be chewable, effervescent or liquid.
Athletes are only suitable for those types of creatine that help creatine enter the blood with the least losses: creatine monohydrate, dicreatine malate, creatine tartrate. However, according to official studies, only creatine monohydrate has high efficiency among them. But in order to get as many buyers as possible, sports nutrition manufacturers either use other forms of creatine, but with a more beautiful and tempting sound, or develop their own forms of creatine.
In fact, it turns out that the properties of the product they sell are many times worse than those of the time-tested creatine monohydrate. In addition, the final cost of the product turns out to be excessively high. No "magic" formulas can compare with ordinary creatine monohydrate, a teaspoon of which, mixed with a protein shake, replenishes the body's daily need for creatine.
How to take creatine monohydrate?
Creatine intake, unlike most sports nutrition supplements, must be carried out according to a specific schedule. This will speed up the achievement of the optimal concentration of creatine in the blood and maintain this level in the future.
There are two stages of keratin intake: the loading stage and the concentration maintenance stage. You can take creatine with or without the loading stage. The daily creatine intake without the loading stage should not exceed 5g per day. The ideal long-term intake cycle lasts about 7 weeks.
When asked about how to drink creatine correctly and stay away from your exercise mat by the way, try to use a good material mat, almost all modern sports publications advise reducing the dose of creatine supplement to 2-3 grams after 10-15 days of taking it. The effectiveness of the drug depends on the regularity of taking it. It should be borne in mind that there will be no immediate visible effect. First, you need to load the body with a certain amount of creatine and only a week after starting to take it, start evaluating the results.
Creatine should be taken on an empty stomach in the morning and between main meals. Combine the intake with simple carbohydrates. You can add it to a gainer or other high-carbohydrate energy drink.
Creatine: side effects
Creatine is a natural supplement, the safety of which has been confirmed by a large number of studies and long-term practice. For example, taking the supplement in large doses over a long period (from 9 weeks to 5 years) did not have any negative impact on liver and kidney function.
However, being an acid in its essence, creatine has all the features and properties inherent in acids. For example, it irritates the gastric mucosa. All those who suffer from chronic gastritis, gastroduodenitis and gastric ulcers are recommended to take an extremely cautious approach to taking creatine.
The main harm of creatine is only in the increased impact on the kidneys, so its use is contraindicated during pregnancy and kidney diseases, as well as diabetics. The opinion that creatine has some effect on potency is wrong. It also does not affect the hormonal background, the work of internal organs, the state of blood pressure or sleep.
Taking a quality product in the recommended dosage is absolutely safe. As for the effectiveness of creatine, it depends not only on the quality of the supplement, but also on the genetic characteristics of the athlete and his experience.
It should be noted that vegetarians who have given up eating meat, the main source of creatine, are strongly advised to take creatine. And not so much for athletic progress, but to avoid health problems.
Final Words
Supplementing your diet with creatine monohydrate can increase your strength indicators several times, increase the intensity of your workouts and endurance, reduce the recovery time between exercises, improve the functioning of your heart muscle and normalize your blood pH. Therefore, the StyleFitness team recommends including it in your sports diet after consulting a doctor.