Creatine has long been used by the athletic fraternity as a proven way of increasing strength gains in power athletes. Creatine works by increasing the amount of energy available to the muscle and allowing better performance.
Who should use Creatine?
Creatine has been shown to be effective in improving performance in power activities but not in endurance events. Creatine a naturally occuring substance. It is used in the body as part of the Creatine Phosphate energy system, which is only used when a person is working at maximal output in anaerobic exercise. This would include sprinting and weightlifting especially. Activities that are reliant on the aerobic energy system as a way of producing ATP for energy have little or no benefit from Creatine supplementation.
Creatine Muscle Volumising
During the initial stages of Creatine supplementation a significant rise in visible mass occurs, almost certainly due to the effect of the Creatine driving water in to the muscle cells. This is called muscle volumising. It is usually seen in the first weeks of supplementation and is therefore too soon for it to be indicative of an increase in actual muscle. From a visual viewpoint this may be a desirable effect.
Strength and Mass Gains from Creatine
Strength and muscle mass increases occur due to increased exercise intensity; this is facilitated by the Creatine supplementation. Increased muscle mass and strength are unlikely to occur with out an increase in training intensity. However, some research has started to show a protein synthesising effect of Creatine supplementation in vitro.
The Best Forms of Creatine
Creatine comes in powder or liquid (serum) forms, but you always get what you pay for in terms of quality. Poor quality forms of Creatine may be contaminated and that may cause many of the anecdotal side effects that people mention.
Creatine Monohydrate powder has been used in the vast majority of scientific studies and is therefore the most proven. Creatine Monohydrate is known to degrade (into creatinine) once in liquid form so it should be used quickly after mixing ( within 6 – 8 hours). Serum or liquid Creatine purports to be faster absorbed but there is little evidence to support this and it is possible that it degrades more quickly because it is a liquid, while the powder form is more stable in terms of storage.
Creatine is also available in the forms Creatine Phosphate and Creatine Citrate. The monohydrate form is shown to have the better yield per five grams. Although the other forms may be more absorbable, they are bound to other substances meaning that less Creatine is absorbed per total serving.
Creatine Cycling, Creatine Loading and the Side Effects of Creatine
There are a few different ways to use Creatine and there are also some side effects if it is not used properly. Find out about Creatine Loading, Cycling and it Side Effects.
Sources:
Bardot, D. ( 2006) Advanced Sports Nutrition. Human Kinetics Books. US.
Vierck, J. L. et al. (2003) The effects of ergogenic compounds on myogenic satellite cells. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, Volume 35 (5), pages 769-776.
'Gyrate Atrophy of the Choroid and Retina: A Five-Year Follow-Up of Creatine Supplementation, Opthalmology, vol. 92, pp. 1719-1727, 1985).http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0164.htm
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