Creatine has been shown in hundreds of studies to be an effective performance enhancing supplement.
As a result, it's now accepted amongst sports nutritionists and competitors alike that creatine is the way forward for athletes, and those looking to grow muscle.
Creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid, with 95% of it found within our skeletal muscle.
A 70kg individual will store around about 120g of creatine in their muscle, and our bodies will break down about 1-2% of the creatine pool per day into creatinine in the muscle.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Our bodies high powered energy molecule is called ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE, or ATP for short.
Energy is created when a PHOSPHATE molecule breaks off, and we're left with ADENOSINE DIPHOSPHATE, or ADP.
The "TRI" obviously means 3, with "DI" meaning 2, in this case, referring to phosphate.
So whilst we're in full flight sprinting, or smashing out a set of squats, this is what is occurring!
However, when we take creatine, we are providing MORE phosphate to the ADP, in order to turn it BACK into ATP again.
We're basically keeping the cycle moving, so we can continue to train!
MORE BENEFITS
Besides the performance benefits, creatine has been found to reduce injuries in athletes when consumed during training (1,2) whilst also allowing them to deal with higher intensity sessions more efficiently (3).
CREATINE IN FOOD
Creatine IS found in your food, and for some people, this is enough!
Cod, tuna, salmon, beef and pork are all good sources of creatine, however herring is one the best sources, with around 6.5-10g per kilogram (4).
Given the normal creatine content of the muscle is around 120g, creatine supplementation allows us to reach up to 150-160g.
Dr Kieron Rooney from the University of Sydney points out that 1 in 5 people WILL NOT respond to creatine, because they ALREADY HAVE the upper limit of creatine.
Somebody with LOW creatine content in their muscle before taking a creatine supplement, can increase their muscle creatine stores by 20%-40% - however, somebody with naturally high levels of creatine will only see a 10%-20% rise.
The higher your muscle creatine content - the better your performance (5,6).
HOW MUCH?
5-6 grams of CREATINE MONOHYDRATE a day in your post workout shake is perfect! Otherwise, 3 grams of KRE-ALKALYN (a PH balanced form of creatine).
TO LOAD OR NOT TO LOAD?
There's much debate over whether one needs to load creatine or not.
A typical loading phase is 20g for the first 5 days, and 5-6g every day there after.
This dosage has been found to be beneficial in:
- The amount of work performed during bench pressing and jump squats (7)
- maximal isometric knee extension strength and time to fatigue (8)
- Increased cycling power in men (9).
However, studies have shown loading is not necessary.
One study (10) reported that taking just 5g of creatine per day for 10 weeks, led to greater gains in strength, power, and body mass - with zero change in body fat percentage in American college football players.
Feel free to load creatine if you wish, however, this may not be necessary.
WILL MY CREATINE LEVELS STAY HIGH FOREVER?
No.
But the studies tell us that it may take 4-6 weeks before they return to baseline levels (11), so don't stress if you don't take it some days.
WHEN SHOULD I TAKE IT FOR BEST RESULTS?
There are particular times in which creatine supplementation can be more effective. That is:
- In a fasted state
- With your post workout whey shake
- With any other meal containing carbohydrates, as insulin enhances creatine uptake.
WHAT IF I'M AN ENDURANCE ATHLETE?
No problems!
Creatine isn't just for people looking to grow muscle and improve their strength.
Studies show that taking creatine with carbohydrates during carbohydrate loading allows for greater creatine and glycogen retention (12, 13), which is beneficial for those competing in endurance events.
Also - taking into consideration that some endurance athletes use sprints to boost their anabolic threshold, creatine could lend a helping hand, as it has been shown to bolster sprint performance (14).
SIDE EFFECTS OF CREATINE?
There's some creatine myths out there that too much is bad for your kidneys, or even your liver.
There is NO research to suggest this.
One study (of many) looked at 98 football players, who were taking high doses of creatine over a period of 21 months, and concluded: "long-term creatine supplementation does not appear to adversely effect markers of health status in athletes undergoing intense training in comparison to athletes who do not take creatine" (15).
I TOOK CREATINE AND GAINED WEIGHT - IS IT WATER OR MUSCLE?
You will gain weight with creatine, but don't be alarmed.
Body water WILL increase, but studies suggest this is in response to the weight gained.
Other studies report that long term creatine use promotes gains in FAT FREE MASS, with no increase of total body water, but rather an increase in muscle fibre size! (16, 17).
The general consensus is that weight gain from creatine is muscle mass.
So give creatine a try, and see how it works for you!
REFERENCES
(1) Greenwood M, Kreider R, Greenwood L, Byars A. Creatine supplementation does not increase the incidence of injury or cramping in college baseball players. J Exerc Physiol Online 2003;6:16-22.
(2) Ortega Gallo PA, Dimeo F, Batista J, et al. Creatine supplementation in soccer players, effects in body composition and incidence of sport-related injuries. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2000;32:S134.
(3) Volek JS, Ratamess NA, Rubin MR, et al. The effects of creatine supplementation on muscular performance and body composition responses to short term resistance training overreaching. Eur J Appl Physiol 2004;91:628-637.
(4) Balsom PD, Soderlund K, Ekblom B. Creatine in humans with special reference to creatine supplementation. Sports Med 1994;18:268-280.
(5) Greenhaff PL, Casey A, Short AH, Harris R, Soderlund K, Hultman E. Influence of oral creatine supplementation of muscle torque during repeated bouts of maximal voluntary exercise in man. Clin Sci (Colch) 1993;84:565-571.
(6) Greenhaff PL, Bodin K, Soderlund K, Hulman E. Effect of oral creatine supplementation on skeletal muscle phosphocreatine synthesis. Am J Physiol 1994;266:E725-730.
(7) Volek JS, Kraemer WJ, Bush JA, Boetes M, Incledon T, Clark KL, Lynch JM: Creatine supplementation enhances muscular performance during high-intensity resistance exercise. J Am Diet Assoc 97: 765– 770, 1997
(8) Urbanski RL, Vincent WJ, Yaspelkis BB III: Creatine supplementation differentially affects maximal isometric strength and time to fatigue in large and small muscle groups. Int J Sport Nutr 9: 136–145, 1999
(9) Tarnopolsky MA, MacLennan DP: Creatine monohydrate supplemen- tation enhances high-intensity exercise performance in males and fe- males. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 10: 452–463, 2000
(10) Pearson DR, Hamby DG, Russel W, Harris T: Long-term effects of creatine monohydrate on strength and power. J Strength Cond Res 13: 187–192, 1999
(11) Vandenberghe K, Goris M, Van Hecke P, Van Leemputte M, Vangerven L, Hespel P. Long-term creatine intake is beneficial to muscle performance during resistance training. J Appl physiol 1997;83:2055-2063.
(12) Green AL, Hultman E, Macdonald IA, Sewell DA, Greenhaff PL. Carbohydrate ingestion augments skeletal muscle creatine accumulation during creatine supplementation in humans. Am J Physiol 1996;271:E821-826.
(13) Kehnder M, Rico-Sanz J, Kuhne G, Dambach M, Buchli R, Boutellier U. Muscle phosphocreatine and glycogen concentrations in humans after creatine and glucose polymer supplementation measured nonivasively by 31P and 13C-MRS. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1998;30S264.
(14) Skare OC, Skanberg, Wisnes AR. Creatine supplementation improve sprint performance in male sprinters. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2001;11:96-102.
(15) Kreider R, Rasmussen C, Melton C, et al. Long-term creatine supplementation does not adversely affect clinical markers of health. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2000;32:S134.
(16) Willoughby DS, Rosene J. Effects of oral creatine and resistance training on myosin have chain expression. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001;33:1674-1681.
(17) Volek JS, Duncan ND, Mazzetti SA, et al. Performance and muscle fiber adaptations to creatine supplementation and heavy resistance training. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1998;31:1147-1156.
Author
Dayne Hudson