WHAT IS CREATINE MONOHYDRATE ?
Creatine is similar to protein in that it is a nitrogen-containing compound, but is not a true
Creatine is a key player in the phosphagen energy system, the primary source of ATP (the main energy substrate in our body) during short-term, high intensity activities. Creatine exists as both free form creatine and phosphocreatine in the body. Phosphocreatine (PC) functions as a “storehouse for high energy phosphate”2.
PC functions to replenish ATP in muscles that are rapidly contracting by transferring a phosphate group to the ADP that was formed from the hydrolysis of ATP for energy in the contracting muscle. When our muscles run out of creatine, our short-term, high intensity energy system shuts down and our muscles are no longer able to produce force.
The use of creatine as an ergogenic aid is based upon the theory that one can increase the saturation of creatine in the muscle through supplementation. This is an important point which we will discuss in a section below.
Theoretically, increased creatine in the muscle will increase performance in short, high intensity exercise by increasing the capacity of our phosphagen system.
Benefits of Creatine Monohydrate :
# Helps Muscle Cells Produce More Energy.
# Supports Many Other Functions in Muscles. ...
# Improves High-Intensity Exercise Performance. ...
# Speeds Up Muscle Growth. ...
# May Help With Parkinson's Disease. ...
# May Fight Other Neurological Diseases. ...
# May Lower Blood Sugar Levels And Fight Diabetes
As mentioned above the entire goal of creatine supplementation is to saturate muscles stores with creatine. This can be achieve in several different ways but it appears that an initial loading protocol followed by sustained dosages is the optimal way to quickly reach and maintain saturation levels. Such a protocol would look like the following: ingesting roughly .3 g/kg/day for between 5 and 7 days (roughly 20 grams a day in 5 gram increments) and 3-5 g/day following the first 5-7 day period2,3.
As for the timing of creatine, there have been recent insights into how the timing of your supplementation effects its efficacy. While creatine has often been marketed as a pre-workout supplement the science does not support this idea. Before we dive into the studies on this, think back to the whole concept of creatine supplementation. It works by bioaccumulation, so one small dose prior to training is likely not going to increase muscle stores enough to elicit a training benefit.A recent paper title, “The Effects of Pre Versus Post Workout Supplementation of Creatine Monohydrate on Body Composition and Strength” looked at how timing of creatine supplementation impacted its efficacy7. In this study 19 subjects were randomly assigned to either a pre or post creatine supplementation group consumed 5 g of creatine either before or after their resistance training.
When you look through the data in the paper, it looks like every subject in the post group showed improvements, which was not the case in the pre group, suggesting taking creatine post-workout might be a better idea than taking it pre-workout. However, the differences were small and it really is the accumulation of the creatine the matters, not so much the timing.
To summarize the dosing and timing of creatine: follow a loading protocol and then maintain your creatine levels by consuming 3-5 grams per day. Timing is not really a make-it-or-break-it factor with creatine supplementation.
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