If you’re using or considering using any type of supplement, you need to understand how it works and know exactly why you are using it, as well as HOW to use it appropriately and effectively. Creatine can definitely be beneficial, but only when used correctly and depending on what your personal idea of a "benefit" would be. For instance, creatine will definitely cause some type of weight gain (whether it is "good" or "bad" depends on how you use it, to be further discussed below) but some people may not want this weight gain for any reason (eg competitors who need to cycle out before a competition, athletes with weigh ins, etc) and thus these types of people would NOT want to use creatine supplementation. Or they'd need to cycle on/off it. That aside, generally benefitting from the use of creatine supplementation is entirely dependent on someone's specific fitness goal, and subsequently, the type of exercise(s) [intensity & duration] he or she is performing to reach that goal. If misunderstood and/or used incorrectly, creatine will do nothing or may work against you by causing pure water weight gain without any desirable gains to accompany it. You do not want that.
Before reading the rest of this post (or really any posts within my blog, for that matter) did you check out the exercise metabolism post in the exercise science section? If not, PLEASE quickly go back and read this post about exercise metabolism, which provides you with a fast and simple mini lesson about exercise metabolism & bioenergetics - and if the terminology sounds complicated, worry not...I highlight in that post only the most critical and pertinent information, which I promise I have written in simple, easy to understand terms. :) Once you go back and read that post, you will understand how the body generates energy, which happens in one or more of three ways . The specific energy system(s) used by the body during exercise (and thus the different nutrients required) totally depends on the intensity and duration of exercise you're performing. Understanding how that works is not just "extra" knowledge; it is KEY to getting in shape because it is key to fueling yourself correctly for your workouts. You need to be fueling yourself differently according to your specific workout modality, intensity, and duration. This knowledge will set the foundation for you, so you can continue to learn how to maximize your nutrition---->maximize your workout----> maximize your results and get in killer shape in the most efficient way. :) So now that you promise to have already read this FUNDAMENTAL post before continuing (otherwise some of this may seem like it is written in a foreign language and you are doing yourself a major disservice) it's time to get to the point and break down the most important components to understand about creatine. Ready, aaaaand GO:
Creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid found in the body, specifically in most skeletal muscle. In very simple terms, its function relative to exercise is to increase the body's ability to produce energy FAST, which is why it is relevant and can be effective for high weight/low rep weight training (low rep being about 1 -3 reps), sprinting, explosive exercise (plyometrics), etc. Anything requiring high-intensity, short duration bursts of energy and power.
In essence, creatine works to extend the ATP energy production cycle, replenishing used up energy quickly so as to extend someone's high-intensity efforts. As stated above, creatine is produced in the body, but the body only produces so much creatine on its own, which is where supplementation starts to come into play. (Creatine is also found in meat and fish, but not in a heavily concentrated enough way to practically serve the training purposes discussed in this post.) When used correctly, creatine supplementation has the potential to be very beneficial. (Again, depending on one's personal definition of a benefit. For instance, if you don't want to gain any water weight, do not take creatine supplements or cycle off of them as necessary if you are an athlete or competitor who deals with weigh ins, etc.) Creatine supplements are ergogenic, meaning they are work generating and enhance one's capacity for more/improved athletic performance. When combined with the right strength-training program creatine supplementation can increase muscle mass, strength, and anaerobic performance. (Note: CREATINE IS NOT an androgenic anabolic steroid. Anabolic steroids mimic testosterone, and have been shown to have MANY adverse side effects, as well as are banned from all major sports organizations.)
When it comes to high-intensity muscular efforts, a person can typically go "all out" for about 5-10 seconds before his or her strength & stamina drops off because the body's ATP stores are depleted. Creatine phosphate is required to convert to more ATP again, and once available is converted into ATP (energy) VERY quickly! Thus, put very simply, adding creatine helps extend the ATP energy cycle by several seconds, which as you might assume, means that you can put more effort into getting a few more reps in a set and so on. Subsequently, this additional exertion on your muscles means something very simple: you can get stronger, faster. So again because this cannot be overemphasized, this makes creatine supplementation ideal for people who require short bursts of energy during weight training, explosive plyometrics, sprinting, and so forth. All of those activities involve short bursts of power rather than long term endurance (such as, for example, running a marathon.) Creatine has not been shown to provide any benefits for longer duration endurance training of any kind.
If you do not train hard via explosive types of exercises, then creatine will do little if anything for you and in fact, depending on the result you are seeking, WILL likely work against you! (Especially true for women, as women are usually not trying to bulk up, etc.) So...don't use creatine (or any supplement for that matter) just because someone else uses it! Others may have different goals in mind. With taking creatine inherently comes a certain amount of water weight gain, because creatine pulls water into the muscles as part of its means to provide that rapid energy production (which ties into protein synthesis, but I'll spare you that for simplicity's sake.) So if you are not taking advantage of the 'added energy' generated via creatine supplementation, you'll just puff up from water weight. Creatine DOES NOT build muscle on its own. It indirectly aids in building more muscle mass, faster, by providing YOU the additional energy that YOU will require to add MORE reps and DO MORE WORK to build that added muscle/strength as quickly as possible. The key is that you absolutely still have to do that extra work. Simply taking creatine will in no way make you gain muscle mass. If you take creatine, and don't engage in high intensity activities such as high-weight/low rep weight training, you will just gain puffy looking water weight without any real benefit to go alongside that.
How is creatine supplementation generally taken?
There are different views on best practices for benefitting from creatine supplementation. The most widely supported view on how to go about it deals with a loading phase and a maintenance phase. (Though you can absolutely just do a one phase approach, which would be the maintenance phase. It would simply take longer to "kick in.") Though dosing should be specific to the person and will vary, a typical creatine regimen will begin with a loading phase lasting about 5 - 7 days and which consists of consuming the supplement at about 20 grams per day to rapidly increase and build up muscle creatine. Then follows the maintenance phase of about 2 to 5 grams per day to sustain maximal muscle creatine levels. Consuming creatine supplements with carbohydrates - such as fruit juice - has been shown to be most effective, as this increases the body's insulin levels and in turn helps increase creatine uptake into the muscle.
Also - one very common risk when taking creatine, is dehydration. (As the water is taken up by the muscles, it is not available for other important functions such as regulating your body temp via sweat, etc.) So - stay HYDRATED!
Ref's
1. Clark, Micheal, Scott Lucett, and Brian G. Sutton. NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. 4th ed.
Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2012. Print.
2. Branch JD. Effect of creatine supplementation on body composition and performance: a meta-analysis. Int J Sport
Nutr Exerc Metab 2003;13:198-226.
3. Brosnan JT, Brosnan ME. Creatine: endogenous metabolic dietary, and therapeutic supplement. Annu Rev Nutr
2007;27;27:241-61.
4. Green AL, Simpson EJ, Littlewood JJ, et al. Carbohydrate ingestion augments creatine retention during creatine
feeding in humans. Acta Physiol Scand 1996;158:195-202.
5. Kreider RB. Creatine. In: Driskell JA, ed. Sports Nutrition: Fats and Proteins. Boca Raton, CRC Press, 2007:165-86.
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