What is Creatine?
Creatine is a compound found naturally, mostly in the muscle tissue. Small amounts can be found in meat and fish. Creatine is commonly used as a dietary supplement to improve athletic performance and increase muscle mass and has been shown to be effective in increasing muscle strength and power, and may also have some other health benefits.
With its super power in aiding muscle development, it is no surprise as to why it is so widely used and in some circles has become a buzz word among active gym goers. Its not new and has been studied since 1923, so you aren’t part of some secret group of enlightened ones, its effects on muscle contractions have been known for a long time.
So how does Creatine perform this miraculous feet?
It does so by helping to produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is the primary energy source for muscle contractions. By increasing the production of ATP, creatine can help improve athletic performance, particularly in activities that require short bursts of high-intensity effort. By increasing athletic performance it helps to give you that extra push to do that much more needed to increase overall exercise volume. Exercise volume (sets * weight * reps) has been shown time and time again to be the most important variable when looking at training performance and effectiveness.
Basically, creatine is not a magic pill that grows muscle by forcing them to grow, it does so by giving you that little extra shot of energy to perform that extra rep, one more set, one more grind to increase your total work capacity (I.e volume).
In addition to its effects on muscle strength and power, creatine has also been shown to have a number of other health benefits. For example, some research suggests that creatine supplementation may improve brain function and protect against neurological disorders. Other studies have found that creatine may help to improve bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis, as well as potentially reducing the risk of heart disease. Also these bone density and heart related benefits are related to the increased amount of work that is able to be performed. Weight lifting and high intensity work is known to improve bone density and strength.
So how do you take this magical white powder?
First and foremost, it is generally considered to be safe when taken in appropriate amounts. It is typically recommended to start with a loading phase, in which a higher dose of creatine is taken for the first few days, followed by a maintenance phase, in which a lower dose is taken on a daily basis. The usual recommended dose is 3-5 grams per day. A loading phase is dependent on a variety of factors such as body weight, work load etc. A loading phase could be as high as 10 grams per day.
References
"Creatine Monohydrate"
(https://examine.com/supplements/creatine-monohydrate/)
"Creatine for muscle and brain"
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5769602/)
"Creatine supplementation in athletes: Update 2020" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7465456/)
"Creatine supplementation in aging, disease and injury" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4614497/)