What is creatine?
Creatine is a nitrogen-based molecule that is internally produced by the body from amino acids. The role of creatine is involved in energy production under intense activity. Creatine is found in foods as well, mostly in non-vegetarian sources like meat and fish. Many athletes and recreational lifters consume creatine as a supplement, available in the form of powders and capsules. Creatine is among the most popular and most well-researched ergogenic supplements available in the market today.
How does it work?
The foods or nutrients that are consumed are in the form of chemical energy and the activity we do is kinetic energy, our body has a mechanism to convert that energy medium. Adenoise Triphospate (ATP) molecule is the unit of chemical energy, it is also called energy currency. Unfortunately, the readily available ATPs are very limited and they could only last for a few seconds of our activity, so our body has a mechanism to produce/recycle the ATPs, via the energy systems. One such system known as the phosphagen system is responsible for producing rapid ATP production, lasting over 10-15 seconds. Phosphagen uses stored creatine to produce the final product as ATP.
So exercises that require a high burst of energy lasting for 10-15 seconds will get better with the consumption of creatine. Exercises like performing max strength activity (1-RM to 5-RM), 100 m dash, and power activity like jumping, Olympic lifting also will be largely dependent on the phosphagen system, hence creatine will play a vital role.
Creatine supplementation is known to improve the storage levels by as high as 30 percent and especially it could be very useful for people who are vegans or vegetarians, wherein the consumption of creatine is very less from food sources.
The benefits of creatine include ;
- Increased power output
- Improved anaerobic performance
- Improvements in lean muscle mass
- Improved muscle endurance
Recommendations
There are many different types of creatine available in the market but the most popular and affordable is creatine monohydrate. People generally apply loading protocol to consumption that is for initial 5-7 days they consume 0.3gm per kg of body weight and later they keep it to 0.03 gm per kg of body weight, the idea here is to saturate the creatine stores as soon as possible and get quicker results, however, in the long term, there is no difference between loading and constant consumption.
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