Creatine Monohydrate is arguably the most popular nutritional supplement of the last decade. Creatine��s immense popularity rivals even protein. Creatine is an extremely effective product from both a performance and cost perspective.
WHAT IS THIS CREATINE STUFF AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM ANYWAY?
Creatine is produced by the body from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methinoine, and 95% of the body��s Creatine is stored in skeletal muscle. Small amounts of Creatine are found naturally occurring in foods such as beef and fish, with only trace amounts occurring in vegetables. The creatine that you purchase at the store, however, is produced by a controlled synthesis process. Athletic vegetarians have diets chronically low in foods containing high amounts of Creatine, making them among the people most likely to benefit from supplementation.
HOW DOES CREATINE WORK?
Creatine helps the body produce fuel, namely ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). ATP is the body��s energy molecule that supplies fuel for cellular functions. During anaerobic exercise (weight training, sprinting, etc) ATP stores are depleted rapidly. However, there is a limit to the amount of ATP that can be stored by a cell at any one time. The amount of ATP contained by a muscle and its ability to produce it directly determines how long the muscle can perform. Supplemental creatine doesn��t increase the amount of stored ATP, but rather accelerates the rate at which ATP is replaced or re-synthesized by the PCr (phosphocreatine) system of the cell. Creatine does make the body retain water, but the key here is where. The very large percentage of water is stored intracellular, or inside the muscle cell, as opposed to under the skin (subcutaneous). It is subcutaneous water retention that makes people appears soft or puffy. However, intracellular water retention (cell-hydration or volumizing as it is often referred too) is actually a beneficial side effect but not the direct effect of Creatine supplementation. Super hydrated cells have higher rates of protein synthesis and therefore repair themselves quicker. Supplemental creatine can help push you though one more rep, or get one second faster, and recover quicker when participating in high intensity, muscle damaging sports.
HOW MUCH DO I TAK E, AND SHOULD I LOAD IT?
Muscles appear to have a limit regarding the amount of creatine they can store (~160 mmol per kg of dry muscle mass). What this tells us is there comes a point when taking more creatine doesn��t improve results. The benefit that loading provides is that the saturation point or limit is reached quicker. Muscles that are saturated with creatine can work harder, repair faster, pump-up harder, and appear much fuller. Once reached, saturation can be maintained using only about 5g a day. The most common strategy used for loading is four to five days taking 20g per day divided into four 5g servings. One serving should be taken immediately post workout. Females can begin with about half of that. Activity level, muscle mass, diets and many other factors can affect the amount of Creatine you require for optimal performance. Take good notes the first few times you use creatine because there will undoubtedly be an optimal serving size for your body, and some trial and error will be necessary to find out what that is. Most people still find that loading is the quickest way to begin seeing real results from Creatine.
Ingredients:
100% Pharmaceutical Grade Micronised Creatine
