creatine 101
Disclaimer: First, let me start by saying - the reason you are or aren't making progress in the gym has little to do with the supplements you are or aren't taking. It won't matter how consistent you are with your supplement routine if you're only getting 4 hours of sleep a night, missing workouts regularly, and eating a diet full of junk and fast food.
The literal definition of the word supplement is, “something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.” However, it seems that somehow the word supplement is now defined as, “the magic pill or powder that erases all the unhealthy choices I made that day.” And trust me, I've been there. I've had weeks where sleep, nutrition, and training all went out the window but I never missed a single multivitamin. And *spoiler alert* that multivitamin didn't help and I still felt like crap. Now, I'm not saying all supplements are bad. Some are heavily backed by research and so as long as the “majors” (training, recovery, nutrition) are in order, then dialing in some of those “minors” might actually be beneficial.
One supplement that is heavily backed by science and has been shown to enhance anaerobic performance is creatine.
WHAT IS CREATINE AND WHERE CAN I GET IT?
Creatine is a member of the phosphagen family and plays a role in energy metabolism – specifically your immediate energy availability.
So where can I get it?
First, your liver, pancreas, and kidneys produce about 1 gram of creatine a day. Moreover, creatine can naturally be consumed through products such as seafood and red meat. However, levels are much lower than what our muscle cells can store and so supplementing creatine can be beneficial.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Our body’s key energy source is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). All the food we eat is eventually converted to ATP which provides energy for all biological processes that take place in, and, performed by our bodies. So, lifting weights requires muscle contractions, which requires energy, which ultimately uses ATP. However, the breakdown of carbs or fat for energy takes time so we naturally have some ATP readily available in our muscles for very short duration activity. However, when that ATP is depleted we either have to replenish it via carbohydrate and fat metabolism (which again takes some time) or something else like creatine (which is very fast)!
How much do I need?
Our muscles can store 4-6 more times more phosphocreatine than ATP. So research has shown that supplementing 5 grams of creatine a day is enough to fully saturate the muscle. Unfortunately, and yes I have even tried, taking extra each day appears to have no additional benefit beyond the 5 grams.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
The benefits of creatine are well documented. Researchers have shown that creatine supplementation can result in:
Enhanced exercise performance
Increased muscular adaptions
Increased training tolerance
Enhanced glycogen synthesis
Improved total work capacity
Increased overall training adaptations
And although not as well studied yet, improved brain function
Proper nutrition, sleep, and training is going to produce by far the largest adaptations. Without those three, creatine will have no noticeable benefits whatsoever.
However, if you have those factors dialed in, supplementing creatine may just give you an extra little boost!
WITH GOOD VIBES - COACH BRAD