Creatine Article

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound found in large amounts in skeletal muscle and brain as a result of dietary intake and endogenous synthesis from amino acids. Dietary intake from animal muscle (e.g. meat, fish) is 1-2 g/d or half the daily turnover. Muscle creatine content varies between individuals, perhaps related to gender, age or fibre type. Vegetarians do not consume a dietary source of creatine and are reliant on body synthesis of creatine; studies have shown that vegetarians have lower residual muscle creatine concentrations than people that eat meat.

 

Phosphorylated creatine provides a number of important functions related to fuel supply in the muscle. The most well-known role is as a source of phosphate to regenerate ATP. The phosphocreatine system is the most important fuel source for sprints or bouts of high-intensity exercise lasting up to 10 seconds. Creatine supplementation has been shown to enhance the performance of exercise involving repeated sprints or bouts of high intensity exercise, separated by short recovery intervals. Therefore, competition or training programs involving intermittent high-intensity work patterns with brief recovery periods of less than 1 minute, or resistance training programs may be enhanced by creatine loading.

 

Performance enhancements may be seen as a result of an acute loading program, but chronic creatine use to promote superior training adaptations may offer the greatest benefits. Studies have shown that prior creatine loading enhances glycogen storage and carbohydrate loading in a trained muscle. The performance implications of this finding have not been studied well, Although there is a lot of findings by individual athletes supporting the benefits of creatine supplementation on exercise capacity and performance. In saying that most of the findings weren’t done by the AIS and or its elite athletes. They were conduct by  bodybuilders and other sportsman where the intake of creatine supplement help them with their gains, but it may not necessarily work for every individual due to that we all have different body types and how we break down and absorb the supplement.

 

There are findings that show that creatine supplementation aids in therapeutic methods for a number of disorders including muscular dystrophy, polymyositis, ageing, Parkinson’s disease and Huntingdon’s disease.

 

Consuming creatine doses with a substantial 50-100g amount of carbohydrate enhances creatine uptake and storage into the muscle. Taking creatine doses with a carbohydrate-rich meal or snack may help all individuals to respond to creatine supplementation and reach the muscle creatine storage threshold. A weight gain of 600g to 1kg is typically associated with acute loading and may represent water retention. Although it has been suggested that the slow loading protocol may circumvent this weight gain, this theory has not been properly studied. It is possible that any weight changes associated with slow loading are masked by normal body mass fluctuations or the outcomes of longer term training and the diet in the individual.

 

 

Many athletes who use creatine either are unaware of correct supplementation protocols or persist in using unnecessarily high doses of creatine. Studies show that high doses of creatine do not further enhance creatine stores. This weight gain associated with creatine loading may be counterproductive to athletes competing in sports where power-to-weight is a key factor in successful performance or in sports involving weight divisions. The long-term consequences of creatine use are considered to be unknown, although there is now a 20 year history of creatine supplement use with few reports of adverse outcomes. There are many reports of an increased risk of muscle cramps, strains and tears, but studies to date have not reported an increased risk of these events. In fact, several studies show a reduced prevalence of muscle cramps and tears and enhanced thermoregulation during prolonged exercise in the heat in creatine users compared to a group receiving a placebo treatment. Some individuals experience mild side-effects from creatine supplements in the form of gastrointestinal discomfort or an increased prevalence of headaches.

 

Creatine is best used for athletes and or bodybuilders trying to increase mass through resistance training, athletes that may use creatine monohydrate may be Sprinters, Lifters Shot putters and the like. The main reason for the use of creatine is by athletes and Bodybuilders to increase lean muscle mass to create a faster and stronger response when perform in the sport.

 

References

AIS group A Supplements – Creatine

Examine.com/Creatine