Creatine Supplementation

Creatine Supplementation

Creatine supplementation can make a big difference the level of progress you make from your workouts. Creatine has literally been one of the biggest revolutions made since bodybuilding became mainstream. Individuals who've supplemented with creatine monohydrate have experienced an increase in strength and size that cannot otherwise be achieved through diet alone. It's also one of the biggest reasons why sports performance in general continue to improve at an accelerated rate - it's literally improving the human race!

Since supplementing with creatine can make a big difference in the level of results you'll receive, it only makes since to learn as much as possible about the supplement in order to truly maximize your benefits. There is a myriad of different forms of creatine. Some come in the form of "fancy" delivery systems that tout better absorption and improved results. But the question is, do they really provide superior performance over regular creatine itself? Does taking creatine in a special way or certain time improve its effects? While there are several different theories and/or ideas on how to best maximize creatine supplementation, I believe that there's only one true ideology that really holds true.

The first thing that should be discussed about creatine is the fact that it's nothing new. You've been getting creatine in your system your whole entire life. It's found naturally in several foods you eat, the main sources being meat, chicken, and fish. Creatine isn't anything more than a precise combination of three amino acids - in fact, your body can even produce this substance if consumption ever falls too low. So, if creatine can be produced by the body and can be consumed through normal food, why supplement with it?

Well, in order to explain why supplementing with creatine is better than not supplementing with it we should explain creatine's function within the body and how it effects cellular metabolism. Within normal cells there's a substance called phosphacreatine. Phosphacreatine is what cells use for fuel. In a chemical process, phosphacreatine is broken down during cellular metabolism. This breakdown process is what creates the energy for cellular contractions. Each muscle cell has only a very limited supply of phosphacreatine to be used - once it's used up anaerobic muscular contractions cease - no more energy, no more movement. Here's where creatine supplementation comes into play. When you supplement with creatine you basically supersaturate your cells with phosphacreatine. The end result is more fuel for cellular contractions - you can workout longer because there's more fuel to be burned.

By supplementing with creatine monohydrate, you in essence create an environment that is energy intensive. There's a surplus of creatine that can be utilized for muscular contractions. You're ensuring that there's an ample supply of phosphacreatine to be burned. With food and the body's normal production of the substance you simply cannot guarantee that your phosphacreatine levels are optimized. Creatine supplementation ensures that it is.

OK, so now we know it's important to supplement with creatine, but how does it effect my performance as an athlete? Well, creatine basically allows you to perform intense muscular contractions for long periods of time. Simply put, you'll be able to keep going when your competitors begin to drop out. Your performance as an athlete thus, increases tremendously.

Creatine is best taken with meals in my opinion. Delivery systems and the like are highly overrated. What better time for it to be absorbed than with a full meal? This is when your body producing the most enzymes that maximizes the absorption of nutrients. Along with that, muscle cells can only hold so much creatine - after that only a small maintenance dose is needed to optimize performance. In short, your body is going to absorb as much of the creatine as possible, once it stores are full it'll only add what it needs to keep them stocked. You'll be able to achieve this by supplementing with pure creatine alone. Fancy delivery systems are for the most part, not necessary.

Some people will advocate taking creatine just before you workout, some after you workout, and others say it doesn't matter all together when you take it. I would have to agree with the later on this one as well. Like stated above, once creatine supplementation is maximized, further supplementation won't produce better results. If you've been supplementing with creatine on a regular basis taking it before or after a workout shouldn't produce any different effect than taking it at any other time throughout the day. In short, take creatine regularly, the time of day does not matter.

Creatine monohydrate can offer as huge benefit to any physical fitness program. Whether you're seeing results with it or not with it is entirely up to you. Eat right, train hard, and get plenty of results and you should make good progress. Creatine works really well when applied to affective training and nutrition program.

Here's a list of the best creatine product available today. By taking one of these brands you'll be able to experience great increases in size and strength: Creatine Brands.

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