Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine Monohydrate (CM) or methylguanido-acetic acid is one of the most popular sports supplement on the market today. Bodybuilders and athletes both professional and amateur, men and women, use it alike. Creatine is ideal for performance gains where short, intense bursts of energy are required such as weight lifting and sprinting.

Creatine can be found naturally in the body where it is acquired either through diet (meat/fish) or is synthesized internally from the amino acids arginine, methionine and glycine. The purpose of taking Creatine as a sports supplement is to increase the stores of Creatine in the muscle. These higher levels allow the muscles to work more efficiently and for longer periods of time. As more Creatine is stored in the muscle tissue, more water is brought into the muscle cell increasing the size of the muscle cell, known as volumizing. Studies show that when the muscle cell is volumized, it may trigger protein synthesis and minimize protein breakdown. The bottom line is that Creatine will allow you to do more repetitions with a given weight by delaying the onset of muscle fatigue. The ability to do more repetitions or using heavier weights will overtime translate into muscle gain.

Yes, but will it work for me you ask? Is it safe? And how much do I need to take?

There is a small percentage of the population that will not benefit from taking Creatine Monohydrate. The reason is unclear but the belief is that their stores are already at a maximum level.

Creatine monohydrate has been shown in numerous short-term studies to be safe in the usually recommended doses among active healthy adults. Some side effects that have been associated with the use of Creatine are stomach irritation and muscle cramps. This can be associated with the fact that Creatine affects the fluid balance in your body and in most cases can be alleviated by staying well hydrated. At present there are no long-term studies on the effect of Creatine supplementation. Further research on the long-term effects of Creatine supplements at various doses are needed to determine whether taking Creatine is safe and under what circumstances one needs to exercise caution.

There are two methods on how to start your Creatine supplementation. The first method involves a “loading phase” where one takes in approximately 10 grams of CM twice a day (20 grams total/day) equally spaced for a period of 5 days, followed by a “maintenance phase” where approximately 5 grams is taken daily.

The second method is to by-pass the loading phase and go straight to the maintenance phase. If bypassing the loading phase then taking 6-8 grams per day for a period 8 weeks is suggested. The amounts suggested are for a 165 lb individual. Creatine can be mixed with water or a non-acidic fruit juice grape is a good choice. Whichever method is chosen we suggest cycling your Creatine supplementation on an 8-week on and 4 weeks off basis.

If you feel that you’ve hit a plateau in your training why don’t you give it a try.

Good Work Out !