Role of Creatine in Muscle Building

On lists of 'essential supplements' you often come across creatine. There are therefore many people who just take the stuff because it just seems to belong to it. On the other side of the spectrum there are also people who do not use supplements at all. For example, they assume that it will not do anything.

In both cases a lot of improvement is possible! And certainly with creatine, which can sometimes be useful. In today's article we answer all questions about it. What is creatine? How do you use it? And perhaps most importantly: do you need it?

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What is creatine?

Creatine is a so-called organic nitrogen compound. That may sound a bit scary, but the material naturally occurs in your own body. Your liver takes care of the production, based on a number of amino acids. In addition, you always get something inside through your food. These are available mainly in meat and fish.

Creatine plays a role in the energy supply of especially your muscles. 95% of your body stock is stored there: when you have to exercise briefly and explosively, your muscles can use it. The rest is spread over your heart, brain and genitals.

What does creatine do?

As mentioned before, creatine is mainly used in heavy efforts. For your muscles, it is an energy supply that can be used to extract lightning speed when needed. In other words: if you are really exercising with maximum weights, then creatine would definitely make a difference. Of course you always have a body's stock of it.

By taking an extra supplement, however, you ensure that the stock is maximally standard. And that means that during training you can give a little more than if you would have saved a little less creatine. In this way you press more repetitions, with more results as a result.

Does creatine really help?

What is above is of course the theoretical story. Of many supplements you can also think of why they should do something, but that does not always mean that the difference is noticeable. However, creatine is a substance that many people do notice. Approximately three-quarters of strength athletes achieve better results.

However, it differs per person how big the difference is. For example, if you already eat a lot of meat and fish, your stocks are probably already quite full. The creatine will then do less than with vegetarians. Advanced strength athletes also have much more to offer than beginners. If you have been developing your muscles for a short time, that small boost is just not that significant.

Some of us are, by nature, Ectomorphs. An ectomorph is typically someone who naturally has a fast metabolism and has to work extra hard to gain muscle mass. In order to gain muscle mass, Ectomorphs need to eat more. But because the ectomorphs naturally have a fast metabolism, it can sometimes be difficult to eat above the energy requirement. In such a situation Creatine just might be your saviour. Creatine gives Ectomorphs the ability to overcome the difficulty in building muscle.  

Do I have to use creatine?

Of course that does not mean that creatine is a must-have for all strength athletes. You can do well without it. But are you an advanced strength athlete, and are you looking for an extra incentive? Then this is one of the few that can really do what he promises. That does not mean of course that his supplement will double your muscles immediately.

Is creatine healthy?

So far the question 'what is creatine?' We now come to the next point, namely: how do you use creatine? A first question is of course whether the stuff is actually not unhealthy. Fortunately, we can be brief about this: research has not yet found any significant disadvantages. That is of course subject to the condition that you use the creatine in a reasonable way.

Like most things in life, taking too much of this supplement is unhealthy. In the case of creatine overuse, your liver and kidneys become considerably overloaded. But with proper discretion, creatine use would not cause any damage in your body.

Break periods

It is wise, however, not to use creatine as a lifelong supplement. There is very little research that establishes the exact effects of really long-term and constant use. But scientists still fear that it could weaken the body's production of creatine. That is, of course, annoying, because nobody wants to be dependent supplements.

The usual approach is to use the supplement no more than six weeks in a row. It is then advised to observe a four-week break period. In this manner you prevent the body's natural production of creatine from being disturbed too much.

Drink enough Fluids!

The other important conditions for safe use of creatine is that you drink enough with it. Creatine is stored in the muscles with the help of moisture. You therefore consume extra water, which could lead to dehydration. Muscle cramps and an irritated stomach can also be part of the side effects.

So make sure you get at least that two liters of water daily! If you suffer from side effects in the beginning, it may be wise to drink a little more. If the side effects persist, it is of course better to just stop with the supplement.

The best creatine

Then one last frequently asked question: what is the best creatine? We can imagine that you quickly get confused, because there is a lot of creatine for sale.Every kind also makes the most beautiful claims, so what do you have to believe? My suggestion is to keep it nice and normal and just choose standard creatine monohydrate.

That is often the cheapest and best available type. For the time being there are few indications that more advanced products work better. Choose a trusted brand of good quality, even though that may not be the most advantageous. This way you can be sure that you will receive an effective and safe product. Click here to try out your first Bottle.