So you want to build more muscle and you hear people say you need to take creatine. Well that’s a good call. First let’s talk about what creatine can do for you.
I found this article on Muscle and Fitness…
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Why is creatine so popular among athletes and gym-goers? Quite simply because it works, and it works well. Literally hundreds of studies have been done on creatine showing its effectiveness for increasing muscle strength, muscle power, muscle size, overall athletic performance and even enhancing certain areas of health.
Creatine Basics
Creatine is a nonessential dietary protein-like compound found in high abundance in meat and fish. It is synthesized in the body, primarily in the liver, from the three amino acids, arginine, glycine and methionine. Muscle tissue does not produce creatine, and therefore it must take up creatine from the bloodstream. Once inside muscle cells, creatine gets a high-energy phosphate attached to it and is then known as phosphocreatine (PCr) or creatine phosphate. It is this high-energy molecule that is one of the most critical components of creatine’s beneficial effects in the body.
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They start getting really technical there. Let’s jump to the next good part of the article.
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Creatine Boosts Muscle Strength
Numerous studies have reported significant improvements in one-rep max strength of subjects taking creatine. For example, Belgian researchers reported in a 1997 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology that untrained subjects taking creatine while following a 10-week weight-training program increased their one-rep max on the squat by 25% more than those taking a placebo while following the same program. A 1998 study by University of Nebraska (Omaha) researchers found that trained collegiate football players taking creatine while following an 8-week weight-training program gained a 6% increase in their one-rep bench press strength, while those taking a placebo experienced no strength gains at all.
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Creatine Boosts Muscle Growth
There are a plethora of studies showing that creatine significantly boosts muscle growth. The University of Queensland researchers found that the powerlifters taking creatine gained an average of over 6 pounds of lean body weight, with some subjects gaining as much as 11 pounds of lean body weight in less than four weeks, while those taking a placebo had no change in body weight at all. Since creatine supplementation likely does not increase bone mass or organ mass, the increase in lean body weight is more reasonably the result of a gain in muscle mass.
To read the full article, it’s here.
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So there ya got what creatine can do for you, let’s look further into it. So how much Creatine should you take to build muscle? Well Jimmy Smith over at jimmysmithtraining.com has a great post on that. Here’s part of it…
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How Much Creatine Do I Need?
Should you load creatine? Not really. While a loading phase of 20 grams for 5 days has sped up the creatine saturation process, it doesn’t do much to increase the actual amount of creatine in your muscles. So you don’t really need to load creatine. Most of the the benefits of creatine are seen around 3-5 grams per day.
How to take creatine
Here’s some pointers
-Creatine can be taken with a warm drink like green tea.
-You can take creatine before or after your workout in your shakes.
-Take a break from creatine for 12 weeks after 12 weeks of usage.
Now you know how much creatine you need.
Source: http://jimmysmithtraining.com/six-pack-diet/how-much-creatine-do-you-need
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Now that should cover the basics for you. I definitely agree with Jimmy that most supplements should be cycle for your health and to see the most impact. Leave a comment if you have any tips on using creatine. I would love to hear from you.
Stan
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