Over the last 40 years, hundreds of supplements have been introduced into the fitness and bodybuilding industry that were purported to assist with gaining muscle, boosting strength, enhancing power, and augmenting one’s health. And while most of them have failed to deliver, both in the laboratory and the real world, one has stood out from the rest, producing positive results in just about everyone that tries it—creatine.
Gaining mainstream popularity in the early ‘90s, mostly due to the endorsement of Olympic athletes at the time, creatine has been one of the most utilized and scientifically studied compounds around. To this day, it’s unsurpassed in its effectiveness when implemented properly into a well-designed workout and diet plan.
If you haven’t started taking this amazing supplement yet, here are six reasons why it’s time to include it in your pills, powders, and potions arsenal.
**Usage Recommendation
If you have never taken creatine before, you can begin by taking 5 grams five times per day with meals for one week. This will help saturate muscle cells quickly. After this, a maintenance dose of just 5 grams per day should be consumed with your post-workout meal on training days, and with breakfast on off days. While there is no proven need to cycle creatine use. I have personally had the best results (over time) by cycling 16 weeks on and 4 weeks off (entering back into a loading phase after each 4 weeks of nonuse). See what works best for you.
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Cellular Energy Production
Taking creatine increases your body’s levels of phosphocreatine, which in turn allows you to resynthesize adenosine triphosphate (ATP) more rapidly between bouts of high-intensity exercise. ATP has been described by biologists as the “energy currency of life,” which means it’s essential for your ability to lift heavier weights for more reps, leading to a greater ignition of hypertrophy.
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Cell Volumization
Creatine draws fluid into muscle cells, forcing them to swell. In a study in the Journal of Athletic Training, it was shown that while swelling the cells with fluid will immediately increase their size, there is also an ongoing anabolic (muscle producing) effect, which will lead to even more growth over time.
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Lower Myostatin
Myostatin is a myokine protein that acts to inhibit muscle growth. Creatine has been shown to decrease the amount of serum myostatin we produce, especially in conjunction with resistance exercise. Researchers have found that this is a fundamental part of creatine’s ability to build new lean tissue in the body.
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Augmented Recovery
There’s also evidence that creatine supplements can help reduce inflammation in muscles after an intense running session, whether runners were tested during 35-meter sprints or 30-kilometer marathons. There is also evidence that creatine is beneficial in reducing exercise-induced muscle damage when supplementing for 30 days or more. These subjects showed improved gym performance over those in the placebo group, illustrating the possibility that creatine aids in better long-term recovery by reducing muscle damage over time.
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Benoit Bacou
Higher IGF-1
Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) is a powerful muscle-building hormone released locally within muscles. In one study, it was shown that subjects who participated in resistance training saw their IGF-1 increase by up to 67 percent, and participants who did both the training while supplementing with creatine saw an increase of up to 78 percent. The results were the same regardless of whether the participants were vegetarians or meat eaters.
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Benefits Beyond the Gym
Listing all of the benefits of creatine would be a never-ending process, especially since new ones are being studied all the time. But a few of the more significant benefits that we’ll touch on include the potential for improved glycemic control for type-2 diabetics when coupled with an exercise program, according to one study. And for the elderly, it can also fight against the loss of strength and muscle mass associated with the aging process. Speaking of, research has even pointed to creatine use being associated with improved cognitive functions like short-term memory and reasoning, in particular among elderly and stressed subjects.
