|
As a hard-training bodybuilder, you want to maximize your
efforts for gaining size without packing on the lard. You
want to look like a muscle monster, not a beached whale.
To reach that goal, certain bodybuilders rely on the use of
illegal ergogenic aids, even after learning about the significant
health risks associated with their use. But as science progresses
relentlessly, new dietary aids are crowding out the illegal
ones.
WHAT IS CREATINE? Creatine is an energy-rich
metabolite found mostly in muscle. It is like a rechargeable
battery that powers intense exercise. At rest, it becomes
“charged” with phosphate groups to form creatine
phosphate. These phosphate groups come in handy when,
during intense exercise, ATP (adenosine triphosphate)
loses phosphate to become ADP (adenosine diphosphate).
Creatine phosphate supplies ADP with the phosphate it
needs to be “recharged” to ATP so that exercise
may continue.
The creatine system is the muscles’ fastest way
of replenishing spent ATP; glycolysis (sugar burning)
kicks in after creatine phosphate, and fat-burning kicks
in even later. However, after a few reps of weightlifting
exercise, muscle creatine runs out of phosphate charges
and rest is required to replace them during recovery.
Then the creatine is “recharged” with high-energy
phosphate molecules to become creatine phosphate once
again in preparation for more exercise. |
|
CREATINE INCREASES MUSCLE POWER Seven recent
scientific studies analyzed the results of feeding large doses
(20 grams daily for five or six days) of creatine to humans
to see if it enhances exercise performance. Two of the studies
measured the effects of creatine supplementation on endurance.
The researchers discovered that for endurance events (e.g.,
running 6 km), creatine supplementation doesn’t improve
performance at all.
On the other hand, five other studies found that creatine
supplementation significantly improves performance of short-duration,
high-intensity bodybuilding-type exercise. Two of the studies
in particular used exercise regimens very similar to those
found in typical bodybuilding-type high-intensity exercise
interspersed with one-minute rest periods.
Such studies document that peak and total power output (the
maximum speed at which a given force can be exerted) can be
enhanced by creatine feeding. Thus, creatine supplementation
can be expected to be of significant benefit to power-lifters.
The total amount of work possible during a short burst of
high-intensity exercise also appears to be enhanced by creatine
supplementation. For bodybuilders, such an improvement in
work capacity translates into 1) more repetitions possible
at a given weight, or 2) the same number of repetitions with
heavier weights.
CREATINE DELAYS FATIGUE One study measured
the decline in exercise performance due to fatigue over the
course of 10 short bursts of intense exercise. Creatine supplementation
significantly reduced the performance decline so that on the
10th bout of exercise, performance was 8% better in the creatine
supplemented group than in the placebo-control group. In conclusion,
the creatine supplementation reduced fatigue.
HOW LONG DO CREATINE’S EFFECTS LAST?
As a rule, creatine supplementation can be expected to provide
the most benefit during the early to middle portion of each
weight-training set. However, one study showed that benefits
of creatine ingestion extended well past 30 repetitions.
The performance-enhancing effects of creatine may dwindle
with each successive set of exercise, as suggested by two
of the five studies mentioned. These studies suggest that
after two to four sets of intense exercise, creatine can no
longer benefit performance. Note, however, that only one minute
of rest was allowed between sets of exercise in these experiments,
yet it is known that creatine takes about five minutes to
be fully recharged. At one minute of rest, creatine is only
about 50% recharged with phosphate groups. So it seems likely
that creatine supplementation can improve performance in the
gym for the duration of a weight-training workout, provided
that there is sufficient rest between sets.
CREATINE IMPROVES RECOVERY The more creatine
a muscle is stocked with, the more high-energy phosphate charges
it can mop up to replace those spent during exercise and the
faster it can recover. In fact. creatine supplementation increases
the rate of creatine phosphate resynthesis in muscle by about
35% during recovery, the increase is especially big during
the second minute of rest. This great abundance of usable
energy in the form of creatine phosphate hastens recovery
after exercise.
CREATINE DECREASES LACTATE OR AMMONIA PRODUCTION
Since creatine phosphate spares muscle glycogen, bodybuilders
who use creatine might expect less lactic acid buildup; 70%,
according to one study. Another study denied the result but
claimed that the production of ammonia during exercise was
significantly reduced with creatine supplementation. In my
own anecdotal research, I noticed that I became winded much
less easily than usual during a workout after creatine supplementation.
To me, this implies a reduction in lactate buildup, oxygen
debt and therefore the need for heavy breathing after weightlifting.
CREATINE INCREASES MASS
Since creatine supplementation allows you to tolerate
harder training, it might also help provide your muscles
with more stimulus for growth.
In addition, creatine can increase body mass regardless
of training. I gained four pounds in about two weeks on
creatine without using drugs or changing my training regimen.
Two scientific papers document an average weight gain
of 2.2 pounds after six days of creatine supplementation
at 20 grams daily. More dramatic weight gains have been
shown in animal studies.
The unfortunate fact is that most of this weight gain
is due to water retention because a good deal of water
is retained along with creatine. When I stopped taking
creatine, I lost nearly all of the bodyweight I had gained
after one week. Since water retention reduces muscular
definition, bodybuilders should stop taking creatine 12
days before a contest to be on the safe side.
|
|
It has been suggested that some of the weight gain resulting
from creatine ingestion may reflect muscle mass. This is due
to the fact that muscle wasting caused by a medical condition
called gyrate atrophy, which involves defective creatine synthesis,
is reduced by low-dose, long-term creatine supplementation.
However, it is not clear whether healthy individuals can similarly
benefit.
DIETARY SOURCES OF CREATINE The average person eating
a mixed diet should receive about one gram of creatine a day,
derived most from meat and sources. A fresh, uncooked steak
(2.4 pounds) provides about five grams of creatine, though
some creatine is destroyed during cooking. Vegetarians show
the greatest increase in muscle creatine levels as a result
of intake as their muscles have less creatine than meat eaters
to begin with.
Apart from diet, creatine is synthesized within the body from
the amino adds arginine, methionine and glycine, though taking
supplements of these amino acids won’t increase creatine
synthesis.
MUSCLES CAN STORE EXTRA CREATINE It is well
documented in the scientific literature that muscles can store
and use more creatine than both diet and synthesis can provide.
More important, the amount of creatine phosphate and thus
the amount of immediately available energy in muscle can be
increased just by consuming more creatine. For example, the
creatine phosphate content of human muscle is increased by
an average of 25% after a week of creatine monohydrate supplementation
at 20 grams daily. Also, since creatine is stored chiefly
in fast- versus slow-twitch muscle fibers, it makes sense
that people with greater-than-average numbers of fast-twitch
fibers (e.g., bodybuilders) can retain more creatine than
average. In some individuals, total muscle creatine content
can be increased by as much as 50%.
HOW MUCH CREATINE IS ENOUGH? There is an
upper limit to the amount of creatine that can be stored in
the body. It is not beneficial to take in more than 0.14 gram
per pound of body-weight (0.3 gram per kilogram) per day.
For someone who weighs 200 pounds, this would amount to about
27 grams per day.
Also, there is evidence to suggest that this high quantity
can be reduced after six days to 0.014 gram per pound per
day (0.03 gram per kilogram) or 2.7 grams for the same 200-pounder,
while yet retaining saturated muscle creatine levels. Such
a tapering regimen can be a real money saver.
HOW TO INGEST CREATINE Since creatine has
no taste, it can be ingested as is and washed down with water,
though this can be a gritty experience. It dissolves with
difficulty in cold water, better in warm water. Since high
temperatures destroy creatine, hot water should not be used.
Creatine can be dissolved in fruit juice, with cranberry juice
being preferable to orange juice.
In all of the studies documenting the effects of creatine
supplementation mentioned in this article, the creatine was
administered in four divided doses throughout the day (five
grams four times per day). Dividing the doses in this way
is probably a good regimen for maximizing creatine absorption,
as there is evidence that only so much creatine can be absorbed
into muscle at one time.
It is useful to remember that one packed teaspoon (5 mL) of
creatine monohydrate powder weighs approximately 3.3 grams,
and one packed tablespoon (15 mL) of creatine is 10 grams.
Thus a 200-pound bodybuilder taking 27 grams of creatine spread
over four does would take two packed teaspoons of creatine
(6.75 grams) four times per day.
CREATINE ABSORPTION Since exercised muscle
absorbs creatine better, one daily dose should be taken after
exercise. Also, it has been shown that insulin enhances creatine
absorption, so ingesting carbohydrate (which causes insulin
release) just before creatine supplementation can be expected
to increase the muscle’s absorption of creatine. In
addition, animal studies have shown that vitamin E deficiency
reduces uptake of creatine, though this is probably not relevant
to humans where such a deficiency seldom occurs.
TOXICITY Aside from water retention, creatine
has no known toxicity. Nonetheless, researchers have yet to
study long-term high-dose regimens. Prudence is advised.
COST One hundred grams of creatine monohydrate,
about five days worth, can generally be obtained for about
$25. However, switching to the maintenance regimen after five
days or so as outlined earlier will lessen the creatine supplementation
considerably.
CONCLUSION Creatine supplementation without
proper training is a useless regimen. Virtually all gains
in muscle mass are the result of resistance training combined
with sufficient rest and a good nutritional program. For the
amateur athlete, money spent on creatine to enhance muscular
development would be better invested in a gym membership or
training manual for best results. Nonetheless, advanced bodybuilders
and power athletes may find creatine to be a useful training
aid.
Related Articles
Can Creatine Kill
Creatine Monohydrate
Why is Creatine So
Popular?
|
