Creatine is an all-natural supplement that can increase muscle growth and recovery from 3-5% on average. Because of this, it is widely used by strength athletes and gymgoers alike.
You may have asked yourself what is this odd white powder that gym nuts are shoving into their face non-stop. Well, I have certainly wondered the same question myself. This white powder is known as creatine. There are several different types of creatine and they are used and utilized for several different reasons. So what is this creatine? Why do people use it? Who would want to use it? All these questions I intend to answer for you and for myself, but for a little information about myself first. I would consider myself a gym-nut, nerd, or possibly even fanatic. I spent many years of my life studying and learning from personal and firsthand experiences in the gym and as well on many forums and several YouTube videos. I myself have taken creatine for many months at a time and seen its effects on my own personal weight gain or rather water gain and the effect it gives you while you’re in the gym and the performance as well as muscle definition and even longevity. As I referenced earlier is creatine right for everyone? Is it really right for every individual from child to senior adult? Exactly how important is creatine to let’s say muscle development or recovery from muscle hypertrophy that is so necessary to gain muscle and recover from those minuscule muscle tears that as gym lovers we so crave to make our muscles bigger themselves. One question you might have is how much should you take how much of this strange white powder should you take in order to recover. Is it possible to take too much or too little or does it vary depending on the person? All these questions are very important and they must be answered. So in a succinct manner what is creatine anyways and why you should probably be taking it?
So, what is Creatine any ways?
Creatine is a very common supplement used by numerous people. It is used by athletes competing in sports from powerlifting, running, swimming, and bodybuilding in particular. In case you’ve never seen it before or haven’t laid eyes on this comedic supplement it commonly comes in a white powder. It can come in capsules or in the powder itself. You can commonly see people taking scoops of the powder orally. But you may be asking what is creatine? Creatine put simply is a more scarce form of protein. This protein can be found in most common protein sources like beef chicken and fish. The only problem is the sources of normal animal proteins don’t have a lot of creatine in them or at least not enough to get the daily value needed in an effective manner. See this is the reason why taking a few small teaspoons of creatine a day is more effective and efficient than possibly eating numerous stakes, many grilled chicken breasts, or fish fillets. Not only is this more efficient and effective but also more cost-efficient. The great thing is that creatine has been around for a long time already and has had the most studies performed on it and has been used by people for many years already. This being said creatine is made by many manufacturers and therefore it has been made very affordable to the public people. Sure one bottle might cost you $20 to $50 depending on the size but compare that to buying a whole pack of expensive steaks from your local grocery store and you can start to see how this would become more practical.
- Creatine has had the most studies performed on it out of all suppliments to this day
- Creatine is naturally derived from primarily animal protein sources such as red meat and fish.
- Commonly found in powder or capsule variants.
What does Creatine Do?
So you might be asking if so many people are taking creatine and it’s such a common supplement in the fitness and weightlifting field what does it do? Why are all these individuals you know unanimously deciding to take it? Is creating really as helpful as some people might say? Is creatine really game-changing or groundbreaking in terms of muscle recovery? Are people really justified in taking it? Is there really any point in taking it at all or is it just another phony supplement that is just a cash grab?
To just give a quick summary of the entire metabolism and muscle atrophy system of the human body, whenever we exercise our muscles begin to develop minute and microscopic tears. See this might sound like a bad thing at first but with the magic of the human body and its metabolism whenever these muscle tears are detected in the human body they are then repaired with protein. See might sound bad at first hearing the term minute muscle tears. That sounds like something that could be dangerous. Well, in actuality, you feel sore after you work out because of these muscle tears, but they’re not unhealthy by any means. Whenever the muscles experience these tiny tears, they are repaired when given the proper nutrition and rest and finally, they become slightly bigger. Now this isn’t immediate and definitely not an overnight thing either. You won’t gain inches on your biceps or lose inches off of your waist. Overnight. This process does take longer and over the years the muscles are being built back stronger and stronger and in general bigger and bigger. Of course, these results vary depending on the person and hormonal profile, etc., but generally, this is a simplified version of how muscle is grown in the human body.
- Creatine improves muscle gain by 3-5% annually
- Creatine is not absolutely neccesary, but for those who take there nutrition seriously it can be a game changer
- Creatine repairs the muscle quicker. This allows the person to train more, thus allowing for more muscle growth
See this is where creatine comes into the equation. As I mentioned briefly protein is extremely important in rebuilding muscle. As I said whenever you work out tiny muscle tears begin to appear but those muscle tears are then repaired by protein and not just protein but other things as well. One of them is creatine. Like I said earlier creatine is more or less a different form of protein that is hard to get but still necessary to maximize your muscle recovery and muscle gain for that matter. This is why people say so frequently that the gains are really made in the kitchen not just working out. However, this may be true the biggest stimulus for muscle growth is found in working out itself and pushing past your limits with weight or exercise. However, a large part of the healing process is with resting and Recovery. This is where supplementation comes in. The most important part of recovery is without doubt rest and eating enough protein as well as drinking enough water. If all these things are met it is not necessarily crucial to ingest creatine or any other supplement for that matter however, it has been shown that on average from a person who is very new to the gym to a gym elite that creatine can improve muscle growth and recovery by a whopping 3 to 5% annually. Of course, this depends on the person and how long they’ve been training because a person who’s new to the gym will gain muscle much quicker than one who has been training for 5 to 10 years. Now someone might look at this and think wow 3 to 5%, that’s not that impressive when in reality 3 to 5% after 5 years starts to add up very quickly. As I said creatine is by far not necessary or crucial even but is definitely helpful to those who take their nutrition and their training very seriously.
Put short and sweet creatine allows someone to train harder and more frequently. It does this by allowing them to recover quicker. Being that they are going to recover quicker they can train more frequently and they can then gain more muscle. One thing of note as well is it when someone takes creatine they will gain a substantial amount of water weight and if a person isn’t drinking enough water it can become unhealthy. A person needs to make sure they drink enough water and even in excess depending on how active they are. If they take creatine and don’t take in enough water dehydration will occur and muscle cramps will become rampant.