Creatine is the most popular sports supplement used in bodybuilding, powerlifting and other strength sports to increase strength.
It also has an effect on building muscle mass and increasing anaerobic endurance.
And if in more detail creatine or 2-methylguanidino-ethanoic acid is a nitrogen-containing carboxylic acid that is involved in energy metabolism in muscle and nerve cells. This acid is a natural and irreplaceable substance that is present in the muscles of both humans and animals. It is the main representative of the group of ergogenic components of sports nutrition. Creatine is available in various chemical forms, but the most popular is the monohydrate.
History of Creatine
Creatine was discovered in 1832 by the French scientist Chevrel, who discovered a previously unknown component of skeletal muscles, he later called creatine, from the Greek kreas, which means “meat”.
However, the first in-depth study that clearly showed the effect of creatine in humans was only carried out in the late 1980s in the laboratory of Dr. Erik Haltman in Sweden. A study found that consuming 20g of creatine monohydrate daily for 4-5 days increased muscle creatine content by about 20%. The results of this work, however, were published only in 1992 in the journal Clinical Science, since then the active use of creatine in bodybuilding and other strength sports begins.
You can buy creatine at any sports nutrition store, and its cost is not high.
Benefits of taking creatine:
So what is creatine good for?
- Increasing strength and endurance. The amount of ATP energy molecules increases, which allows for more intense workouts. At the same time, the increase in strength stimulates anabolic processes in the muscles, causing them to grow at a faster rate.
- Good results in building lean muscle mass. It also has an effect on muscle relief, this is due to the fact that it is able to retain water in muscle tissues. Thus, the greater the supply of creatine in the muscles, the more water it is able to bind.
- Influence on the production of anabolic hormones. Also another interesting fact is the ability to further stimulate the production of anabolic hormones after powerful training and creatine intake.
In addition to the advantages purely for improving the quality of training, creatine has a positive effect in other aspects of life.
Additionally, creatine has the following effects:
- acts as a fat burner
- lowering cholesterol
- anti-inflammatory action for joint pain
- creatine performs a protective function of the nervous system during ischemia and lack of oxygen
- creatine is used in the treatment of diseases that cause muscle atrophy
- some scientists believe that creatine has anti-cancer activity
- in chronic heart failure, creatine supplementation can reduce arrhythmia by 75%.
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How to drink creatine
The course of admission can be different - 1 month of admission and 1 month of rest or 2 months of admission and 1 month of rest, depending on your training plan and goals. It is worth saying that doses of creatine less than 2.5 g (0.03 g per kg of body weight) do not lead to any effects.
Take creatine 2x per workout day. Before and after. Shortly before training to increase strength endurance and after training, when your blood circulation is accelerated, to accelerate glycogen synthesis. On rest days, at any time.
It is believed that for the fastest effect, at the beginning of the course, you need to take from 10 to 20 grams of creatine monohydrate per day for 7-14 days. This technique, known as the "loading" phase, will shorten the time it takes to see results from taking creatine. However, here the opinions of the scientist differ, recent studies suggest that you can do without the loading phase.
Выводы
Creatine is very necessary and useful for any strength training. Considering the benefits for the athlete that it gives, as well as its low cost and harmlessness, we can definitely say that creatine is necessary in bodybuilding and other strength sports.
Creatine can be used by athletes of any level, from beginner to pro, so feel free to use this sports supplement.
Useful links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CkboYLt8SE
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD
