How to use
Creatine
How to use
Creatine or how much
Creatine should you take. Two questions that we are asked all of the time - the
simple answer is it depends on which Creatine you are taking AND what results
you want to achieve. Many hardcore bodybuilders and serious athletes are under
the impression that more is always better - but with Creatine this is just not
true. What is true though is that certain types of Creatine are simply more
potent and can deliver the desired results in a shorter space of time than other
less potent forms.
 In very basic terms
Creatine
Ethyl Ester is 40X More effective than regular Creatine Monohydrate. SO does
this mean that if you take 40X the dosage of Monohydrate you will get the same
results - well NO as these are very different supplements. Monohydrate was
initially the form of Creatine taken by the masses - as nutritional technology
has improved though other forms of Creatine have been developed many of which
over come some of the flaws of Monohydrate such as its tendency to cause stomach
bloating with the added advantage that it requires no loading dosage.
Creatine is
a substance manufactured by our bodies to supply our muscles with energy. It's
derived from 3 non essential amino acids: glycine, methionine and arginine. It
is found naturally in red meat, but in very small amounts eg
12oz of red meat has only about 7grams of Creatine in
it. Creatine is used by the body to increase muscular anaerobic endurance
and power, which in turn leads to an increase in muscle gain. Scientific studies
prove that Creatine helps your body to build lean muscle mass, increase
endurance, speed up recovery, and increase athletic performance.
Traditional
Creatine Monohydrate requires that you have a loading phase where you gradually
increase the amount of Creatine that you take and then cut back to 5-10g per day
as a maintenance dosage. Kre-Alkalyn Creatine and CEE Creatine Ethyl Ester are
much more potent and require no loading phase. For CEE Creatine we always
recommend the tablets and, depending on the size of your body take 4-8 tablets
before a workout and the same after a workout.
When Creatine is consumed, it enters the bloodstream and travels to our muscles
to be stored as a substance called Creatine phosphate. What is Creatine
phosphate? It's a substance that is stored in your muscle cells to be used for
power and energy when your body needs it. During intense activities such as
heavy weight lifting, rugby, American Football and
other sports that require short bursts of high-intense effort, your body
produces a substance called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) to perform these bursts
of power. However your body's supply of ATP runs out
quite quickly, and that's where your Creatine phosphate supply comes into play.
When out of ATP your body will turn to its stores of Creatine phosphate to
convert into more ATP. For example if you are doing a really
heavy super slow bicep curl your body will start off by using ATP to
power your muscles for the movement. If the rep takes longer than about 5-10
seconds (as you would in a Super Slow repetition) your
body will most likely run out of ATP and will start converting Creatine
phosphate into ATP for continued power. The Creatine
Phosphate therefore allows you to continue with high intensity power and
energy after your first ATP runs out .
Depending on how much Creatine phosphate your muscle cells have stored, you may
get an added 20 seconds or so of energy during short bursts of explosive energy
movements. If you are supplementing with Creatine, then you will obviously have
more Creatine phosphate stored in your muscles. Therefore, you will get more
energy and power, and for longer periods of time. This is how Creatine helps to
build more muscle, by allowing your body to give more power in times of need.
Creatine will increase your strength and the amount of work your muscles can do.
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