As quoted by the ISSN “Creatine monohydrate is the most effective nutritional supplement currently available to athletes in terms of increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean mass during training”. It is a safe legalised sports supplement that has stood the test of time, with a big bang for your buck. Creatine monohydrate is not only the best but also the cheapest of all the creatine’s on the market.
Creatine monohydrate is a must for anyone training in the gym and playing footy. When we sprint, or explode for 1-10 second bursts we use a fuel system in our body called ATP, having your muscle cells stored up full of creatine can massively improve the amount of recovery time needed in between these short bursts of energy. For example, this means you could run the ball up and be good to take another run with the same amount of speed and force faster than you normally could.
OK YOU’VE SOLD ME, NOW HOW MUCH DO I TAKE?
The traditional loading methods for creatine is 5g x 4 times a day over 5 to 7 days. This loading protocol works but not without flaws. With this method, a higher percentage of creatine can be excreted through bodily waste then it is absorbed.
New studies have shown that taking 4-5g of creatine per day over 30 days saturates muscle cells more efficiently than the above mentioned traditional loading phase, with less going to waste. Which gives us better absorption into cells but also saves us spending money on creatine unnecessarily, sounds like a win win to me.
WHAT DO I TAKE CREATINE WITH?
You can have creatine mixed in water, but it is best taken with something with a high glycaemic index. Fast sugars can act as the perfect high way for creatine, shuffling it into cells a lot faster and massively increasing absorption. Mixing 5g of creatine for example with orange juice is perfect although stacked with anything of a high glycaemic index will be effective.
CAN I GET CREATINE FROM FOOD?
You will often hear people say supplementing with creatine is unnecessary as you can get creatine through meat which is in fact true. What these people probably don’t know is that you would have to eat 1kg of RAW meat to equal just 5g of creatine powder. So, I think I’ll stick to having it out of the tub thanks.
WHAT’S THE BEST TIME TO HAVE IT?
Anytime, once it’s loaded up into your muscle cells it’s ready and waiting to fire.
CREATINE FOR MUSCLE AND FAT LOSS?
Creatine greatly improves your performance in the gym which in turn leads to better caloric turnover, benefiting those trying to lose body fat or increase muscle mass through heightened intensity and effort. This magic powder also increases lactic acid tolerance and muscle recovery, allowing you to train longer and more frequently. This allows us to turn over more calories benefiting those trying to lean down but also those wanting to increase muscle mass as we can train with more frequent intensive stimulation.
IN SUMMARY:
Taking 5g of creatine monohydrate everyday with fast sugars will turn you into a machine.