What Is
Creatine Monohydrate?
Creatine is a metabolite produced in the body composed of three amino
acids: l-methionine, l-arginine and l-glycine. Approximately 95% of the
concentration is found in skeletal muscle in two forms: creatine
phosphate and free chemically unbound creatine. The remaining 5% of the
creatine stored in the body is found in the brain, heart and testes.
The body of a sedentary person metabolizes and average of 2 grams of
creatine a day. Bodybuilders due to their high intensity training
metabolize higher amounts than that.
Creatine is generally found in red meats and to some extent in certain
types of fish. However it would be hard to get the amount of creatine
necessary for performance enhancement as even though 2.2lbs of red meat
or tuna contain approximately between 4 to 5 grams of creatine, the
compound is destroyed with cooking. Therefore, the best way to get
creatine is by taking it in powder form
How does it
work?
While there is still much debate as to how creatine exerts its
performance enhancing benefits and increases lean muscle mass, it is
commonly accepted by now that most of its effects are due to two
mechanisms:
- Intra-cellular water retention.
- Creatine's ability to enhance ATP production.
Basically, once the creatine is stored inside the muscle cell, it
attracts the water surrounding such cell thereby enlarging it. This
super hydrated state of the cell causes nice side effects such as the
increase of strength and it also gives the appearance of a fuller
muscle. Some studies suggest that a super hydrated cell may also
trigger protein synthesis and minimize catabolism.
In addition, creatine provides for faster recovery in between sets and
increased tolerance to high volume work. The way it does this is by
enhancing the body's ability to produce Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP).
ATP is the compound that your muscles use for fuel whenever they
contract. ATP provides its energy by releasing one of its phosphate
molecules (it has three phosphate molecules). After the release of such
molecule, ATP becomes ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate) as it now only has
two molecules. The problem is that after 10 seconds of contraction time
the ATP fuel extinguishes and in order to support further muscle
contraction glycolisis (glycogen burning) has to kick in. That is fine
and well except for the fact that as a byproduct of that mechanism
lactic acid is produced. Lactic acid is what causes the burning
sensation at the end of the set. When too much lactic acid is produced,
your muscle contractions stop, thereby forcing you to stop the set.
However, by taking creatine, you can extend the 10 second limit of your
ATP system as creatine provides ADP the phosphate molecule that it is
missing (recall that creatine is stored in the muscle as creatine
phosphate). By upgrading your body's ability of regenerating ATP, you
can exercise longer and harder as you will minimize your lactic acid
production and you will be able to take your sets to the next level and
reduce fatigue levels. More volume, strength and recovery equals more
muscle
.
What is the
recommended dosage for Creatine Monohydrate?
The typical dosage for pure creatine monohydrate is
approximately 10-30 grams/day for a normal man. But there are many
creatine products coming in the market nowadays. So, your creatine
dosage depends on the type of creatine monohydrate supplement you are
taking. It is always recommended to take the dosage as recommended on
the product label. You must also read the directions to take creatine
as written on the bottle.
Creatine Dosage Instructions
Your creatine dosage should be divided into 3 phases namely
loading phase, maintenance phase and wash out phase.
Loading
Phase: Most of the manufacture's and health practitioners
recommend a loading dose till at least 5 days before you start to take
creatine so that your muscles completely saturate with creatine. This
loading dose ranges no more than 20 to 30 grams per day, or you can
also calculate the dose otherwise - according to your body weight (you
should take around 0.3 grams of creatine/kilogram of your body weight).
This dosage should be divided into 3 to 4 daily dosages.
During the loading phase, it is very important to eat lots of
carbohydrates because this will help you to utilize most of the
creatine that you eat, otherwise much of creatine will be just wasted
and just expelled out during excretion and urine.
If you are preparing yourself for an athletic event then you should
start taking creatine several weeks before that athletic event has to
occur.
Maintenance
Phase: After the initial loading phase, here comes the
maintenance phase. A maintenance dose of 2 - 5 grams of creatine per
day is recommended which is required for the maintenance of the level
of saturation within the muscles. The maintenance dosage is just needed
to replace the amount of creatine that has degraded the whole day.
Most of the doctors recommend that the maintenance phase should last
for no more than 1 month. Normally, for most of the weight lifters
after 1 month there are no extra benefits of taking creatine. After 1
month all the creatine you eat just goes waste. The weight and muscle
benefits which you have gained in that 1 month can be easily maintained
through training. Many people do cycling i.e. they creatine for 1
month, then going off for several months, and then again start taking
it back. Right now, nobody is sure how long is it safe to take it.
Wash Out
Phase: After the loading and maintenance phases are over, wash
out phase is recommended. Wash out phase is recommended so that your
body recovers from the abnormally high creatine levels often associated
with creatine supplementation. Most sport practitioners advice a wash
out phase of 1 month.
Is Loading
Phase Really Required?
A loading phase is not necessarily required. You can just start
with the maintenance phase, skipping the loading phase. But, if you
want your muscle gains fast then we will surely recommend you a loading
phase. Loading phase helps muscles get saturated with creatine faster.
Through loading phase you will be able to get the results in just 2
weeks which otherwise with maintenance phase you will get in 4 weeks.
If you don't have any hurry to gain muscles then we will recommend you
to start from maintenance phase only.