CREATINE: GET STRONGER
SHOULD YOU TAKE IT? DOES IT MAKE YOU STRONGER? CAN VEGETARIANS BENEFIT?
Years ago, the consumption of creatine was not widely endorsed. I remember, during a doctor’s visit, I mentioned that I was taking creatine. The intake nurse seemed concerned. Now, things are different! Creatine consumption is considered safe and beneficial. This blog post explains what creatine is, dosage, and benefits.
(Source for the information in this post and the quotations, found here.)
WHAT IS CREATINE?
Creatine helps your body generate energy. Your body naturally produces creatine. To be more specific, natural “synthesis [of creatine] occurs in the liver, kidneys, and to a lesser extent in the pancreas.” While it is produced in those organs, it is mostly found in muscle tissue. Your body gets more creatine through food. In fact, meat generally contains the highest amounts of creatine. This study found that “vegetarians have lower resting creatine concentrations.”
CREATINE DOSAGE
“In general, oral creatine supplementation leads to an increase of creatine levels within the body” - but how much to consume?
Creatine dosage protocol is broken down into a 1-week loading phase followed by a maintenance phase. In a 12 week period, it is recommended to complete a “week long loading period of 25 grams/day followed by a 5 grams/day maintenance dose for the remainder of training.”
It’s also important to note that there are different types of creatine you can consume such as creatine salts (creatine citrate, creatine malate, etc.), creatine anhydrous “which is creatine with the water molecule removed in order to increase the concentration of creatine”, and creatine monohydrate - among others. It may be best to stick with creatine monohydrate as a supplement because it is “the most widely used and researched form.”
MUSLCE GAINS
It has been “reported that creatine supplementation, when combined with heavy resistance training, leads to enhanced physical performance, fat free mass, and muscle morphology.”
In a separate study, the effects “of an 8 week heavy resistance training protocol combined with a 7 day creatine loading protocol (0.25g/day/kg lean body mass) followed by a 49 day maintenance phase (0.06g/kg lean mass) in a group of vegetarian and non-vegetarian, novice, resistance trained men and women . . . Vegetarians within the supplemented group had the largest increase of lean mass compared to non-vegetarian.” Vegetarians rejoice!
MY EXPERIENCE
It appears that creatine, and specifically creatine monohydrate, is now lauded as a safe and beneficial supplement to consume along with heavy resistance training. Obviously every body is different so always consult with your doctor if you are unsure about supplementation. I also highly recommend you read the scientific article that I used as a source for this post. You can find that article here. The article cites other research articles as well and goes into much more detail.
Anecdotally speaking, I have followed creating dosing protocols in the past and have witnessed some visible improvement in muscle size. Now that we are transitioning into a new season, I am once again doing a loading phase for 7 days. The changing of the seasons can be a great time to check-in with your health and fitness practices. Allow the seasonal transition to be your reminder.
Since it’s better to spread around the 25g of creatine throughout the day,. I recommend having the creatine container out and visible so you don’t forget to take it throughout the day or bring it with you to work in a container (plastic baggie/tupperware). This way you can add it to your water at different times throughout the day - even on non-training days.