[FONT="]Creatine Monohydrate is one of the most popular supplements used by people looking to build lean muscle mass, maximize performance and increase strength. According to survey data, over 40% of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes reported that they have used creatine.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Despite being one of the most scientifically studied sports supplement ingredients available, there’s still a huge array of misinformation that exists in gyms and on the internet. This guide will give you the creatine monohydrate facts and answer any questions you have.[/FONT]
[FONT="]If you have any questions about creatine monohydrate after reading this guide please post them in the comments below.[/FONT]
[h=2]WHAT IS CREATINE MONOHYDRATE?[/h][FONT="]Creatine is similar to protein in that it is a nitrogen-containing compound, but is not a true protein. In the nutritional biochemistry world it is known as a “non-protein” nitrogen. It can be obtained in the food we eat (typically meat and fish) or formed endogenously (in the body) from the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine.[/FONT]
[FONT="]PC functions to replenish ATP in muscles that are rapidly contracting by transferring a phosphate group to the ADP that was formed from the hydrolysis of ATP for energy in the contracting muscle. When our muscles run out of creatine, our short-term, high intensity energy system shuts down and our muscles are no longer able to produce force.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The use of creatine as an ergogenic aid is based upon the theory that one can increase the saturation of creatine in the muscle through supplementation. This is an important point which we will discuss in a section below.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Theoretically, increased creatine in the muscle will increase performance in short, high intensity exercise by increasing the capacity of our phosphagen system.
[/FONT]
[h=2]BENEFITS OF CREATINE MONOHYDRATE[/h][FONT="]Creatine is one of the most widely researched supplements. In fact, a google scholar search for the terms “creatine supplemenation” yielded 6,740 scholarly articles and a PubMed search yielded 562 articles, indicating there is a plethora of data for us to draw conclusions from. From decades of research and hundreds of studies, there are several well substantiated benefits to creatine monohydrate including:[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[h=3]1. INCREASE IN MUSCLE CREATINE LEVELS[/h][FONT="]In order for creatine to be effective, you need to see increased levels of creatine in skeletal muscle. According to recent research, 10-40% increases in muscle creatine and PC stores have been observed with creatine supplmentation[SUP]1,2[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]These results were observed after a specific “loading” protocol was observed. This protocol involves ingesting roughly .3 g/kg/day for between 5 and 7 days (roughly 20 grams a day in 5 gram increments) and 3-5 g/day following the first 5-7 day period[SUP]2,3[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]While other protocols have been suggested that involve no loading phase and “cycling” on an off creatine supplementation, they have not shown to be quite as effective in maintaining increased levels of muscle creatine levels[SUP]4[/SUP].[/FONT]
[h=3]2. INCREASE IN POWER & PERFORMANCE[/h][FONT="]Creatine supplementation appears to be the most effective legal nutritional supplement currently available in regards to improving anaerobic capacity and lean body mass (LBM). The research surrounding the ergogenic effects of creatine supplementation is extensive with hundreds of published studies looking exactly at those two outcomes. Approximately 70% of the research has reported a significant (P<.05 for the stats people out there) increase in exercise capacity, while none have reported an ergolytic effect[SUP]5[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]In both the short term and long-term, creatine supplementation appears to enhance the overall quality of training, leading to 5 to 15% greater gains in strength and performance[SUP]5,6[/SUP]. In addition, nearly all studies indicate that “proper” CM supplementation increases body mass by about 1 to 2 kg in the first week of loading.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on creatine the authors state, “The tremendous numbers of investigations conducted with positive results from CM supplementation lead us to conclude that it is the most effective nutritional supplement available today for increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and building lean mass”[SUP]5[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]I guess the case is closed on that front.[/FONT]
[h=2]HOW TO TAKE CREATINE MONOHYDRATE[/h][FONT="]As mentioned above the entire goal of creatine supplementation is to saturate muscles stores with creatine. This can be achieve in several different ways but it appears that an initial loading protocol followed by sustained dosages is the optimal way to quickly reach and maintain saturation levels. Such a protocol would look like the following: ingesting roughly .3 g/kg/day for between 5 and 7 days (roughly 20 grams a day in 5 gram increments) and 3-5 g/day following the first 5-7 day period[SUP]2,3[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]As for the timing of creatine, there have been recent insights into how the timing of your supplementation effects its efficacy. While creatine has often been marketed as a pre-workout supplement the science does not support this idea. Before we dive into the studies on this, think back to the whole concept of creatine supplementation. It works by bioaccumulation, so one small dose prior to training is likely not going to increase muscle stores enough to elicit a training benefit.
Follow a loading protocol and then maintain your creatine levels by consuming 3-5 grams per day. Timing is not really a make-it-or-break-it factor with creatine supplementation.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]A recent paper title, “The Effects of Pre Versus Post Workout Supplementation of Creatine Monohydrate on Body Composition and Strength” looked at how timing of creatine supplementation impacted its efficacy[SUP]7[/SUP]. In this study 19 subjects were randomly assigned to either a pre or post creatine supplementation group consumed 5 g of creatine either before or after their resistance training.[/FONT]
[FONT="]When you look through the data in the paper, it looks like every subject in the post group showed improvements, which was not the case in the pre group, suggesting taking creatine post-workout might be a better idea than taking it pre-workout. However, the differences were small and it really is the accumulation of the creatine the matters, not so much the timing.[/FONT]
[FONT="]To summarize the dosing and timing of creatine: follow a loading protocol and then maintain your creatine levels by consuming 3-5 grams per day. Timing is not really a make-it-or-break-it factor with creatine supplementation.[/FONT]
[h=2]CREATINE MONOHYDRATE SIDE EFFECTS[/h][FONT="]For years the media has portrayed creatine as a dangerous, poorly understood supplement and that long-term use may result in bad health outcomes. Unfortunately for the mass media, they arrived at their conclusions from a small sample size, namely the ever famous experiment of “n=1”.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Most popular claims suggest that creatine can cause dehydration, injury, GI distress, and even kidney or liver damage. However, to date there have been no controlled trials that have shown creatine supplementation to cause dehydration, GI distress, injury, nor kidney or liver damage (out of the 500+ that have been conducted).[/FONT]
[FONT="]The only clinically reported side effect of creatine supplementation is weight gain (due to increases in intra-cellular water concentration), which typically, is a goal of creatine users.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]It could be argued that “supplemental” creatine has been around since man began eating meat, which according to recent research was more than a million years ago[SUP]8[/SUP]. Research on creatine actually began more than 40 years ago when it was experimentally used to treat heart disorders and improve heart function during heart attacks[SUP]9[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]There does appear to be some anecdotal evidence that creatine supplementation can result in some GI distress when taking excessively large doses (20+ grams). Taking it with enough water and or switching to a higher quality brand will usually remedy this side effect.[/FONT]
[h=2]DIFFERENT FORMS OF CREATINE[/h][FONT="]There are primarily two different forms of creatine, creatine monohydrate and creatine ethyl ester. Generally speaking creatine monohydrate is substantially cheaper than creatine ethyl ester. Creatine ethyl ester is often marketed as a more effective form of creatine due to its increase bioavailability; However, these claims do not hold up to scientific inquiry.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In a study that compared creatine monohydrate and creatine ethyl ester to placebo, both creatine monohydrate and creatine ethyl ester increase muscle levels of creatine with some evidence in the paper to suggest that creatine monohydrate may have actually been more beneficial[SUP]10[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]Thus, it stands to reason that either creatine monohydrate or ethyl ester will work and have very similar effects with creatine monohydrate holding a very slight edge in terms of efficacy and cost per serving.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Despite being one of the most scientifically studied sports supplement ingredients available, there’s still a huge array of misinformation that exists in gyms and on the internet. This guide will give you the creatine monohydrate facts and answer any questions you have.[/FONT]
[FONT="]If you have any questions about creatine monohydrate after reading this guide please post them in the comments below.[/FONT]
[h=2]WHAT IS CREATINE MONOHYDRATE?[/h][FONT="]Creatine is similar to protein in that it is a nitrogen-containing compound, but is not a true protein. In the nutritional biochemistry world it is known as a “non-protein” nitrogen. It can be obtained in the food we eat (typically meat and fish) or formed endogenously (in the body) from the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[h=2]HOW DOES CREATINE MONOHYDRATE WORK?[/h][FONT="]Creatine is a key player in the phosphagen energy system, the primary source of ATP (the main energy substrate in our body) during short-term, high intensity activities. Creatine exists as both free form creatine and phosphocreatine in the body. Phosphocreatine (PC) functions as a “storehouse for high energy phosphate”2.[/FONT]
[FONT="]PC functions to replenish ATP in muscles that are rapidly contracting by transferring a phosphate group to the ADP that was formed from the hydrolysis of ATP for energy in the contracting muscle. When our muscles run out of creatine, our short-term, high intensity energy system shuts down and our muscles are no longer able to produce force.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The use of creatine as an ergogenic aid is based upon the theory that one can increase the saturation of creatine in the muscle through supplementation. This is an important point which we will discuss in a section below.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Theoretically, increased creatine in the muscle will increase performance in short, high intensity exercise by increasing the capacity of our phosphagen system.
[/FONT]
[h=2]BENEFITS OF CREATINE MONOHYDRATE[/h][FONT="]Creatine is one of the most widely researched supplements. In fact, a google scholar search for the terms “creatine supplemenation” yielded 6,740 scholarly articles and a PubMed search yielded 562 articles, indicating there is a plethora of data for us to draw conclusions from. From decades of research and hundreds of studies, there are several well substantiated benefits to creatine monohydrate including:[/FONT]
- Increased muscle levels of creatine
- Increased work capacity and improved training
- Greater increases in lean body mass
[/FONT]
[h=3]1. INCREASE IN MUSCLE CREATINE LEVELS[/h][FONT="]In order for creatine to be effective, you need to see increased levels of creatine in skeletal muscle. According to recent research, 10-40% increases in muscle creatine and PC stores have been observed with creatine supplmentation[SUP]1,2[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]These results were observed after a specific “loading” protocol was observed. This protocol involves ingesting roughly .3 g/kg/day for between 5 and 7 days (roughly 20 grams a day in 5 gram increments) and 3-5 g/day following the first 5-7 day period[SUP]2,3[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]While other protocols have been suggested that involve no loading phase and “cycling” on an off creatine supplementation, they have not shown to be quite as effective in maintaining increased levels of muscle creatine levels[SUP]4[/SUP].[/FONT]
[h=3]2. INCREASE IN POWER & PERFORMANCE[/h][FONT="]Creatine supplementation appears to be the most effective legal nutritional supplement currently available in regards to improving anaerobic capacity and lean body mass (LBM). The research surrounding the ergogenic effects of creatine supplementation is extensive with hundreds of published studies looking exactly at those two outcomes. Approximately 70% of the research has reported a significant (P<.05 for the stats people out there) increase in exercise capacity, while none have reported an ergolytic effect[SUP]5[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]In both the short term and long-term, creatine supplementation appears to enhance the overall quality of training, leading to 5 to 15% greater gains in strength and performance[SUP]5,6[/SUP]. In addition, nearly all studies indicate that “proper” CM supplementation increases body mass by about 1 to 2 kg in the first week of loading.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on creatine the authors state, “The tremendous numbers of investigations conducted with positive results from CM supplementation lead us to conclude that it is the most effective nutritional supplement available today for increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and building lean mass”[SUP]5[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]I guess the case is closed on that front.[/FONT]
[h=2]HOW TO TAKE CREATINE MONOHYDRATE[/h][FONT="]As mentioned above the entire goal of creatine supplementation is to saturate muscles stores with creatine. This can be achieve in several different ways but it appears that an initial loading protocol followed by sustained dosages is the optimal way to quickly reach and maintain saturation levels. Such a protocol would look like the following: ingesting roughly .3 g/kg/day for between 5 and 7 days (roughly 20 grams a day in 5 gram increments) and 3-5 g/day following the first 5-7 day period[SUP]2,3[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]As for the timing of creatine, there have been recent insights into how the timing of your supplementation effects its efficacy. While creatine has often been marketed as a pre-workout supplement the science does not support this idea. Before we dive into the studies on this, think back to the whole concept of creatine supplementation. It works by bioaccumulation, so one small dose prior to training is likely not going to increase muscle stores enough to elicit a training benefit.
Follow a loading protocol and then maintain your creatine levels by consuming 3-5 grams per day. Timing is not really a make-it-or-break-it factor with creatine supplementation.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]A recent paper title, “The Effects of Pre Versus Post Workout Supplementation of Creatine Monohydrate on Body Composition and Strength” looked at how timing of creatine supplementation impacted its efficacy[SUP]7[/SUP]. In this study 19 subjects were randomly assigned to either a pre or post creatine supplementation group consumed 5 g of creatine either before or after their resistance training.[/FONT]
[FONT="]When you look through the data in the paper, it looks like every subject in the post group showed improvements, which was not the case in the pre group, suggesting taking creatine post-workout might be a better idea than taking it pre-workout. However, the differences were small and it really is the accumulation of the creatine the matters, not so much the timing.[/FONT]
[FONT="]To summarize the dosing and timing of creatine: follow a loading protocol and then maintain your creatine levels by consuming 3-5 grams per day. Timing is not really a make-it-or-break-it factor with creatine supplementation.[/FONT]
[h=2]CREATINE MONOHYDRATE SIDE EFFECTS[/h][FONT="]For years the media has portrayed creatine as a dangerous, poorly understood supplement and that long-term use may result in bad health outcomes. Unfortunately for the mass media, they arrived at their conclusions from a small sample size, namely the ever famous experiment of “n=1”.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Most popular claims suggest that creatine can cause dehydration, injury, GI distress, and even kidney or liver damage. However, to date there have been no controlled trials that have shown creatine supplementation to cause dehydration, GI distress, injury, nor kidney or liver damage (out of the 500+ that have been conducted).[/FONT]
[FONT="]The only clinically reported side effect of creatine supplementation is weight gain (due to increases in intra-cellular water concentration), which typically, is a goal of creatine users.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]It could be argued that “supplemental” creatine has been around since man began eating meat, which according to recent research was more than a million years ago[SUP]8[/SUP]. Research on creatine actually began more than 40 years ago when it was experimentally used to treat heart disorders and improve heart function during heart attacks[SUP]9[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]There does appear to be some anecdotal evidence that creatine supplementation can result in some GI distress when taking excessively large doses (20+ grams). Taking it with enough water and or switching to a higher quality brand will usually remedy this side effect.[/FONT]
[h=2]DIFFERENT FORMS OF CREATINE[/h][FONT="]There are primarily two different forms of creatine, creatine monohydrate and creatine ethyl ester. Generally speaking creatine monohydrate is substantially cheaper than creatine ethyl ester. Creatine ethyl ester is often marketed as a more effective form of creatine due to its increase bioavailability; However, these claims do not hold up to scientific inquiry.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In a study that compared creatine monohydrate and creatine ethyl ester to placebo, both creatine monohydrate and creatine ethyl ester increase muscle levels of creatine with some evidence in the paper to suggest that creatine monohydrate may have actually been more beneficial[SUP]10[/SUP].[/FONT]
[FONT="]Thus, it stands to reason that either creatine monohydrate or ethyl ester will work and have very similar effects with creatine monohydrate holding a very slight edge in terms of efficacy and cost per serving.
[/FONT]
