CREATINE
WHAT IS CREATINE?
Creatine is a compound produced in the liver by a combination of the amino acids glycine, arginine and methionine. As a natural nutrient, we find it in meat and fish, while plant food sources contain very little creatine. We consume about one gram of creatine per day from our daily diet, and another gram is synthesized by the body itself. About 95% of the body’s creatine in the form of creatine phosphate (CP) is found in the muscles.
THE FUNCTION OF CREATINE
Creatine participates in the resynthesis of the body’s main energy reserves – adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The more creatine stored in the muscles, the faster ATP will be reproduced. The greater the amount of creatine available, the better the sports performance during high-intensity training.
HOW CREATINE WORKS
If we train with approximately 70-75% of the maximum weight in, say, the bench press, the body has enough ATP for approximately two repetitions. The energy for the third and fourth repetitions comes from creatine phosphate. For the fifth and sixth repetitions, you get energy from the glycogen stored in the muscles. After that, due to the action of lactic acid, exercise becomes too painful and there is a need to take a break from exercise. We increase the reserve level for the third and fourth repetitions by introducing creatine in the form of supplements, so in total we can do more repetitions in a series before we are forced to finish the exercise due to the entry of lactic acid into the muscle.
CREATINE ON THE MARKET
Creatine is available on the market in powder form as pure creatine monohydrate. There is a form to which alkali has been added, so it is called crealkaline, then, a form to which an alcohol molecule has
been added for faster passage through the stomach, and it is called creatine ethyl ester.
There is another form where the creatine molecule is wrapped in a double envelope, where one envelope protects the creatine molecule when it passes through the digestive system, and the other envelope when it passes through the circulatory system, with the goal that the creatine molecule reaches the muscle cell undamaged.
We also have various forms of creatine in capsules and added to gainers, preworkout and postworkout supplements.
METHOD OF TAKING
I recommend 5 grams of creatine 4 times a day during the 1 st week, and 5 grams of creatine twice a day for the next five weeks.