The Basics of Creatine, By: Hugo Riveria
Last week we discussed the issue raised by AFSSA (the French equivalent of the American Food and Drug Administration) regarding the safety and efficacy of creatine. This week we will discuss what is creatine, what are its benefits, and how to use it for performance enhancement in the gym.
What is It?
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, it is commonly accepted by now that most of its effects are due to two mechanisms:
1) Intra-cellular water retention.
2) 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 (assuming nutrition and rest are dialed in).
Creatine also seems to also allow for better pumps during a workout. This may be due to the fact that it possibly improves glycogen synthesis. In addition, studies have shown that creatine helps lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The mechanisms by which it exerts such benefits remain unknown.
In my own experimentation with creatine I have found that it provides all of the effects described above. As a way to prove to myself that these effects were just not a placebo effect, I finally convinced my training partner (who was extremely skeptical about the compound) to start using it. After two weeks he noticed that for some reason he was recovering faster in between sets, had a better tolerance to high volume work and his muscles were looking fuller. He did not understand why that was happening. At such time I reminded him about the 5 grams of creatine that were being added to his post workout protein shake. By the way, he has been bodybuilding now for ten years so he is not a beginner. So while 1 subject does not provide me the statistical leverage to claim that creatine will provide these effects, I am positive that provided your training, rest and nutrition are in order, you will get results out of it.
How to Use It
If you read the bottle, most companies recommend a loading phase of 20 grams for 5 days and 5-10 grams thereafter. While that is the commonly accepted way to use it, in my own experimentation I have found no benefit to loading. I have even gone as far as loading for 7 days with 40 grams a day and found no difference. As a matter of fact, my training partner only took 5 grams a day after the workout and started getting great results after only a couple of weeks. The reason for this is simple. There is only so much creatine that the body can store. Recall that the creatine is stored every time that you take it. So by taking it every day eventually you will reach the upper levels that provide the performance enhancement. After you reach that level, you could get away with just taking it on your weight training days as it takes two weeks of no use for the body's creatine levels to get back to normal.
Another point to talk about is the issue of cycling creatine. If creatine would be a supplement that loses its effectiveness as time goes by then I would recommend cycling. For example, it is beneficial to cycle fat burning supplements containing caffeine and ephedrine as the body's receptors begin to attenuate after 2 to 3 weeks of continual use. Once the body gets used to them, you need to either increase the dosage or stop their use so that the body begins to respond once again. However, that is not the way that creatine works. Basically, creatine gets stored into your muscles and you get the effects mentioned above, period. It is really straightforward. As far as the initial weight gain that you may experience when you start taking it, whether you cycle it or not, you will get the same amount of initial weight gain as that extra weight is determined by the amount of intracellular fluid retention that your muscle cells can store (something that remains a static figure). The reason I say "the weight gain that you may experience" is because if once you start taking it you concurrently increase the volume of your workouts and remain at the same caloric intake level you may lose fat as you gain your added muscle volume and because of that the scale might not register any weight gain (this is what happened to my training partner). However, the lack of "registered" initial weight gain by the scale does not mean that you are a "non-responder". To gauge creatine's efficacy on you judge it by the muscle appearance effects and the performance enhancement in the gym.
Side Effects
The only adverse side effect that I have experienced in my over two years of continual use is the gastric upset at the beginning of use. After a couple of weeks or so my system adapted to absorbing the powder. Other than that, I have not observed any other side effects. Keep in mind however that the liver and kidneys have to process this compound. Therefore, I would not recommend it for someone with kidney problems or liver problems. Also, even if you are completely healthy ensure more than adequate hydration levels (bodyweight x 0.66 = total ounces of water to drink per day) and if you drink coffee, add an extra 16 ounces of water for every cup that you drink over the day.
A side effect that I have read happened but I am unable to quantify is the fact that your body's production of creatine shuts down. However, after cessation of use, according to all of the literature your body's production kicks in again. No adverse effects have been documented due to the creatine shutdown created by the body.
What Happens If I Stop Taking It
After two weeks your creatine levels go back to normal. You will also feel weaker for about three weeks due to the fact that your ATP system is no longer enhanced. You'll also lose your enhanced recovery capabilities. In this sense, and only in this sense, creatine is kind of like steroids. The difference is that creatine can be taken safely all of the time (personal opinion) while with steroids you already know the story.
However, in creatine's defense, I can also say that creatine is no difference than weight training. What happens if you stop going to the gym? Will you look the same three months later?
Seriously speaking, however, since you already were lifting heavier weights while using the compound, your nervous system will remember those weights and you will be able to get back to them after 3 to 6 weeks. However, I would lower the volume if I would be coming off from it.
Creatine and Caffeine Intake
Years ago there were some studies suggesting that the effects of creatine were cancelled if you also had caffeine. For people like myself that most of the time keep caffeine at bay this does not pose any problems. However, this is not the case for people on fat burning formulas that contain it. While I am not familiarized with the amount of water that the caffeine users in the study were taking, the training protocol or any other testing parameters, my recommendation is that you take the caffeine (or the fat burning supplement) at a time separate from your creatine intake (i.e. take your creatine after the workout with your protein shake and take your fat burner before the workout). Also, ensure that you follow the hydration guidelines described above.
Good Sources/Bad Sources
I wish that I could say that all creatine supplements out there in the market are pure and effective. Unfortunately some companies out there do not take the care they should to ensure that their manufacturer is producing a quality product. Therefore use caution when purchasing a creatine product. Buy from a reputable brand like EAS, Labrada, Twinlab, Champion Nutrition, Optimum Nutrition, and Prolab. These are not the only good brands out there as I am sure that there are others out there. However, these are the ones that I have tried and know are good. You can tell when a creatine powder is pure as it is a very fine white powder that does not get clumped up and does not look chalky. If it looks like chalk and you have to scrape it out of the container, watch out! You may be ingesting a powder that may have impurities in it. So stick to brands you know.
Also, ensure that you are buying creatine monohydrate as this is the creatine that has been used for university studies. Some companies will try to sell you creatine phosphate or creatine citrate with claims of better efficacy but such claims have not been tested.
Carbohydrate Laden Creatine
Due to studies out there demonstrating that the body's uptake of creatine is greater when you take in in conjunction to carbs, most companies out there have been creating products that contain creatine but also high levels of sugar. My advice to you is: Save Your Money. Buy the powder form instead as you will get much more servings of the pure compound. As long as you take it after the workout with a protein/carbohydrate rich shake I guarantee that your body will absorb the creatine with the utmost efficiency.
Conclusions
In my view the greatest advantage that creatine gives you (besides the cosmetic effect of bigger looking and fuller muscles) is that it enables you to handle more volume and recover faster in between sets by upgrading the body's capabilities to produce ATP, thereby decreasing the production of lactic acid. Therefore, in my opinion, people that will get the most benefit from creatine are those that follow a high volume, short rest in between sets type of workout. Remember that the more work that you can cram into an hour the more you'll grow (provided good cycling of volume and intensity as we have discussed in previous articles).
Again, like I have said in previous articles, even though I believe that creatine is a safe supplement, don't take my word for it if you have doubts. Do your own research and objectively review the data. If you feel creatine may be good for you, then just follow the recommendations laid out in this article and provided your overall training and nutrition strategy are good, I guarantee that you will see results from it.
