The Benefits of Creatine Monohydrate Supplements
One of the most versatile and widely used supplements
in the history of the health and fitness
industry is creatine. It doesn't matter if you
are on a weight gain diet
or you want to lose some fat, creatine monohydrate
can aid your gains (and fat losses) in the gym.
Creatine monohydrate supplements have been around
for years because of one simple reason - creatine
works!
Some of the most common benefits of creatine
supplements are:
· Increased strength
· Slower onset of fatigue during exercise
· Less recuperation time
· Decreased muscle soreness
· Greater training intensity
· Better muscle pumps during training
Creatine supplements first started to gain serious
attention in the early 90's. Bodybuilders and
fitness competitors were using creatine monohydrate
supplements with much success to fuel their gains
in the gym. Much attention was brought to creatine
and nearly all supplement manufacturers quickly
began to promote their own creatine supplements.
You couldn't open a bodybuilding or fitness magazine
without seeing an ad for creatine.
So what is creatine monohydrate and how does
it work?
Creatine is in actuality, an amino acid that
is composed of three other amino acids - Arginine,
Methionine, and Glycine. Many people do not realize
it, but creatine is found in many of the foods
we eat, particularly protein rich foods such as
red meat, chicken and fish. However, the amounts
found in these foods is so small, that you would
need to eat large amounts of these foods every
day in order to get a benefit from the creatine
contained in them.
Creatine plays an essential role in the energy
production process. Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
is an energy source which plays a pivotal role
in all aspects of energy production within the
human body. ATP is the fuel source that muscles
use to perform any type of work. However, ATP
burns very rapidly so this energy doesn't last
long. That is where creatine monohydrate supplements
come into play.
When ATP is used as a fuel source, it loses a
molecule and becomes Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP).
Creatine donates a phosphate molecule to ADP,
allowing it to be used again as ATP. Essentially,
with creatine you are allowing your muscles to
reuse ATP as an energy source.
However, once ingested, pure creatine needs to
bind with a phosphate molecule in order to be
effective. If your body does not have this molecule
available, the excess creatine is excreted and
has gone to waste. On the flip side, if you ingest
a creatine phosphate molecule, it will be too
big to be absorbed by your body and this too will
be excreted as waste. So in order to combat this
effect, you should try to find a creatine monohydrate
supplement that contains both creatine monohydrate
with added phosphates. This will help to ensure
that the creatine you ingest is used for additional
energy and strength gains and not gone to waste.
Creatine monohydrate supplements have withstood
the test of time. While it seems that many companies
are testing new avenues with variations on creatine
powders, liquid creatine and different incarnations
of creatine, creatine monohydrate does not seem
to be going anywhere. If you want an effective
supplement that gets the job done, you can't go
wrong with creatine monohydrate.
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