What You Need To Know About Creatine

There’s a lot to be skeptical of when it comes to muscle building and performance supplements. No supplement will make up for bad training habits or a bad diet. However, Creatine is one supplement that has been proven to be safe, legal, and most effective in getting the most out of the work you or your child puts into training. If you are looking for a supplement to take and aren’t quite sure where to start, this may be the one for you.

Creatine is a natural compound synthesized in the body from amino acids and plays a key role in our body’s energy production. It is naturally found in red meat, but in high concentrations can have some performance benefiting effects such as increased power and endurance in training and in power sports.

Safe and Legal

Creatine is one of the most abundantly researched supplements, and has been proven to be safe to use in almost every significant study. When creatine first became popular as a supplement, there was very little research on its effectiveness and safety, so rumors started to fly around that created a negative stigma that still sticks with it today.

No studies have been able to link creatine supplementation to increased risk for muscle cramps or dehydration, which is one of the most common arguments made against the supplement. There are also no digestive issues or risk of toxicity associated with creatine. Finally, this supplement has been researched in its effects on people of all ages and lifestyles, and has not been found to cause any adverse effects in children.

Because it is a naturally occurring and safe supplement, creatine is a legal supplement to take according to the NCAA, NFL, WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), and IOC (International Olympic Committee). You will not fail a drug test because of creatine. However, some supplements may try to advertise as creatine, but have numerous other ingredients as well. Be sure when choosing your creatine supplement that you pick a reputable brand and that the label confirms that creatine monohydrate is the only ingredient listed.

Performance Benefits

Creatine has been shown to have multiple performance benefits. All of these are predicated on the fact that creatine is a major substrate in one of the body’s 3 energy systems. The phospho-creatine system is the body’s quickest way to create energy. This is the type of energy that is used in maximal effort, short duration activity such as a vertical jump, olympic weight lifting, 40 yard dash, and other power movements. While the phospho-creatine system can create an enormous amount of energy, this energy fatigues within 5-10 seconds of max effort movement often because the body’s creatine-phosphate depletes at this point.

The proposed benefit of supplementing with creatine is to increase the athlete’s capacity to store creatine-phosphate, therefore increasing how long an athlete can perform at maximum effort before resorting to some of the slower energy pathways in the body. This benefit can not only benefit performance on the field and in training, but also promote better adaptations from training.

The most obvious benefit from supplementing with creatine is an increase in work capacity. You’re going to be able to work at a higher rate for a longer time. This means that you may be able to get 1 or 2 more reps on an exercise before failure, or go 1 or 2 plays longer before fatigue sets in on the field. In training, lifting 1 or 2 extra reps each set will potentially lead to greater training adaptations such as hypertrophy, strength, and coordination. On the field, this improvement in endurance can keep you from falling apart at the end of a drive.

Adding creatine supplementation into your regimen isn’t going to magically produce results, but may increase your capacity to work harder for a longer period of time. It is safe, legal and proven to be effective, and can be a great tool to help you gain muscle and strength in the offseason.