Next in our series of extended product information blogs, our technical officer Nick has written about Creatine.
The lowdown on Creatine:
- Increase strength
- Increase lean muscle
- Increase performance
- Increase weight
Dosage:
3 – 10 grams per day around training time
Works well with:
- Pre Workout 101
- NO4X
- BCAA recovery
- Any Bulk Nutrients protein powder product
- Any Bulk Nutrients carbohydrate product
Product information:
Creatine is perhaps the best-known and well researched nutritional supplement. Supplementing with Creatine can help users gain strength and increase muscle volume, through creatines role in restored ATP levels; the energy the body uses for muscular contractions. Our Creatine is micronised to 200 mesh and is 100% Pharmaceutical Grade.
Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid that occurs naturally in vertebrates and helps to supply energy to all cells in the body, primarily muscle. This is achieved by increasing the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Creatine was identified in 1832 when Michel Eugène Chevreul discovered it as a component of skeletal muscle, which he later named after the Greek word for meat, “kreas”.
Creatine’s ingestion provides immediate, significant performance improvement to athletes involved in explosive sports. Creatine, when used properly, will help you develop greater strength and improved muscularity. Normally, creatine is produced in the liver and kidneys at a rate of about 2 grams a day from the non-essential amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine. Most of the body’s creatine travels by the blood to be stored in the muscles, heart and other body cells. Inside muscle cells, it is turned into creatine, a compound that serves as a tiny energy supply, enough for several seconds of action. Creatine works best over the short haul in activities, such as strength training that require short, fast bursts of activity. Creatine also replenishes cellular reserves of ATP, the fuel that provides the power for muscular contractions. More ATP means more work from your muscles.
Creatine supplements swell the creatine in your muscles, giving the working muscles another fuel source in addition to glycogen from carbohydrate. Creatine is derived from food, at the rate of approximately 1 gram a day, but that is not enough to enhance strength training performance. Creatine usually comes in powdered form. Scientific research shows that taking four 5 gram doses a day for five days is sufficient, (or 0.3 grams per kilo of body weight per day). This is called a loading phase. During the maintenance phase, 2 to 5 grams (or 0.3 grams per kilogram of body weight) a day will keep your muscle saturated with enough extra creatine.
Creatine has been extensively researched, with over 500 studies conducted to date, confirming it is an important natural fuel enhancing supplement. Unlike a lot of supplements, these experiments showed that creatine produces significant improvements in sports requiring high levels of strength and power. Gains in body mass averaging 0.5 – 1 kg, as well as decreases in body fat were demonstrated. It was once thought this increase was water weight, but now it has been confirmed that a significant amount of the gain is pure muscle with only a small portion being water from creatine.
Creatine is one of the most proven sports supplements in studies along side Whey and BCAA’s for many years now. It is also the best “bang for buck” supplement money can buy in it’s Monohydrate form in our range.
Have you still got more questions about Creatine? Let us know in the comments below or send our Technical officer Nick an email on technical@bulknutrients.com.au.