Creatine - Creatine

What is creatine?

Creatine is a substance produced naturally in the body using the amino acids glycine, L-arginine, and L-methionine. Creatine is originally an endogenous acid found primarily in muscle cells. It is produced in the body in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. Its basic building blocks are the three amino acids arginine, glycine, and L-methionine.

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound found in the body that plays an important role in the production of adenosine triphosphate (also called ATP) in the muscles. ATP is also known as "energy currency." During short-term, intense physical activity, ATP provides readily available energy, which the body utilizes particularly during explosive strength training. Unfortunately, naturally occurring ATP reserves are very limited and begin to deplete within a very short time during intense training. This means that your body needs new ATP as quickly as possible to continue performing at an intense level. Since ATP provision through the burning of muscle glycogen would take too long at this point, your body's only option is creatine phosphate to maintain stable training performance. But even these natural reserves in your body are very limited. And this is precisely where creatine begins to take effect. By supplementing your training with creatine, you can optimize and replenish your creatine stores and creatine phosphate reserves. This not only helps you perform more effective reps, but also allows you to lift more weight. This allows you to train more intensely and achieve better hypotrophy.

Effect of creatine - how creatine works

Our bodies need energy to move. This energy is released in the muscle cells through the breakdown of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) into ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and phosphoric acid. However, the body's ATP reserves are depleted after just a few seconds. To continue releasing energy, the body then turns to creatine phosphate during intense exercise. Creatine phosphate is produced in the liver from creatine and phosphate. It ensures that ADP can be converted back into ATP in the muscles. This provides the body with new energy reserves. How does this specifically affect performance and muscle mass building?

Creatine for muscle building – does it really work?

Creatine has been studied in hundreds of studies, and its effectiveness has been confirmed in numerous studies. Creatine is produced daily by the body, and adults need different amounts depending on their physical activity. Athletes, in particular, benefit from creatine supplementation, as they expect more effective training and increased performance. It has already been proven that creatine, when combined with intensive training sessions, has a positive effect on performance and muscle volume.

Creatine for more explosive power – improved training performance through creatine

Creatine as a dietary supplement, taken at around 3 grams per day, enables performance improvement during explosive strength training. Primarily strength athletes, competitive athletes, and especially those in bodybuilding and weightlifting benefit from the advantages of additional supplementation. The studies examined creatine monohydrate, which is the most commonly used form of creatine on the market. With regard to muscle building, a positive effect has only been scientifically confirmed in a very small target group: people over 55 who do strength training at least three times a week can benefit from taking three grams of creatine daily and build muscle mass more effectively. However, this refers to direct muscle building. In younger people, creatine has been shown to increase muscle volume because creatine draws more water into the muscle cells.

Whether a creatine regimen is worthwhile ultimately depends on your specific goals and circumstances, and whether you find a suitable program that works for you. Everyone has different needs and wants to achieve different results from taking supplements, so you should do your research beforehand to find out what works best for you. However, for most people, taking creatine can be an effective way to achieve their personal fitness goals.

What are the benefits of creatine for athletes and bodybuilders?

• Creatine monohydrate is the starting point for ATP synthesis
• Increases physical performance during explosive strength training during short-term intense physical activity
• Is naturally present in meat and fish (beef etc.)
• Significantly delays muscle fatigue
• Creatine can help you perform more repetitions with a heavy weight, which can ultimately provide a stronger stimulus for muscle growth.
• Creatine not only increases muscle endurance during short, intense physical exertion, but can also significantly increase muscle strength.
• In scientific studies, strength increases in the range of 10 to 20 percent have been observed.
• In addition to the muscle-building properties already mentioned, creatine also has the ability to significantly increase muscle protein synthesis. Scientific studies have shown that creatine can significantly enhance the training-induced increase in satellite cells and myonuclei, resulting in increased muscle fiber growth.
• Current research even suggests that creatine may be an effective myostatin inhibitor. Finally, the increase in muscle cell hydration and volume induced by creatine contributes to both increased strength through improved leverage and to the stimulation of muscle growth, as increased muscle cell volume promotes muscle protein synthesis, and stretching of the muscle fascia has proven anabolic, muscle-building effects.

Creatine intake - how do I dose creatine?

Nowadays, long-term use is recommended as an alternative to creatine supplementation, as the sometimes high amounts of creatine (especially if taken during the loading phase) can cause side effects such as nausea or diarrhea. Instead of the classic creatine supplementation with a loading phase, smaller amounts of 3 to a maximum of 5 grams per day over a longer period are preferable. If you take creatine as a supplement, you should also drink more fluids.

To speed up the process, it is recommended to take a daily dose of ten grams of creatine for the first ten days. Studies have shown that taking three grams per day does not cause side effects. However, taking a high dose of 20 grams or more per day, such as during a creatine loading phase, may potentially lead to stomach upset, bloating, or cramping.

Important to know: Creatine works quickly, but not immediately. So, if you're taking it for the first time today, you won't feel the positive effects right away during your workout. Depending on your initial condition, it may take a few days to a few weeks until saturation is reached and an effect is noticeable during training.

If in doubt, it is advisable to start with a low dose of a creatine product and consult a doctor beforehand.

All information about taking it at a glance:

• Three grams of creatine monohydrate per day is considered safe and harmless. However, if maximum performance is the priority, a daily intake of 0.1 grams per kilogram of body weight is recommended—for example, a 100-kilogram athlete consumes 10 grams of creatine per day.
• For every gram of creatine, 100 to 150 milliliters of liquid, preferably water, should be drunk
• Together with carbohydrates a slightly better absorption capacity
• Time of intake is not relevant - Creatine can be taken at any time of the day

Does a creatine treatment with a loading phase make sense?

In the early days of creatine products coming onto the market, the rumor quickly spread that creatine, like anabolic substances, had to be taken in a "cycle" for several weeks followed by a break. In fact, a creatine cycle offers no advantages over long-term, low-dose intake. In principle, creatine intake is always advisable for experienced strength athletes if their performance has stagnated for some time and they want to overcome a performance plateau. Which form of intake you ultimately choose is entirely up to you. The important thing is: stick to three cycles per year. Maintenance phase (7 to 11 weeks). During the loading phase, you consume around 20 grams of creatine (4 x 5 grams) daily to replenish your creatine stores as quickly as possible. However, large amounts of creatine place a somewhat greater strain on your body, and the side effects mentioned above can occur.

In the subsequent maintenance phase, you only take 3 to 5 grams of creatine daily for the remainder of the treatment to maintain your stores. After that, you take a break of 4 to 6 weeks. You can skip the loading phase, however, as it's not absolutely necessary to achieve long-term strength gains. This also works without a creatine treatment, as, as already mentioned, you can simply take the supplement daily without a break in small doses of 3 to 5 grams, for example, in the form of a convenient capsule.

Can creatine cause side effects?

Taking creatine supplements is generally safe, as it has been scientifically proven that short- and long-term supplementation (up to 30 grams per day for 5 years) is safe and well-tolerated in adults. However, side effects can still occur, especially during the loading phase, when you consume a very large amount of creatine per day for a short time. However, even a creatine regimen without a loading phase can cause side effects. In addition to bloating, vomiting, and nausea, muscle cramps can also occur – especially in the calves. Magnesium, for example, can help with these.

Tip: If you're taking creatine powder, make sure it's well dissolved before drinking it. This can also cause the side effects mentioned above. There's also a myth that creatine can promote acne. Generally, there's no reason to worry about an increased risk of acne. Acne isn't actually caused by a poor diet and therefore can't usually be triggered or exacerbated by supplements.

Is water retention due to creatine normal?

Yes, taking creatine leads to increased water retention in the muscles, but not under the skin! It's a rumor or a myth that creatine accumulates under the skin. Creatine simply draws it into the muscle cells, which doesn't lead to unwanted water retention. It doesn't make you look bloated! Quite the opposite, because it actually makes your muscles appear fuller. This is reflected on the scales in a weight gain of 0.5 to 2 kg. However, the anabolic muscle-building effect of creatine is not hindered by water retention. It remains even when the creatine stores are depleted and the water retention decreases. However, your muscles are under greater tension - this can lead to injury.

Conclusion: This is what creatine really does

Let's summarize: Even though the current research is still somewhat unclear, there is some evidence that creatine helps you consistently perform short, intense or longer, sustained workouts by optimizing the energy in your muscle cells. The result: You can train longer and more intensively, thus creating the necessary stimulus to build new muscle or set new personal bests. While creatine is naturally found in foods, high-performance athletes, vegetarians, vegans, and stressed athletes often have trouble meeting their daily requirement of 5-10 grams. In our shop, you can find creatine in several forms perfectly tailored to your goals. However, we always recommend creatine monohydrate. Creatine is one of the most researched and safest supplements in the world and, along with protein powder, is the recommended foundation for every athlete.