Fun and Fitness: The lingering creatine debate
Performance enhancing supplements have been in the forefront of athletic news for quite some time now. However, creatine is arguably the most popular form of enhancing supplementation amongst sport enthusiast's shelves. There are many misconceptions, as well as faulty information, concerning the supplement. When considering creatine, it's important to understand what it is, what it does and what supplementation is supposed to do.
First of all, creatine is not a steroid! Creatine is an organic acid naturally produced by the body. It can also be obtained from food or supplementation. It plays a critical role in forming the specific energy needed to create muscular force and movement. When you are doing things at a very high intensity of muscular force, lifting weights, short sprints (under eight-to-15 seconds or so), plyometrics, etc., your body uses a very specific method for obtaining the large amounts of energy rapidly needed. Creatine is one of the primary “fuels” involved with this process.
Let's take the bench press for example. As you lift a fairly heavy weight, your body creates explosive packets of energy from creatine in order for your muscles to contract to push the weight. Since creatine stores are limited, and the body can only create energy so fast, you will reach a point, around eight-to-10 seconds, where your force of muscle contraction rapidly declines and you can't do any more repetitions. The theory behind taking a creatine supplement is that if you are able to saturate your muscle and blood with creatine, the stores will last longer, allowing you to do a couple more seconds of high intensity activity. The idea is that creatine allows you to do more maximal work in a workout.
One concern with creatine supplementation is that the process of drawing water into the muscles cells can cause dehydration. This happens with some users, but doesn't happen with others. It's also important to note that the initial increase in muscle size is largely due to the fact that creatine supplementation draws extra water into muscle cells, making them appear bigger (ignorant jocks should take note of this when they get excited about their rapid size gains). In addition, creatine is broken down and excreted by the kidneys. Concern arises when extra amounts of creatine need to be broken down, when the kidneys are placed under extra stress. The biggest concern is the lack of long-term studies done on its use. However, it would be shocking if long-term adverse effects were to happen with basic supplementation use.
Does creatine really work? There is a ton of research to say that it does. Do I think it works? I know many credible people who swear by the stuff and I've had positive results myself. Do I think creatine supplementation is for everyone? It's effectiveness for performance enhancement is minimal compared to proper sleep, good nutrition, and commitment to a training program.
Sports supplements are just that - supplements. They should never be the main course used to succeed towards your personal goals. As an athlete, realize that the only way to improve athletic abilities is through consistent, well-designed, hard work and discipline in every aspect of training. This must be the foundation of your training and your life. Spend your training time, money and focus on things that will create this foundation.
First of all, creatine is not a steroid! Creatine is an organic acid naturally produced by the body. It can also be obtained from food or supplementation. It plays a critical role in forming the specific energy needed to create muscular force and movement. When you are doing things at a very high intensity of muscular force, lifting weights, short sprints (under eight-to-15 seconds or so), plyometrics, etc., your body uses a very specific method for obtaining the large amounts of energy rapidly needed. Creatine is one of the primary “fuels” involved with this process.
Let's take the bench press for example. As you lift a fairly heavy weight, your body creates explosive packets of energy from creatine in order for your muscles to contract to push the weight. Since creatine stores are limited, and the body can only create energy so fast, you will reach a point, around eight-to-10 seconds, where your force of muscle contraction rapidly declines and you can't do any more repetitions. The theory behind taking a creatine supplement is that if you are able to saturate your muscle and blood with creatine, the stores will last longer, allowing you to do a couple more seconds of high intensity activity. The idea is that creatine allows you to do more maximal work in a workout.
One concern with creatine supplementation is that the process of drawing water into the muscles cells can cause dehydration. This happens with some users, but doesn't happen with others. It's also important to note that the initial increase in muscle size is largely due to the fact that creatine supplementation draws extra water into muscle cells, making them appear bigger (ignorant jocks should take note of this when they get excited about their rapid size gains). In addition, creatine is broken down and excreted by the kidneys. Concern arises when extra amounts of creatine need to be broken down, when the kidneys are placed under extra stress. The biggest concern is the lack of long-term studies done on its use. However, it would be shocking if long-term adverse effects were to happen with basic supplementation use.
Does creatine really work? There is a ton of research to say that it does. Do I think it works? I know many credible people who swear by the stuff and I've had positive results myself. Do I think creatine supplementation is for everyone? It's effectiveness for performance enhancement is minimal compared to proper sleep, good nutrition, and commitment to a training program.
Sports supplements are just that - supplements. They should never be the main course used to succeed towards your personal goals. As an athlete, realize that the only way to improve athletic abilities is through consistent, well-designed, hard work and discipline in every aspect of training. This must be the foundation of your training and your life. Spend your training time, money and focus on things that will create this foundation.
