Creatine Supplementation

Creatine occurs naturally in beef, pork, salmon, cod, tuna and herring. Although a certain amount of creatine is naturally produced by the body, all the necessary studies have been conducted, and have proven that when creatine supplements are used as part of a bodybuilding workout program, large muscle gains are made, accompanied by considerable increases in strength and endurance.

The benefits of Creatine Monohydrate are most effective, when one is engaged in activities involving intense effort. The most common example of such an activity is weight lifting. Because of the fact that roughly 93% of the naturally occurring creatine within our bodies is stored in the muscles, it plays a very significant role in supplying our bodies with the energy boost required to perform muscle-bound work. Creatine is responsible for restoring Adenosine Triphosphate or ATP, which is the substance that fuels the normal energy cycle of the muscle. While our muscles contain enough ATP to fuel a certain amount of energy, creatine loads the muscles, restoring ATP to a degree where energy is raised to a point where you are able to perform the same amount of work for a longer period of time. Creatine supplementation allows you to execute that extra "bonus set" while working out, resulting in the gaining of muscle at a slightly faster rate.

An added "perk" resulting from the use of creatine is the fact that recovery time between workouts is reduced. In addition, being sore between workouts is not a pleasant experience, and creatine has been shown to reduce muscle soreness.

While eating foods that contain creatine is recommended for helping to build muscle, without adding creatine supplementation to your diet, it would be necessary to eat extremely large amounts of this food, which would be impractical. It should also be noted that creatine supplementation allows you to be accurately aware of exactly how much creatine you are ingesting.