Should I take creatine? I’m not getting any bigger do you think I should take creatine? I’m not sure whether I should take creatine I heard it’s a steroid? These are just some of the questions I constantly hear in the gym regarding the usage of creatine in ones training schedule. Below I will explain in more detail what creatine is, should creatine be used in your training, when to take creatine and whether or not creatine is actually safe to use. Firstly let’s start off by explaining what creatine actually is.
Should I Take Creatine?
Creatine is a naturally occurring substance within the human body. Creatine is made up of 3 amino acids and is produced mainly in the liver and kidney. Once produced, it is transported into the blood and around the body for use by our muscles. A very high percentage of the body’s creatine is stored in skeletal muscle, this percentage thought to be around 95%. Since Creatine is produced by our bodies it is not classed as an essential nutrient.
Typically around 50% of creatine will be produced by the body with the other half being consumed by normal foods such as beef, steak and fish, all of which are good sources of creatine. Creatine is found in a lot of meat so the chances are that if you’re a vegetarian lower levels of creatine are likely to be found in the body unless of course you are taking a creatine supplement.
How Does Creatine Work
Explaining the complete scientific way of how creatine works is probably going to come across extremely boring to a lot of you so I’m going to simplify it for you in order to make it easy and simple to understand. I highly doubt you want a biochemistry lesson of what specifically happens in your body when creatine is present so here it goes. When creatine is consumed by the body, overtime it will raise an individual’s ability to build muscle tissue providing supplementation is followed correctly and training and diet are effective.
Creatine does this by providing the body and muscle with additional energy. Additional energy during an intense workout session will allow an athlete to perform more work and train harder. As a result of training harder muscle growth is stimulated and protein synthesis increases (The rate your muscles rebuild themselves after being broken down by intense training). More water is retained inside the muscle cells helping to further promote protein synthesis as well as limiting protein breakdown.
Since more water is retained inside the muscle cells you will get a slightly fuller look to your muscles, however this is temporary. So that’s pretty much the simplest way of explaining how creatine actually works. That’s move on to the safety of creatine.
Is Creatine Safe to Use?
So, is creatine safe to use? In my opinion creatine is extremely safe to use. There are a number of critics out there however that will tell you it’s not and will hit you with claims such as creatine causes dehydration, muscle cramping, kidney damage, liver damage and so on and so on. These claims are all well and good but the fact of the matter is that there is not one reputable study out there that shows creatine has any dangerous side-effects.
Probably the most common side effect people notice or complain about while taking creatine is bloating or dehydration. Creatine may cause you to feel bloated for a while but this should only be a temporary thing. Also dehydration MAY occur when taking creatine. This would mainly be down to the person not drinking enough water in their diet so ensure you are drinking plenty of water throughout the day (like you already should be) and you will be fine!
Another thing to look at is others personal experience of using creatine. Hardly any professional bodybuilder or athlete who has used creatine (and that will be most of them) will tell you that creatine has caused them any serious side effects or problems. Bodybuilders will have used creatine for years and years and the majority will agree that creatine does no harm whatsoever. Creatine is not a steroid, it is merely a naturally occurring substance in the body which can also be supplemented to ones diet to help promote muscle mass.
Now although creatine is a very good supplement to use, always be cautious. Just like any other medicine, pill or supplement, do not go over the top. Creatine is a great supplement which is likely to raise an athlete’s training performance overtime but remember, too much of a good thing is bad for you. Follow the recommended dosage for every supplement you use and do not exceed such limits otherwise you are asking for trouble. It’s also important to be sensible. If you’ve only just started weight training for example, don’t jump straight into supplement use until you know a little about it and that you’re totally committed to your training.
Another thing to note is that if you have any illnesses or diseases of some sort then certain supplements probably aren’t going to be 100% suitable for you. You may wish to check with your doctor if you do have a problem /condition that requires caution when exercising or eating. Each supplement is different and certain people will react differently to particular products than others. That’s just the way our bodies are built. No-one is exactly the same. Some people may respond better to creatine use than others, that’s just the way it is.
If you don’t feel right taking something then it’s no big deal, just stop taking it. Creatine supplementation has been shown to enhance exercise performance and no reputable studies have shown creatine to be damaging to one’s health in the long term so if you feel your training needs an extra something, I would highly recommend creatine supplementation.
Do I Really Need To Take Creatine?
Do you really need creatine? No. Creatine is just a supplement. It’s an addition to your training and your diet and should in no way be prioritized above them. Supplementation is not entirely necessary if you have your diet and training in place. However, there may come a time when after a few years of training you need an extra edge, something different. If you’ve stopped progressing in your training and your diet and training is on track then maybe it’s time to try something different and add a little extra to your diet.
Since creatine has been proven to enhance an individual’s training performance overtime why wouldn’t you add creatine supplementation to your diet at this point. Creatine can also be used to gain quicker results so you don’t necessary have to be years into your training to begin supplementing creatine. Just ensure your training and diet are good and you stick to the recommended dosages and you will see some great results. Of course this won’t last forever so it may be wise to cycle on and off of creatine to keep your body guessing. We’ll talk about cycling creatine a bit further on in this article.
Quick Re-Cap On Creatine
So far you should have at least a vague idea of what creatine is and what it does. If you came here knowing absolutely nothing about creatine you should now know that creatine can be a great addition to your training and diet and has next to none side effects. Along with a good diet and training schedule creatine will overtime help you improve your performance in the gym allowing more potential for muscle growth. Lets now take a look at how/when you should take creatine and in particular, which type of creatine you should be using.
Which Creatine Should I Use?
So you’ve got your training and diet down and you’re looking for further improvements in your training and performance. You decide Creatine is definitely worth a try but you’re confused as to which type of creatine to buy. No need to panic, we have all the information you need.
What Are The Different Types Of Creatine?
I’m not going to baffle you too much with detailed explanations of every type of creatine out there on the market but I will tell you the types currently available. These are Creatine Monohydrate, Creatine Phosphate, Creatine Citrate and Creatine Esters. For a more detailed explanation of these types of creatine check out this article by bodybuildingsupplementnews. Anyway back to the question in hand, which creatine should you use? I would recommend you use creatine monohydrate. Pure and simple.
The reason I say this is because it’s proven to work, it’s cheap and most importantly of all, all studies/research is performed on Creatine monohydrate, showing it to be the most reliable source of creatine out there. So, you now know what type of creatine to buy, all that’s left to figure out is which brand of creatine you’re going to purchase. Below I will list two of the best creatine supplements that are known to work and will not rip you off.
Creatine Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
To ensure I haven’t missed anything out in this creatine article I’m going to finish up by listing some of the most popular and frequently asked questions regarding creatine and the use of creatine.
What Type Of Creatine Should I Buy?
Creatine Monohydrate. Proven to work and is regarded as the most reliable. This isn’t to say you have to ignore all other types of creatine. Try some of the other types if you wish to do so and learn from personal experience if they are effective or not. Remember everyone’s different, if one type of creatine doesn’t work for you it doesn’t mean it’s not going to work for others.
What Exactly Does Creatine Do?
Creatine Provides extra energy for your muscles, causes volumization of muscles (increases size), reduces lactic acid build up and increases protein synthesis
What are the side effects of taking creatine?
The most common complaints if any are bloating, muscle cramping or dehydration. Most are temporary and can more often than not be prevented by drinking enough water each day. If you think about it, the average person with a poor diet probably experiences these problems on a regular basis!
Will I Lose Strength and Muscle When I Stop Taking Creatine?
Creatine will allow you to build added muscle mass through strength gains and cause your muscle cells to retain more water making them look slightly bigger and fuller. The muscle which you gain as a result of increased strength is pure muscle and you will not lose it when you stop taking creatine. However, the water retained in the muscle is temporary. This will most likely be lost when you stop taking creatine.
How Much Creatine Should I Take Each Day?
You only need around 3g – 5g a day.
What Is The Loading Phase?
The loading phase is a set period of time, usually around a week or so where you will take an increased amount of creatine each day in order to saturate your muscles with creatine and get the creatine into the muscle. Once you muscles are saturated with creatine you can then maintain this level of creatine by taking around 3-5 grams a day as stated above. Note that the loading phase is only used when you first begin taking creatine to get in into your system.
How Much Creatine Should I Take During The Loading Phase?
Take around 20-25g of creatine for one week to ten days. Do not take it all at once, split it up into 4 small servings throughout the day.
Do I Need To Load When Taking Creatine?
No, loading is not mandatory but may help you see the effects of creatine slightly quicker. Unfortunately there are no studies or evidence backing up the need of a loading phase however, it does make sense to load your muscles up with creatine when first starting. There’s nothing dangerous about it, in fact a lot of supplements will recommend a loading phase on its label so the choice is yours. I wouldn’t waste too much time worrying about it. Be sure to increase your water intake if you are concerned about dehydration etc.
What Is The Maintenance Phase?
The maintenance phase is the rest of the time you spend using creatine. Once you have completed a loading phase, you must maintain the levels of creatine in your muscles. This can be done by taking 3g – 5g a day.
Should I Cycle Creatine?
Again there is no solid evidence as to whether it is beneficial or not to cycle creatine. If you are concerned about long term creatine use cycle it. A good cycle would be something like 1-2 months on (taking creatine) 2-4 weeks off (not taking creatine).
What Time Of The Day Should I Take Creatine?
You can take creatine anytime you wish. The most important thing is that there is a constant flow of creatine going into the body and muscles for a fixed period of time, usually around 4-12 weeks. So, main thing is that you are actually getting your creatine in each day. The most beneficial time to take it would probably be post workout (after workout). Your muscles are depleted and post workout is the time when certain foods/nutrients are absorbed much better by the body so in my opinion this would be the optimal time to take it. If you don’t take it post workout it’s not a big deal, if you take it pre workout (before workout) then fine no problem, the most important thing is that you are getting a constant supply of creatine into your body each day to experience the full benefits.
Can Protein Supplements Be Taken With Creatine Supplements?
Yes. Creatine and Protein are two different things entirely. It is absolutely fine to consume both. You should however check your protein powder/supplement to ensure it does not already have creatine in it as a lot of protein supplements do contain creatine in them as well.
Will it cause testicle shrinkage?
No. ITS NOT A STEROID!
