If you’re no stranger to supplements, you’ve probably heard of creatine. Creatine comes in many various forms, but the most common form out there (and the one with the most research surrounding it is creatine monohydrate).
Creatine has been used by fitness enthusiasts and bodybuilders for years, and it even has some benefits for the general population as well!
In this article, we are going to look at what creatine is, along with nine reasons why you should consider using creatine in your supplement regimen.
Let’s get started!
What is Creatine?
Creatine monohydrate is one of the most effective sports supplements that help to enhance performance. It is an amino acid (a derivative of glycine, methionine, and arginine) that your body produces naturally in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. Around 90-95% of the creatine we consume goes into our muscles, and the remaining 5% goes into our brain, liver, and kidneys.
According to nutritionists, it is a lot more than just a strength and muscle-building supplement.
Any athletes can use creatine to improve many different factors that play into overall performance. From running to swimming, be it any exercise, creatine is known for its ability to enhance strength. When you get stronger, every exercise and every movement gets easier.
As per The International Society of Sports Nutrition, creatine plays a vital role in restoring the health of the cells after exercise. Also, it improves the anaerobic power that is extremely beneficial for any athlete, including people who swim, run, cycle, etc.
Not exactly sure how it works? Well, during the exercise, creatine helps to increase the phosphocreatine stores in the muscle. These are responsible for the regeneration of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which assists in the movement of muscles and helps with the contraction and work that a muscle undergoes during workouts.
Are you still wondering if creatine is worth the hype? Check out the following benefits.
9 Reasons You Should Be Using Creatine
Below are nine reasons why any and all athletes should use creatine.
Note: It should go without saying that supplements and the information in this article are not meant to supersede a doctor’s recommendation or prescription. Nothing in this article should be used to treat or diagnose any medical condition. You should always speak with your doctor before adding any new supplements to your routine to ensure they will not interact with any prescriptions you may currently be using.
It Helps in the Growth of Muscles
As per The Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition, creatine has been shown to be one of the most effective sports supplements to help increase lean muscle mass. It can increase muscle mass growth for both the short term and long term. Also, not just muscle mass but creatine helps in increasing fat-free muscle mass. And the best part is that it is cheaper and safer as compared to many other sports supplements.
It Improves High-Intensity Exercise Performance
When it comes to high-intensity workouts, supplementing with creatine helps to improve overall performance. Unlike other sports supplements that help only advanced athletes, creatine helps you no matter the fitness stage you are at.
Your muscles depend on ATP, an energy system that allows you to effectively perform movements and activities like sprinting, heavy squats, ballistic movements, etc. So, creatine helps to improve the performance of your muscles.
One review found that creatine can help improve performance by 15%. It improves various other factors like strength, sprint ability, muscle mass, recovery, brain performance, etc.
It Improves Other Muscle Functions
Creatine is undoubtedly one of the best supplements to add muscle mass, but it supports other functions as well. It boosts the formation of a protein that helps create new muscle fibers, and it increases the insulin-like growth factor that can help increase lean muscle tissue growth.
Apart from that, creatine increases the content of water in the muscles. It leads to cell volumization and an increase in the size of muscles. And it decreases the level of myostatin that prevents muscle growth.
It Helps to Reduce Fatigue and Tiredness
In this fast-paced and demanding world of athletics, the competition is constantly improving, and unless you are too, the chances of fatigue and tiredness are significantly higher. Creatine helps to reduce the symptoms of tiredness, fatigue, and even dizziness, while also helping to boost your energy levels.
Creatine supplements also help improve the mood of those who are sleep-deprived (which unfortunately is the case for many Americans). The improvement in mood can help them to get adequate and proper sleep and allowing them to wake up feeling refreshed and recovered.
It Increases Power Output
Whether you are a beginner or an advanced athlete, creatine can help to increase your power output. According to a meta-analysis study, creatine can increase strength up to 20% and increase power up to 26%. This increase in power output can benefit many sports that still require sporadic high outputs of power.
It Helps to Improve the Brain Function
This reason for using creatine should be one that makes everyone smile. Who couldn’t use a little boost between the ears? This supplement isn’t just for physical enhancements, as creatine can help you improve brain function as well. Not only your muscles but even your brain relies on ATP to complete complex tasks. And creatine can help give you the cognitive performance you need to stay sharp and with it all day long without brain fog or mental fatigue.
A lot of creatine is stored in muscles, but some creatine goes in the brain cells as well. It helps to improve neurological ailments and support healthy cognitive function.
It Helps to Improve Mood
The depressive disorders and changes in brain energy metabolism are linked with each other. Creatine is an organic acid that helps to maintain brain energy and various other functions. Thus, it can help ease energy exhaustion which may help improve mood and reduce feelings of depression.
As per studies, supplementing with creatine (approximately 2-5 grams depending on the type of creatine) when used on a daily basis can help with improving mood.
It Supports Bone Health
Your bone density starts to diminish with age, but women tend to experience the quickest deterioration. After menopause, women can develop frail bones that can break quite easily. Therefore, creatine can be supplemented to support bone health by helping to maintain strong muscles to reduce falls and fractures. Also, creatine can help maintain bone mineral density by combining it with a proper resistance training program.
It Helps with Injury Recovery
Creatine is an effective nutritional aid that helps with improving performance and reducing injury recovery time. By improving muscle strength, creatine helps enhance recovery time. It also helps to build back the lean muscle mass you may lose due to an injury and allow you the ability to go back to training faster than if you don’t use creatine.
Better Results, Better Endurance, Better Health
It’s no wonder why so many athletes and even the average active individual uses creatine. With the number of benefits and studies surrounding this amazing supplement, everyone should feel encouraged and safe using creatine.
If you want to get started and experience the power of creatine for yourself, grab yourself a tub of NutraBio Creatine Monohydrate. Our standard Creatine monohydrate contains 5g per serving.
Whether you’re an avid exerciser or a professional athlete, add creatine to your regimen and reap all of the benefits to help provide you with a competitive edge and the ability to fast-track your results from your workouts and training.
