The Science of Creatine and Building Lean Muscle

For those who don’t know,Creatine is a combination of amino acids which are commonly found in red meats and certain types of fish. When consumed as a supplement, creatine works best when combined with simple carbohydrates like fruit juice as it helps in pulling the creatine into the muscles. This not only gives the person extra energy for the workout session, but also helps in building more lean muscle. Creatine has grown immensely popular among weightlifters and athletes as its effects have been extremely positive to date. The product itself is a proven contributor to both mass, strength and most notably, recovery. Unlike some more questionable supplements available on the market today, creatine is safe as long as it is consumed according to the directions.

During weight training and other anaerobic workouts, your body uses what is known as Adenosine TriPhosphate (ATP) as a source of energy for the muscles. When the ATP stored in the muscles gets exhausted, they are converted in to Adenosine DiPhosphate (ADP) which cannot be used as a source of fuel for the muscles, so the body uses its stores of creatine phosphate to convert the ADP back to ATP which can in turn be used by the muscles as energy again. This is where creatine monohydrate supplementation helps to increase the bodies’ stores of creatine , allowing it to replenish ATP stores more quickly. This will in turn increase the workload that can be performed during high intensity exercises. In other words, it will allow you to lift more weight as well as be able to perform more repetitions during weight training, thus maximizing the performance and muscle building potential of your workouts.

Creatine combines with phosphate when ingested to form Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) which is the body’s natural energy source. With more ATP, one is able to train much harder and longer than you would be able to without a creatine supplement. It also helps the muscles to retain fluid, which increases mass and size almost immediately. By retaining the fluid in your muscles, the stored energy will again allow you train harder and get the results you’ve been looking for i.e. muscle building. While taking Creatine supplements, you will experience marked improvements in your performance during high intensity exercises such as sprinting and weight lifting. Creatine also serves as the energy source for extremely strenuous activities as well as improving your performance in sports because it decreases your susceptibility to muscle fatigue.

Athletes and body builders consider Creatine supplements as the best alternative to anabolic steroids because it does not bring harmful side effects. Thanks to this supplement, athletes can improve their performance in sports without worrying about other effects to their bodies. So overall the benefits are huge. As mentioned above, it provides you with the chance to increase your lean muscle mass. It will also improve muscle growth, strengthen the muscles, as well as healing the muscular damages caused by periods of intense workouts. However, please note, while creatine has been shown to increase both muscle size and muscular performance, you have to realize that all it generally does is give you an energy boost. Unless you use that energy boost in a workout, you will not see any results.