Creatine Helps Bodybuilders Increase Muscle

What is Creatine? Creatine is an amino acid present mainly in skeletal muscle, with smaller quantities also present in the heart, brain and testes. It is normally obtained via the diet. Using creatine monohydrate supplements increases the content of creatine in skeletal muscles resulting in increased muscle strength. More than 40 scientific studies have proven beyond any doubt the ergogenic (strength increasing) effects of supplemental creatine and its ability to help grow more muscle. More than 80% of all Olympians use creatine supplements.

How Creatine Works

Creatine supplementation significantly increases the amount of work that can be performed during anaerobic exercise such as weight lifting. Its role in muscles is to serve as storage form of energy in muscle cells.

The body uses a molecule named ATP (adenosine triphosphate) as its most basic unit of cellular energy. By breaking off a phosphate group from ATP (thereby creating ADP), chemical energy is released that the body can use to move muscle cells. If a muscle runs out of ATP, it loses its ability to contract and muscle fatigue sets in. The body is able to re-use much of its ATP. Creatine phosphate (another form of creatine) is stored in the muscle cells and can donate its phosphate group to ADP (adenosine diphosphate) to reform ATP again. This provides more energy to power muscle contractions.

It Pays to Cycle Creatine

Creatine monohydrate is transported from the bloodstream into muscles by transporter molecules on the muscle surface. Animal studies have demonstrated that the activity of these creatine transporters is influenced by the presence of creatine in the bloodstream. Prolonged exposure to elevated plasma creatine shuts down the uptake of creatine into skeletal muscle via these transporters. The production of creatine from its amino acid precursors (arginine, glycine and methionine) is also shut down in response to elevated plasma creatine levels. This is why it is beneficial for athletes to cycle creatine. Cycling creatine “tricks” the body's negative feedback mechanism and maximises the benefits of the time on the creatine cycle.