Creatine Monohydrate and Triathalon

Creatine Monohydrate and Triathalon

Creatine Monohydrate (or more simply referred to as  “Creatine”) is a sports supplement still causing controversy some 10 years after it’s introduction on to the Australian market. Available in many forms over the counter at your health food store, it’s a substance that is used by many, and yet not all that well understood. Over the last decade the force of extensive medical scrutiny has been placed on Creatine. Using this research we are able to explain a great deal of its effects, and look at safety for short to moderate term usage.

What is Creatine?

It’s a tripeptide (3 amino acids) protein made from L-Arginine, L-Methionine and Glycine.  It has no real caloric value, being stored in skeletal muscle tissue rather than being used for energy. The major dietary source of creatine is lean meats, however the body is also capable of manufacture as well. The benefits of creatine are seen when its levels approach saturation inside the muscle. This level is seldom reached through dietary food intake, and supplemental dosages in the form of pure creatine are required to gain its effects

What does Creatine do?

As the level of creatine increase inside the muscle so too does the muscles ability to volumise. What this means is the muscle is capable of uptaking more in the way of water, as well as other nutrients such as those required for energy production and recovery. This volumisation effect often accounts for the initial increased weight gain seen by athletes.

Muscles that are well hydrated under the influence of creatine perform to a higher degree than they otherwise could (1). If a muscle has extra hydration then it will take longer to fatigue due to lactate build up. If greater amounts of energy nutrient can be uptaken and utilised then they will produce ATP for longer and work harder. If greater amounts of recovery nutrient are able to be metabolised by a muscle then it will recover more efficiently from the increased workload.  This is the basis for the effects of creatine in sports performance. Because the ability to uptake Creatine in an oral supplement is quite efficient, an athlete can get to saturation levels fairly quickly. This rapid weight, strength, and power gain often has Creatine referred to as a “steroid” or “drug like” in its properties. It is not. Creatine is a permitted substance, and is not banned by the IOC nor does it appear as a banned substance in ASDA regulations. (2)

What does the research say?

In endurance sports such as triathalon there is a significant anaerobic capacity that creatine has shown to enhance. This can be demonstrated in both men and women and is effective in pre training for an event as well as during competition times as well. The European Journal of Applied Physiology looked at creatine in December 2003. Their study was constructed to look at creatine’s effects on muscular performance during high volume resistance training. They concluded that it “… appeared to be effective for maintaining muscular performance during the initial phases of high volume resistance training….” When tested against an inert placebo (glucose) there were noted performance losses. (3)

Women too can benefit from creatine supplementation. Short loading phases (more about loading below) were used in another study focusing directly on the anaerobic workload of females. This study looked at a five-day creatine loading period and concluded that “…. Creatine supplementation is effective for increasing anaerobic workload capacity in women following 5 days of loading ….”(4)

Running performance is also enhanced by creatine, so aerobic capacity is supported as well. Creatine achieves this result by acting as a “phosphate shuttle”. It picks up a phosphate unit and is able to “carry” it to the site of ATP production in cells.  A greater production and turnover of ATP increases muscular energy. Since creatine increases the uptake and utilisation of energy nutrient, you essentially have increased fuel availability to burn, and a better “fuel transport” system to use. ( 5)

So how do I take Creatine?

There are two main methods, known as “the fast load” and “the slow load”. It’s all about how fast you want to achieve saturation of creatine into the muscle. The fast load is popular with weight trainers and athletes with a higher lean muscle mass. It entails taking three to five grams of creatine, up to five times per day, for five to seven days. This rapid loading regime gets muscle saturation to occur quite quickly and there is a increase in muscle volumisation over a this period of time. It is important to realise that there is an increased demand for hydration when creatine is being supplemented in this manner. This needs to be accommodated by increasing fluid intake. The slower load will still reach the destination of muscle saturation, but at a much more leisurely rate. It involves using two doses of creatine (usually one before training and one at another time) per day for three to four weeks.

Once muscle saturation of creatine has occurred, there is no real need to take large doses, one can use smaller doses to simply keep the saturation levels “topped up” in muscle as it were.

The best way to take creatine is to get it to dissolve in water. This is not an easy thing to do considering its low solubility at room temperature water. The simple solution here is to just turn the heat up. Using warm to hot tap water (it does not need to be boiling) should see a single dose of creatine dissolve quite effectively with a few stirs. Using a creatine that is micronised helps as well. Micronisation is a process by which the crystals of creatine are milled into much smaller particles, which are easier to dissolve, and uptake into the bloodstream, and then the muscle. The good news is that quality creatine supplements have very little taste, and are quite palatable.

What can I take to enhance creatine’s uptake?

Science has acknowledged that two substances increase the rate of creatine uptake. The first that was studied was glucose. A dose of glucose, which is quite soluble as well, is thought to create an insulin “spike” in the body metabolism, increasing both carbohydrate and creatine uptake. This carbohydrate ingestion can also be used as a quick source of energy, but it would be wise to note that glucose is an extremely high glycemic index sugar, and might not be suitable to all athletes, especially those who are diabetic.

Fortunately an alternative to high doses of glucose (or other sugars) exists, and this is Alpha Lipoic Acid. Already known to be strongly anti-oxidant this compound was tested against creatine alone, as well with high doses of sucrose (table sugar) to examine if it enhanced absorption of creatine. The result of the study in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism noted that “…. The ingestion of alpha lipoic acid with creatine and a small amount of sucrose enhance(s) muscle total creatine content, as compare to the ingestion of creatine and (high doses) of sucrose or creatine alone.” Alpha lipoic acid is available over the counter at health food shops and is not too expensive, when considering the anti-oxidant benefit as well as the creatine absorption enhancement; it may make a valuable addition to your nutritional regimen.(6)

Is there any further literature available?

Yes, creatine is one of the most studied of all sports supplements. An excellent place to continue your investigation is the Creatine Sports Science Review article. This article which is published freely on the World Wide Web, is an exhaustive review of creatine supplementation scientific literature by noted researcher RB Kreider. In the safety section of his review Krieder notes that “… on the bases of the available research, he considers creatine supplementation to be a medically safe practice when taken at dosages described in the literature”. (7)

Is there anyone that should not take creatine?

People with existing health problems such as kidney and or liver dysfunction should always consult with a medical practitioner before taking creatine, and especially before embarking on a resistance-training regime. Talking over your concerns about creatine with your chosen health care practitioner or coach is an advisable step for any athlete to take.

In addition, Creatine, like all sports supplements in Australia, requires a label warning that it is not intended for use by children under the age of 15 or pregnant women without medical or dietetic supervision.

Conclusion

With the amount of available evidence that can be quickly accessed you can explore the use of creatine in triathalon extensively. The increased workload capacity in both aerobic and anaerobic performance is well documented. These strength, speed, energy and recovery increases can help with pre event training and conditioning as well as overall effort on race day. If you use sports supplementation, Creatine is certainly one supplement that you should be looked at seriously before you discard its use, chances are your opponents are already using it.

References

(1)   A Casey, D Constantin-Teodosiu, S Howell, E Hultman, & PL Greenhaff – “Creatine ingestion favourably affects performances in muscle metabolism during maximal exercise in humans” Am.Jphysiol Endocrinol Metab 271 E31-E37 1996.

(2)   Websites www.asda.gov.au and www.olympic.org

(3)   Volek JS, Ratamess NA, Rubin MR, Gomez AL, French DN, McGuigue MM, Scheett TP, Sharman MJ, Hakkinen K, Kraemer WJ – “The effcts of creatine supplementation on muscular performance and body composition responses to shoirt term resistance training overreaching.” – Eur J Appl Physiol. Dec 18 2003 (electronic publication ahead of printing)

(4)   Eckerson JM, Stout JR, Moore GA, Stone NJ, Nishimura K – “Effect of two and five days of creatine loading on anaerobic working capacity in women”. J Strength Cond Res. 2004 Feb;18(1):168-173

(5)   C Bosco, J Tihanyi, J Pucsok, I Kovacs, A Gabosssy, R Colli, G Pulvirenti, C Tranquilli, C Foti, M Viru & A Viru “Effect of oral creatine supplementation on jumping and running performance” Int J of Sports Med 18 369-372 1997.

(6)   Burke DG, Chilibeck PD, Parise G, Tarnopolsky MA, Candow DG. “Effect of alpha lipoic acid combined with creatine monohydrate on human skeletal muscle creatine and phosphagen concentration. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2003 Sept:13(3):294-302.

(7)   Website www.sportsci.org/traintech/creatine/rbk.html