Creatine for more strength and mass

Strength athletes who value a rapid increase in muscle mass have long been used to their daily dose of additional creatine. Creatine powder in particular guarantees a shorter muscle regeneration time, which enables even more intensive muscle building training. For example, many athletes use creatine in the preparation phase for a competition when muscle strain is particularly intense. Many scientific studies have now shown that the intake of creatine alone does not grow a muscle, but in combination with a courageous muscle training, the muscles quickly gain weight because many additional muscle cells are then formed. Training-induced muscle fiber growth significantly increases muscle performance. The consumption of creatine phosphate is therefore omnipresent in strength sports such as weightlifting and bodybuilding. But also in conventional fitness training and in martial arts such as boxing, kung fu and so on, taking creatine supplements has long been a matter of course. As the last in this series, the ball sports football, volleyball and tennis of this elegant way to accelerate muscle growth have taken over. It has long been known that creatine increases performance with maximum muscle contraction. But more and more studies show that this also applies to endurance training. Therefore, creatine is absolutely recommended for marathon runners, cyclists or rowers. These dietary supplements are harmless to health and are also a completely legal method of increasing performance. Especially vegetarians and vegans who do a lot of sport and can hardly absorb creatine in their food are well advised to think about such a supplement.

Mode of action of creatine

Everyone produces their own creatine in their kidneys, liver and pancreas. The substance is stored in the skeletal muscles. With normal physical exercise, the daily requirement for creatine is between two and six grams. This daily dose can be covered by a healthy, balanced diet. In the case of higher physical exertion, however, taking creatine supplements is definitely recommended. With every muscle contraction, energy is released through the chemical conversion (hydrolysis) of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) into adenosine diphosphate (ADP). Now of course the ADP has to be returned to ATP. This is done, among other things, by a phosphate residue as an enzymatic catalyst. The phosphagens creatine (Cr) and creatine phosphate (PCr) are able to bind phosphate residues in order to then release them to other molecules. Creatine itself is only a preliminary stage of creatine phosphate and must first attach a phosphoryl group in order to become an energy source at all. In this respect, creatine phosphate ensures the rapid provision of ATP in the muscle cells, especially when one's own ATP supply has been exhausted due to an intensive strain on the muscle. The amount of creatine stored in the muscle is only sufficient for a few seconds if the muscle is contracted heavily. The body is then forced to first synthesize new ATP. To do this, fats, carbohydrates and amino acids have to be broken down in complex metabolic processes in order to relink them, and that takes time.