Bodybuilders have been flocking to the use creatine supplements for the past 15 years or so and it is no surprise. The reports, mostly anecdotal, of tremendous benefits from using creatine make it seem almost like a miracle potion. But is it? And, more importantly, does creatine have any harmful side effects when used as a bodybuilding supplement?
Lets take a look at what creatine is, where it comes from and what effect it actually has in and on our bodies.
Creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid in our body, like the building blocks that make up proteins. It is produced in the liver, kidneys and pancreas through a synthesis of arginine, methionine and glycine. It's purpose is to supply energy to muscle cells and it acts as a storage battery for the energy that comes from food.
Red meats and fish are rich natural sources of creatine and with a balanced diet most people get all of the creatine they need to maintain their health. Vegans have it a little tougher. The only vegetarian source I could pin down is juniper berries which are reported to be a good source. Creatine is degraded during cooking making it very hard to get a large dosage of creatine from foods.
While it is not possible to take in enough creatine through diet alone to gain a significant benefit, we can safely add it as a supplement. Extensive research shows that creatine can help you pack on muscle size and strength fast with no harmful side effects, when combined with your weight training regime. That is a key. Creatine by itself is not a miracle pill. When used together with vigorous workouts it produces good results.
Many athletes turn to various supplements to get a winners edge and many also find they are throwing their money away on useless, and sometimes harmful, garbage. Creatine, however, may actually be able to deliver improved athletic performance - for a short duration. It has been shown to be such an advantage in body building that some countries have banned the use of several forms of creatine in competition.
Athletes who compete in sports dependent on weight, power, and short bursts of intense activity (sprinting, football, basketball, weight lifting) may benefit from creatine. Those involved in endurance sports see little improvement.
Normal recommendations are to divide creatine intake into two phases. The first phase, called the "loading" phase, fills up the muscle fiber's storage capacity for this nutrient. A recommended loading dose is 20 grams of creatine a day for five or six days. A "maintenance" dose of 2 to 5 grams of creatine a day is then continued after that.
Creatine is one of the most studied supplements in the world with none of the studies indicating any serious side effects. But, as with any substance it should be taken with caution, constantly observing your body's reaction.
Creatine is incredibly popular among high school athletes and other youngsters hoping to "bulk up," but nobody knows how the supplement affects them long term. It's possible that regular doses of creatine could disrupt the natural growth of muscles and promote tears in tendons.
In summary, creatine helps build lean body mass, which allows still greater force to be used; provides energy so duration of exercise or work can be lengthened; and speeds recovery so exercise frequency can be increased. There appears to be no harmful side effects but long term studies have not been done to confirm this.
Make sure you are getting the most out of your bodybuilding program and not taking poisonous junk into your body. Get all your answers on natural bodybuilding and bodybuilding supplements at Muscle-Building-Reviews.com.
Why Your Muscle Pumps Have Nothing To Do With Your Muscle Gains
Your back is firmly planted on the bench as you wrap your chalked hands around the cold, steel bar. Your training partner helps you un-rack the weight as you power the bar up and down, squeezing your chest and triceps on each grueling rep. You complete your 6 repetitions, re-rack the bar and stand up.
Your chest feels tight and engorged with blood. You take a look in the mirror, thrilled with how full and vascular your pecs appear. You feel strong, powerful, healthy and motivated to blast through the rest of your workout with your newly achieved “pump”.
Let’s face it, a pump feels incredible. For those of you who aren’t quite sure what I’m talking about, a pump is the feeling that you get as blood becomes trapped inside your muscle tissue as a result of resistance training. The muscles will swell up and increase in size, vascularity and tightness.
There is certainly nothing wrong with achieving a pump in the gym, and it is simply a natural result of intense weight training. However, contrary to what the majority of weightlifters may think, a pump is in no way indicative of a successful workout. Anyone who uses the intensity of their pump as a gauge for the effectiveness of their workout is making a costly error.
On countless occasions I've heard lifters raving about the massive pumps they get in the gym as they share methods for achieving the best pump possible. "Dude, this will give you a crazy pump!" If you have already been working out for a decent amount of time then you know exactly what I'm talking about. While a pump does feel extremely satisfying, just remember that it means very little in terms of muscle stimulation and growth.
A pump is simply the result of extra blood within the muscle tissue. Think of it this way: if I took a pair of 10 pound dumbbells and performed 300 reps of a bench press movement, I would achieve an incredible pump. If muscle pumps meant muscle growth, then super light weight, ultra high rep programs would be the most effective way to grow. Any serious lifter with half a brain knows that this simply is not the case.
Do you want to know how to truly gauge the success of a workout? Here it is…
Take your workout records (in terms of weight and reps) from the previous week and compare it to the current week. Did you improve? Were you able to either increase the resistance slightly on each exercise, or perform an extra rep or two?
If so, you had a successful workout, regardless of how much blood you were able to pump into your muscle tissue.
Building muscle mass and strength is all about training with 100% intensity on every given set and then striving to improve from week to week. If you are able to consistently achieve this, your muscle size and strength will increase faster than you ever thought possible, with or without a pump.
I hope this article cleared up your confusion on the issue of "muscle pumps". There's so much misleading muscle-building information circling around on the Internet these days that it can sometimes be impossible to know who to listen to. If you want to learn the truth about 14 other common, counterproductive "myths", visit my webste below for details.
About The Author
Sean Nalewanyj is a bodybuilding author, dedicated trainer and writer of top-selling Internet Muscle-Building E-Book: The Truth About Building Muscle. Learn why 95% of trainees in the gym will NEVER see any significant results by visiting his website: MuscleGainTruth
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Supplement timing
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A fictional overheard conversation at a Thelma's Fine Dining.Hi, I'm your waitress, Flo.