Creatine has come about
in the weight lifting and athletic world in the last decade as the next big
thing to help improve muscle gain. Sizer and Whitney describe creatine as
a nitrogen-containing compound that combines with phosphate to burn a
high-energy compound stored in muscle (2012). Anyone that is
serious about going to the gym and lifting weights uses a creatine
supplement. It is one of the things that
is recommended to buy if you go to a store like GNC, Vitamin World, or Complete
Nutrition to get your supplements. They say
get a pre-workout, some protein, and creatine.
But does do they really know what it does or how it helps your
body?
“Creatine
functions in muscles as part of the high-energy storage compound
creatine-phosphate, and theoretically the more creatine phosphate in muscles,
the higher the intensity an athlete can train,” (Sizer and Whitney, 2012). So creatine helps the body have more energy
to last longer during that one hard work out that you got from your friend that
said you will get so much stronger from doing it. But if you would have taken some creatine
before you tried to do the work out you might be able to finish it and impress
your friend.
Another
thing that creatine claims to do is that it is said to increase muscle mass and
strength over time. In a study conducted
by Cribb, Paul, and Hays they compared the effects of a protein-carbohydrate
and creatine blend against protein-carbohydrate and just protein. They found that the protein-carbohydrate plus
creatine showed greater improvement in one rep max, lean body composition, and
cross sectional area over a ten week strict resistance exercise training
program.
In
another study conducted by Rahmani-Nia, Rahnama, Garazhian they also compared
one rep max and body composition. For the
one rep max they tested bench press, squats and curls. They used four groups; creatine, high protein
diet, creatine plus high protein diet, and a placebo group. The subjects trained three times a week for
six weeks with a set training load. They
found gains in each group for the tests but saw the greatest improvements in
the creatine plus high protein diet. Also
there was no statistical difference between the high protein diet group and the
creatine diet group.
I use a creatine supplement everyday that I am going to
work out at the gym. I believe that it
has increased my strength and also the size of my muscles. I would recommend to anyone that is serious
about working out and getting into shape to use some kind of creatine
supplement.
Cribb, Paul J, Williams,
Andrew D and Hayes, Alan (2007). A
creatine-protein-carbohydrate supplement enhances responses to resistance
training. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, 39 (11). pp. 1960-1968. Accessed June 27, 2013.
Rahmani-Nia, Farhad, Rahnama, Nader, and Garazhian, Yaser. The
Comparative Effects of Oral Creatine Supplementation and High Protein on
Muscular Strength and Body Composition. International Journal of Sports Science
and Engineering Vol. 02 (2008) No. 04, pp. 223-230 Accessed June 27, 2013
Sizer, F. & Whitney, E.
(2013) Nutrition: concepts & controversies (13th ed, p. 414-416). Belmont,
Calif: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
I have always been curious about the real benefits of protein and creatine for muscle development. It is extremely common to hear of people who lift weights regularly to be taking pre-workout, protein, and creatine supplements. I have always wondered if it actually helped to increase strength or if it mainly helped to increase muscle size. After reading your post, it seems that there is evidence that supports creatine's role in both greater muscle strength and size.
ReplyDeleteI am still curious about who should be recommended to take these supplements and if they are more beneficial to a particular group of exercisers, such as athletes or those who are only looking to improve strength. In addition, I wonder if there have been studies done to show the effect of these supplements on endurance performance and if they could improve one's success in sports such as running.
Nevertheless, I also continue to wonder if there are any risks to taking these supplements and if the benefits would still be worth it.
Dane, interesting article.
ReplyDeleteI too take creatine whenever i workout, even though I haven't all summer. I feel like it does help not only get stronger but also increases speed of recovery. During my pharmacology class last semester I did a presentation on creatine that covered many studies. In one study they even proved creatine increases strength in 1RM for bench press and squats without even doing a lifting program, just by taking it the participants got stronger. Interestingly creatine can also be used for things like depression in some cases. I feel like like creatine not only makes you stronger but makes you look bigger. I would recommend creatine to anyone weight lifting as there are not many serious side effects and it tends to be very safe.