What is creatine and how does it work?  As a personal trainer I hear many interesting things about creatine.  For the most part, very few exercisers know what creatine actually is or how it works.  I used to work at the Human Performance Lab at the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse and the university over the years has done research on the effects of creatine.  From the research, I have seen creatine flat out works.  On average a person is instantly 20% stronger once they start taking creatine.

So, how does it work?  Creatine is actually creatine phosphate.  Our body produces energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).  In simpler terms three phosphates.  Your body has three ways to produce ATP.  You have probably heard of two of them, your aerobic and anaerobic metabolism.  The third which most people haven’t heard of is your phosphogen system.  Your phosphogen system is what produces energy for your instant max power and strength.  This energy system produces energy for about your first 6-8 seconds of activity.  Your body stores this potential energy in two forms creatine phosphate and adenosine diphosphate (two phosphates).  Instantly to move you in activity your body combines them into ATP and you have energy produced.  The energy produced is your most powerful energy source for only a few seconds.

So, why take a creatine supplement?  Your body needs 4 grams a day of creatine to store in your muscles tissue for energy production.  Your body produces 2 grams a day, and you need 2 from your diet.  The problem is as Americans we don’t eat food high in creatine.  The #1 source for creatine is steak.  So unless you want to eat red meat for most of your meals, a creatine supplement is optimal.  A good creatine supplement should be in servings of 2.5 grams and no more than 5 grams a day.

Most people are not getting adequate amounts of creatine in their diet.  Your body needs creatine on a daily basis for optimal performance.  By taking creatine, instantly you are giving your body the energy it needs to be at its most powerful.  Any person looking for increase in performance in anaerobic, power, or speed activity would benefit from a creatine supplement.  Examples would be weight training, football, basketball, sprinting, jumping, tennis, and even golf.  Remember if power, strength and speed are important to you than a creatine supplement should be important to you.

Bad Side Effects of Creatine

Creatine sometimes gets a bad rap because of kidney problems associated with it.  The problem isn’t creatine, people abusing creatine cause the problems.  As I mentioned earlier you only want to take max 5 grams a day of creatine.  Some people take in excess of 20 grams a day.  Some people also believe in loading creatine.  Taking more creatine can cause harmful problems in your body.  Creatine absorbs water from your blood stream as it enters your muscles.  People who abuse creatine hyper dehydrate their blood stream.  The hyper dehydration is what causes the kidney problems, not creatine itself.  In some cases kidney failure was blamed on creatine.  Taking 5 grams or less should give your body want it wants without the harmful side effects.

Creatine Supplement, What to Buy

There are many creatine supplements on the market today.  Some are good and some are not so good.  Creatine needs sugar to be absorbed so any creatine without a sugar source will never be absorbed.  LIVE only sells that which it believes to be the 2 best creatine supplements on the market: Xyience Nox CG3 and Beverly International Creatine Select Phosphates.  LIVE only sells supplements from companies that are trusted.  Xyience Nox CG3 is the number one supplement for the UFC fighters which are some of the best athletes in the world. 

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