Creatine and the secret of its power

The secret behind the power of creatine

No, we will not talk only about some average or even non-functional food supplement that just “retains water”. The truth is that creatine literally is evidence-based miracle in our fitness community.

The ability of creatine to improve performance during high-intense workouts and the ability to support muscle growth is documented to such extent that it deserves its own superhero Avenger movie streamed on Netflix with minimum five series.

But let’s talk for real. What is behind this wonderful substance and how it affects us?

You might have heard that body uses its energy resources differently depending on different intensity, to turn them into the real efficient energy – the miraculous ATP molecule (or adenosine triphosphate) that brings life to all organisms on our planet.

Two main processes used to create energy from body resources are dependent on the type of training. We know that as aerobic and anaerobic parts of workout, while the second one is accompanied by muscle burn and production of lactic acid.

Energy recipe no. 1

Aerobic oxidative phosphorylation is a process that happens in the mitochondria of muscle cells, where ATP is produced thanks to oxygen. This process is the most effective for long-term and less intense physical activity, such as long-distance running or swimming.

1. Oxygen and glucose are used in the process known as Krebs cycle (or citrate cycle), where glucose is broken down to carbon dioxide and water; during this the energy is released.
2. The released energy is used to produce ATP through the process known as the electron transport chain. It produced huge amounts of ATP from one molecule of glucose, which makes it a very efficient way how to produce energy.

Energy recipe no. 2

Anaerobic glycolysis is a process without the presence of oxygen, and it is dominant for short-term intense activity, such as sprint or weightlifting. It produces energy quickly, but at the expense of efficiency. It is not as effective as oxidative phosphorylation, and it leads to production of lactate, that may cause perceptible muscle fatigue.

1. Glucose phase: It starts with a carbohydrate glucose that is broken down into two molecules of pyruvate. This reaction happens in the cell cytoplasm.

2. Production of pyruvate: Glucose goes through glycolysis, which is a series of enzymatic reactions. A small amount of energy is released during these reactions, and it is stored in the ATP and NADH molecules.

3. Production of lactic acid: When not enough oxygen is available (for example during intense workout), pyruvate is not transferred to mitochondria for further metabolism in the aerobic process. Instead of that, the pyruvate is reduced to lactic acid that is eliminated from muscles to blood flow.

Bonus energy recipe – creatine

Production of energy from creatine is another important mechanism that our body uses in parallel to help quickly supply muscles with energy – especially during short and high-intense activities, such as sprint or weightlifting. This process is known as ATP-PC (creatine phosphate) system. It works almost immediately to replenish ATP that is quickly used up during intense muscle work.

The creatine that we consume from foods (which contains very little of it) or from supplements, is stored in muscle cells for later use and turns to creatine phosphate.

Creatine phosphate can quickly deliver phosphate type to regenerate ATP from ADP (adenosine diphosphate) which is a key thing for immediate energy supplies. This process in catalysed by an enzyme called creatine kinase. The produced ATP is later available for processes that require a new energy supply, such as muscle contractions.

Just 10 seconds? He might have run out of creatine...

The capacity of creatine phosphate system is limited with the amount of creatine phosphate in the muscle cells, and it is usually sufficient only for short intense activity, typically 5-10 seconds. Some women might smile now because they have realized why their men cannot last much longer – maybe it is the creatine? But jokes aside and back to creatine that has run out. After we use the resources of creatine phosphate, our body must switch to other energy sources – that means back to anaerobic glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation – to keep the ATP production going.

Supplementing creatine increases its resources in muscle cells. Therefore, the performance during short and intense workouts is improved and it gives us a few key extra seconds of the system’s efficiency.

Myths vs. reality

Here we get to the funny part – some people still believe that creatine is somewhat harmful.

In spite of these doubts, the research has clearly shown that creatine is safe both for short-term and long-term use. And even though it might result in a slight increase in body weight due to retaining water in muscle cells, it cannot be considered a negative factor, since it is a natural condition that is even required. The water in muscles is not a water in subcutaneous (the space between cells) that would result in us looking swollen. Creatine rather makes us look like after a light stretch – pumped muscles and our muscle cells more hydrated.

There really is a wide range of studies. One of them from 2003 published in the magazine International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism examined long-term effects of creatine supplementation and it did not find any kidney harm on any healthy individual.

Which type of creatine is the most effective

Even though there are several types of forms of creatine in the market, such as creatine ethyl ester, or krealkalyn, the creatine monohydrate remains the most thoroughly researched.

Dosage – when and how much?

If you are ready to make creatine part of your life, you might wonder when and how it will happen.

You may decide for one of those two ways – one of them is known as standard dosage, when you use 5 g of creatine on a daily basis and its level in your body will slowly increase.

When you use creatine is up to you. It might be anytime during the day and based on studies it does not really matter when exactly it is supplemented. But I do recommend not to use it on an empty stomach or directly before bedtime, when it could cause digestion issues.

The second option is saturation (or loading) phase, when you use 20-25 g of creatine per day during the first 7 days and then you continue with the maintenance phase of 5 g of creatine per day.

When it comes to the total time period of supplementation, personally I have a good experience with using creatine in 8-12-week cycles and then (based on personal needs) discontinue for 4-12 weeks. Even if long-term use of creatine does not have any known side effects, you might likely stop to notice its effects that much, and you can save its potential for the time when you will really need it again for your strength and volume phase!

Conclusion

Based on what we know we can consider creatine the strongest legal supplement without any known side effects for improvement of muscle mass and strength.

According to AIS (Australian Institue of Sport) that ranks supplements based on efficiency into 4 subcategories, creatine is ranked in the highest A group.

New research also hints that creatine has positive effects on cognitive functions and treatment of some neurological diseases.