Guide to Using Creatine for a Better Body

Science has proven it. Athletic and fitness professionals endorse it. The nutritional supplement's billion-dollar industry survives on it. Yes, creatine is the number one health industry product for a reason: it's been shown time and again to improve physical performance and enhance lean muscle mass. Because of its popularity, store shelves are loaded with countless types of creatine, and there are more brands out there (and ways to ingest it) than you can shake a barbell at. Its overwhelming evolution aside, exercising without taking creatine is like buying a new car with no way to get gas - you just won't get the most for your effort.

So, what's the story on creatine? How and why does it work? What's the best kind, and when should you take it? Keep reading to find out the proven answers to these questions, and more. These are the creatine facts you can't afford to be without... the facts to help you start creatine your perfect body.

POWDER PACKED: HOW CREATINE WORKS
The energy you use during short-duration, high-intensity exercise comes almost exclusively from the breakdown of phosphocreatine. Regular, store-bought creatine is the precursor to phosphocreatine. So, the more creatine you have in your body, the more efficiently your muscles can resynthesize phosphocreatine, and the better you can workout.

Enough of the lab-coat talk. Here it is in simple terms: your body is a furnace, and when it comes to intense exercise (like weight training), creatine is the fuel. By giving the furnace adequate fuel to burn, the flames - your muscles - will grow leaner and stronger. Take it from the experts, "studies have shown ergogenic effects of using creatine supplementation on muscular strength and power. In addition, creatine supplementation significantly increases body mass with increased fat-free mass."

You don't need to be a bodybuilder or professional athlete to benefit from creatine. Anyone hoping to look better, feel better, and exercise harder should consider it. It'll help you recover faster after workouts, and it'll give more energy during workouts. That means you can lift heavier, run further, and exercise more often... all this, plus the fact that creatine helps your muscles build more efficiently, means you can get the lean body you've been searching for.

To get these great benefits, though, you have to increase your body's basal creatine levels, and that means ingesting it. Here the facts you need to know to make creatine supplements work for you.

FANCY... BUT FLAWED

FACT #1: Creatine serums may be fancy and more expensive, but the old-school powder version still works best.

Creatine serums are the supplement industry's wrinkle-resistant slacks - the new, advanced version that, although enticing, just doesn't work. Manufacturers of creatine serum claim that the liquid is instantaneously absorbed and that it requires no loading phase. Both of these claims are false, and worse, creatine serum may be absolutely useless for your muscles.

In the serum version, the creatine has been converted to a liquid state, and therein lies the problem. When creatine is liquefied, studies show that a huge portion of the creatine chemical mutates into what is called creatinine. In fact, most estimates suggest that a dose of creatine serum is only half (or less) creatine... the rest is just wasted creatinine. And, as you've probably guessed, creatinine does absolutely nothing for your body.

If you're going to spend your money on a nice, big filet mignon, you want it to come out of the kitchen sizzling and juicy, not melted down and poured into a cup... right? Treat your creatine the same. Go with what works, the powder, not the new fad that has more gimmicks than benefits.

THINK AHEAD

FACT #2: Most people suggest that you take creatine after you exercise, but studies show that taking it before is much more effective.

You've probably read that a post-exercise meal is perhaps the most important meal of the day. This is because your muscles are thirsty for energy to rebuild for about an hour after you workout. So, it seems to make sense that creatine should be ingested after you work out too... right? Wrong. Keep up with your post workout meals, but to get the most from your creatine, take it before you exercise. Here's why...

On average, it takes about an hour for creatine powder to be completely absorbed into your muscles. If you take your creatine fifteen minutes after you workout, it won't even make it into your muscles until you're an hour-and-a-half out of the gym! By that time, not only are your muscles less likely to need the creatine, but you've also missed the moment when creatine is most important - during your workout.

Remember, creatine is necessary to maximize the efficiency of your muscle's energy, so you can lift more, go longer, and therefore get in better shape. When do your muscles use most of that energy? During the workouts.

You want your body to be loaded with creatine by the time you do that first rep or run that first mile, only then will you get to take full advantage of it. This means you should ingest your creatine about an hour before you exercise, that way it'll be locked and loaded deep within you muscles, and ready to work when you are.

ONE IS A LONELY NUMBER

FACT #3: All the recent rage has been to take your creatine with grape juice, but there are better things to mix your creatine with.

You could have all the knowledge and answers when it comes to training, but if you never made it to the gym, you'd never make any progress... right? The same goes for creatine. Taking it is not enough; you also have to make sure it gets to your muscles. What you mix your creatine with is how you accomplish this.

Basically, making sure the creatine gets to your muscle cells is dependent on the availability of insulin in your bloodstream. The more insulin, the more easily creatine is transported; and the best way to increase your insulin levels is by mixing high glycemic carbs with your creatine - this means the more "sugary" the carb, the more full your muscles will be of creatine.

The best carb you can get for this - one of the highest on the glycemic index - is maltodextrin. Some creatine supplements - like Muscle Tech's Cell Tech, BioChem's Power Vol ATP, and Dynamatize Powertech - already come with this simple sugar mixed in. The truth is, these types of creatine supplements are the best.

MORE IS NOT BETTER

FACT #4: Although some creatine manufactures suggest taking enormous dosages - especially during the loading phase - the truth is, you can build a better body and save money by taking much less.

Creatine supplementation is usually divided into two phases: loading and maintenance. The loading phase is designed to fill your muscles with creatine stores in just a few days, and is accomplished with higher doses. The maintenance phase is what it says: the phase during which you take only enough creatine to "maintain" your stores. Because every body is different, however, following the guidelines on the manufacturer's bottle is a waste of time and money.

A recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research proves that - contrary to the suggested doses on most creatine bottles - "5g of creatine, 4 times daily for the first 5 days (i.e., loading dose) and then...between 2 and 5 grams of creatine daily (i.e., maintenance dose)" was more than enough to gain adequate levels of creatine in the muscles. Compare that to most manufacturers' doses that suggest you take twice as much!

But, you're not exactly like everyone else, so here's a general guide for the doses you should take. And, remember, most creatine powders are not 100% creatine. Be sure to check the labels of the brand you use to find out how many grams of creatine are actually in each serving.