CON-CRĒT Concentrated Creatine Blog

In late August, ABC News reported that 19 high school football players in Oregon were diagnosed with Compartment Syndrome, which involves intense pressure on blood vessels in muscles and leads to severe pain (cramping) and swelling. The 19 players all had elevated levels of the enzyme kinase (creatine kinase) which is released by muscles when they are injured, and these athletes had all just participated in a pre-season football camp. Doctors were investigating whether creatine may be the culprit in causing this condition, although none of the athletes indicated they took creatine (or any other supplement or drug). This of course would be an easy scapegoat for school officials (and possibly for inexperienced and/or negligent coaching staff) to shift the blame.

A sports supplement related site, T-Nation http://www.t-nation.com posted a number of facts in rebuttal to the accusations made, blaming Creatine as the leading cause for this condition, while also including some quotes from an expert in the field, Richard Kreider, PhD, who has researched creatine since 1993. Dr. Kreider commented:

“Isn’t it interesting how people always speculate that a supplement is the problem when they miss the obvious: overtraining in hot and humid environments? Train kids in a 115 degree room so they dehydrate during an ‘immersion camp’ where they no doubt were training excessively (raising CK levels) all day long for several days leading to more dehydration, and the problem is creatine?…It would be nice if coaches (and the media) didn’t blame their poor and potentially dangerous coaching and training methods on a supplement like creatine that research has shown to be safe and effective in a number of populations for years.”

Due to articles like this in the media, there has been a common misconception among parents and academic institutes categorizing creatine as a harmful and illegal supplement. As a result of the media’s false reporting at times, along with a mix of bad eggs (supplement companies who have been ill-willed or careless in the manufacturing and marketing of their products), parents have repeatedly been misguided about the safety and dangers of creatine. This is not a big surprise, since there is no consistent regulation of dietary supplements to this day. However, creatine is actually a safe and legal sports supplement that high school and collegiate athletes are allowed to take. According to the NCAA guidelines, an institution may provide only non-muscle-building nutritional supplements, provided the supplements do not contain banned substances. Creatine is not on the “banned” substance list, rather creatine is on the “Impermissible Supplement List”. What that means, is that institutions may not purchase/provide these supplements to student-athletes but it is permissible for them to use as long as the institution did not make the purchase.

The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), the leading professional organization in the field of sports nutrition, also responded to the accusations made in the media, stating that “It is well known that excessive exercise in hot and humid environments can promote dehydration, muscle breakdown, and result in marked elevations in muscle CK levels. In severe instances, this may lead to exertional rhabdomyolysis, particularly in athletes who have been engaged in intense exercise in hot and humid environments for several days and who become chronically dehydrated. Additionally, excessive exercise in individuals unaccustomed to heavy training bouts can promote anterior compartment swelling, pain, and pressure. It is well known that dehydration and/or heat illness can exacerbate this clinical course.”

This was the case for these 19 football players at McMinnville High School in Oregon, engaged in a several day “immersion” camp. According to press reports, the athletes began to complain about swelling in their arms after performing a series of push-up and chair dip exercises in 30-second alternating bouts of repetitions for over 20 minutes until exhaustion in a hot and humid wrestling room. Temperatures in the room were reported as high as 115-120°F. Moreover, the athletes were reported to have to start a repetition scheme over again if all of the athletes did not complete their repetition goals. Further, the athletes were not allowed to drink water during the training session. These factors all led to the dangerous medical conditions experienced by the 19 athletes.

Creatine is one of the most widely used and safest supplements known, and is essential in providing functional energy to all living cells in the body, not just muscle, but heart and brain tissue. Most people don’t realize the body can only synthesize half of daily creatine needs. Eating from natural creatine enriched foods like red meats, fresh seafood and poultry fulfills the balance, but is not always practical. A certified strength coach said, “I often tell parents, it is not that your child is over worked or over trained, it’s that the child is always under-recovered.” You don’t solve recovery with a drink and power bar, it requires a solid diet and rest, and creatine when supplemented correctly provides the body with the necessary energy when diets fail to fulfill the gap. One other critical fact is the role creatine has in assisting protein synthesis, a critical process for building muscle mass.

The primary purpose of Creatine is to recharge ATP, by donating a phosphate to the used up ADP. This splitting of ATP to ADP is what is required for cellular energy. Creatine Phosphate, which is made in the body from creatine is used to donate that phosphate to the ADP molecule, making it available for energy production once again. Therefore Creatine is most beneficial for athletes performing high-intensity workouts, while also helping with increased strength and aiding in muscle recovery.

As a matter of fact, based on research, the ISSN reported that creatine may improve the athlete’s ability to tolerate intense exercise in hot and humid environments and lessen the incidence of injury. Athletes have been using creatine on a widespread basis as a dietary supplement since the early 1990’s. No clinically significant side effects have been reported and a number of potentially beneficial medical uses are being studied. It is the opinion of the ISSN that “the suggestions of creatine having caused this incident in Oregon is inconsistent with the scientific literature and implausible.”

One problem though is that not all Creatines have efficient solubility to make the molecule bio-available. Monohydrate for years has been the most tested creatine, but it comes with some side effects, such as cramping, water retention and bloat. However a new molecule recently created is creatine hydrochloride (HCl) that has proven increased solubility and bio-availability in a smaller dose, avoiding loading phases that creatine monohydrate requires. Creatine HCl appears to be the solution for the problems facing athletes today.

With the competitive pressures that young athletes face today to stay ahead of their game, it’s only logical that High School and College athletes are going to turn to supplements to enhance their performance and gain a competitive edge. Therefore it’s paramount that teens be educated on which supplements are safe for them to take, so they do not fall for the marketing hype of individual manufacturers that taint their products to be the best, when actually they include extra ingredients, such as preservatives, stimulants, additives, binders, fillers, excipients, extenders and potentially harmful substances, to enhance the claims and results that are being advertised.

No, the supplement industry is not regulated, but there are companies who are following strict testing and safety guidelines, and are making products that are pure and have no additives or stimulants, are safe and compliant and can offer a young athlete rewarding benefits for his or her sport. So although this very unfortunate incident has occurred to these high school athletes in Oregon, it gives us an opportunity once again to help educate the marketplace on the reality of Creatine as a beneficial, safe and legal sports supplement for men and women, young and old.

Team CON-CRET member Travis Ortmayer just completed the National Strongman Competition this month, winning first place! What an amazing accomplishment! Thirteen of the strongest men competed in the U.S. National Championship on August 7 – 8, 2010 in Hot Spring, Arkansas. After a grueling two days of extremely competitive rounds of events, some of which were the Alan Tillery Car Deadlift, Truck Push Medley, the Overhead Press Medley, the Budweiser Keg and Sled Medley, Stone over the Bar, Axle Clean and Press, the Landers Harley-Davidson, and of course the Atlas Stones where Travis is known for consecutively performing his best. Due to his placement at Nationals, Travis has qualified for, and is heading to the World Championships in South Africa on Sept 12-23.

Travis had finished in third place after Day 1, but as stated in an article posted on the American Strongman Corporation’s site: Travis Ortmayer dominated the Alan Tillery Car Deadlift with 9 reps. “We added two 200 lb plates to the back of the cars, as we had seen new pro Dan Harrison crank out 18 reps with the same car a couple of weeks earlier in Connecticut,” said ASC VP Mike Johnston. “Even with the extra weight, I believe that Travis could have pulled 15 reps or better.”

Going into the final event, Travis had moved from third to first place. The last event was the Atlas Stones and in “Texas Stone Man” style Travis blistered the 5 stone series in 23.69 seconds and took the win. He broke his current national record. At the end of day two the crafty veteran Travis Ortmayer had moved from third to first taking the overall victory with 88.5 points.

Good Luck to Travis at The Worlds!!! We know you can do it!!!

To see the full article, go to: http://americanstrongman.com/articles/detail.asp?ArtID=375

You can also view a news piece on Travis from a local Arkansas station, Fox 16, by clicking on the following link:

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Competing at 202-222 lbs, natural bodybuilder Marlon Hospedales finished in third place at the NPC Team Universe Show, held in Hackensack New Jersey on July 9-10. The Team Universe is a national level show and is the NPC’s (National Physique Committee) top drug tested contest where the best natural bodybuilders in the country come to compete.  Held annually, this competition has become a beacon for “would be” professional bodybuilders, and fitness & figure competitors in search of a drug tested show. This contest has yielded some great winners who have also gone on to compete as professionals within the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding).

Bodybuilding in general takes a lot of hard work and discipline, but to focus and concentrate on natural bodybuilding requires even more discipline and determination on behalf of the bodybuilder.  Competing in this category involves a strict nutrition plan where competitors have to be very careful not to take any performance enhancement supplements that may contain banned substances, especially since drug testing is required at these top national shows. 

Although very proud of his accomplishments, Marlon does not consider himself to be a natural bodybuilding fanatic, but at the same time he is very committed to the sport.  He has been competing since 1986 when he did his first teenage show, placing first in his age group and weight bracket. (Top IFBB pro Darren Charles competed at that same show, which was also his very first one.) Marlon won his pro card at the 1998 NGA American Bodybuilding Championships, which qualified him to compete as a pro in the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF) and ended up winning the WNBF Mr. International in the year 2000 and then in that same year took home the WNBF World Championship title.  He was set to defend his title in 2001, when the 9/11 terrorist attack happened in NYC and the show was canceled.  It just so happens that Marlon is a police officer working in NYC and was doing tours of duty at the World Trade Center site during this time.

In 2002 Marlon repeated the win at the WNBF World Championships and became the first man in the WNBF to repeat his victory at this show.  He did not compete again until 2007 when he placed 6th in the NPC Team Universe.  He competed again in that same show in 2008 and 2009, and placed 7th both times.  Last December Marlon had surgery to correct an existing umbilical hernia.   As a result he lost a few months of training for this year’s show, forcing him to work twice as hard to get ready for the 2010 Team Universe Competition.  Due to his determination and commitment to the sport, Marlon was able to improve his physique and push himself to top level condition, which resulted in him finishing in third place, a big step up from the past few years.

Having a profession as a police officer assigned to a tactical unit can make training for bodybuilding competitions very challenging due to long days that can be grueling and exhausting with no flexibility for a regular eating and exercise routine.

“I recall getting ready for the 2010 Team Universe Competition, when 2 weeks out from the show, on a low carb diet in 90 degree temperatures, I had to do a five-story walk up to execute a felony warrant wearing gear that weighed almost 100 pounds,”  said Marlon. “Taking Con-cret has been instrumental in helping me to get through these moments, and to prepare for this show.” 

While most competitors have the luxury of eating their strict caloric meals and doing workouts at scheduled times, Marlon’s schedule has him squeezing in meals while responding to calls and working out on off hours.  This requires a great deal of discipline and planning ahead. 

“My neighbors must have wondered why my grill was going at 2:00 am on several occasions,” said Marlon.  “And I have a membership at a 24 hour gym, with many occasions where I would be at the gym at 3 or 4 a.m. to get my workout in after coming home from work.”  Marlon is also a professional stuntman and during his training for Team Universe, was also working on a new television series that will be aired on the FX Network. 

Always known in his competitions for having good conditioning and symmetry, Marlon claims he did not have as much muscle mass that he does now.  When he came over to the NPC, he felt that he needed to gain muscle and get bigger to be competitive.  As a result Marlon felt that he sacrificed his conditioning.  To help him with his nutrition plan and training, Marlon turned to IFBB Pro Rosemary Jennings and her friend Alex Ramirez.  “I never thought it was possible to get this conditioned without using cables.”  Marlon’s workout consisted of free weights only, that were very basic…but very intense and heavy.  His diet consisted of fish and vegetables. 

Ending in the top three of his class, with greats like David Coleman, who placed 1st and Shiloh Steinmetz, coming in 2^nd, Marlon felt good about his overall placement this year.  “Placing 3rd in a line up with guys like these is not something to cry over,” said Marlon.  “Of course next year I am doing the show again and I will be trying to get to the #1 spot…It will be a challenge but that’s what bodybuilding is all about.”

Marlon relies on CON-CRET to fuel his workouts and to build and maintain muscle. The police department that Marlon works for has a list of over the counter supplements that are banned for use by all members.  This list consists of a large number of common sports supplements.  However, since CON-CRET is a pure creatine HCl with absolutely no additives and stimulants, and is free of all banned substances, Marlon is able to take CON-CRET worry free.

“I used CON-CRET right up to the show and was still able to achieve excellent conditioning with zero water retention.”  I feel very lucky to have the support of a great company like ProMera Health that makes the best creatine on the planet period,” said Marlon.  “I look forward to continuing to train hard and keep improving for the 2011 competitive season.”

The six-foot, 230-pound 21 year-old athlete, John Norcott took home the Junior Nationals Title this month at The USAPL Raw Nationals in Denver, CO, on July 16-18, 2010.  Last year John (from Norton, Massachusetts) placed second in his weight class.  However this year, even after bumping up to a heavier weight class (242 lbs), he pushed past his competitors with a total of 1,531 pounds.  This total was an all-time best and new American record in the 242 lb weight class, with records also broken in the bench and deadlift.  John’s final results were:  556 lb squat, 369 lb bench press, and 606 lb deadlift.  John was actually able to get up a 584 lb squat, but missed on his 2nd and 3rd attempt.

What’s even more impressive with John’s final results was his condensed training schedule leading up to this competition.  Focused on his school work and off-season football training this past winter and spring, John only started training for the National Powerlifting Competition two months prior to the Nationals event.  Even with a shortened training schedule of strict lifting in preparation for Nationals, John believes he was still able to perform at explosive levels due to his regular conditioning for football ( including plyometrics) and his healthy protein-rich diet and supplementation routine, consisting of CON-CRET Creatine HCl pre-workout and on off-days, and Serious Mass (a protein blend) 3 times a day, 5 days a week.  As starting fullback for Angelo State University’s football team in San Angelo, TX, John has been trying hard to gain weight and get bigger.  Since coming to Angelo State, John has increased his weight from 205 lbs up to 230 lbs, with his goal weight at 235-240 lbs.  He attributes much of his increased strength, explosive lifts, and the ease of  his intensive workouts during conditioning drills to his supplementing with CON-CRET.  CON-CRET also helps John with muscle recovery.

“My lifts during training for Nationals were strong, but my hip has just been a reoccurring injury that has always been painful, affecting my squat,”  said Norcott.  “However, it never hurt enough to the point that I couldn’t go heavy,”  he continued.

John’s strength coach, Kelsey Hite, determined after the competition that John may have over trained for his squat, which may have contributed to him missing his last two.  John also feels that he may have opened too high. 

“Warming up for my squat, I could tell that I just wasn’t feeling it,” said John.  “I tried doing dynamic stretches and static stretches, but sometimes you just have bad days, and I had a bad ’squat day’ at Nationals I guess.”

John felt however, that his bench was really strong and was consistently getting stronger throughout the year.  Although he benched 369 lbs, John felt he could have even done 380 lbs if he had given it his all.  At a full 16.5 lbs behind the competition after his squat, John knew that he needed to work hard to make up ground.  After the bench press John passed his competition by 22 lbs, which gave him a 5.5 lb lead going into the deadlift.  Anyone who knows John well will tell you that he can make up a deficit with his deadlift.  And that he did! John opened up with 556 lbs, just trying to stay ahead of his competitor, who opened with 550 lbs but then jumped to 584 lbs.  Aware of his top competitor’s results, John jumped to 589 lbs himself.  His competitor then jumped to 600 lbs!  John jumped to 600 lbs as well.  John quickly noticed that his competitor had changed his lift, and then John adjusted his to 606 lbs to out-match the competition and win the title. 

A member of Team CON-CRET, John Norcott has won many powerlifting competitions over the years, including the Mass High School Championships in 2006 and 2007, the Teen Nationals in 2006 and 2007, the New England Championships in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and the RAW (no lifting suites allowed, only a lifting belt, wrist wraps, and knee sleeves) Nationals in 2008.  Last year Norcott finished first in the RAW Challenge at the 2009 Arnold Classic and second place at the Junior Nationals in Denver, CO, 2009.

With another title under his belt, John is switching gears again to focus on college ball and end his college career on top.  He has hopes and dreams of helping his team, the ASU Rams to win a NCAA National Championship this year.  John reported that the team has a great coaching staff and a lot of great players, with many seniors on the team this coming year.  So they definitely have a shot!

Please see the article entitled: “Secret Ingredients: Several new supplements may have more to offer than empty hype,” By David Barr.  CON-CRET is highlighted as a product with the secret ingredient “creatine hydrochloride” with extreme solubility and no side effects.  Read all about it!