CON-CRĒT Concentrated Creatine Blog

There’s a common misconception among women regarding the benefits of taking creatine.  Most women, when they hear the word “creatine” associate it with gaining muscle mass in the form of “big, bulky muscles” which women typically are not looking to obtain.  As a matter of fact, women may even purposely avoid taking this multi-beneficial sports supplement due to this preconceived notion or rationale.  Women who work out are looking to acquire lean muscle tissue, lose or maintain weight, increase speed or strength, but they do not want to look or feel bulky and bloated (which is a common complaint of creatine users).  What they don’t realize though, is that by supplementing with the right creatine (a creatine hydrochloride such as CON-CRET), they can actually develop muscle strength and stamina, and become a fat-burning machine, naturally and safely without any side effects.  Many women have found that although hesitant at first to try it, once they were supplementing daily with a creatine, they gained more energy, muscle stamina and more intense muscle-contraction in their work-outs that continued to offer fat-burning benefits for hours later throughout the day. 

Still though, if this does not convince you as a woman to give it a try, then maybe if you look further at what creatine is and the additional health benefits it can provide, you may reconsider this natural wonder supplement.  Creatine is an organic compound both produced by the body and found in our diet, primarily in red meats (beef, lamb, pork) and in fish.  The human body produces some creatine – about 50% of what we require each day.  Most of us do not get the additional 50% of creatine that the body needs through our daily diet, especially vegetarians for obvious reasons (many who tend to also be women).  Therefore a creatine supplement would be most favorable, offering the extra required 50% that is missing from a diet rich in animal proteins. 

Why do we need creatine? The main function of creatine is to provide our muscles with more energy (although studies have also revealed gains in memory and intelligence of those who have consistently taken creatine).  To understand the increased energy function better, if you want your muscles to contract so that you can lift a weight or bend your legs and push off the ground at high intensity such as in a sprint, you need to expend ATP.  ATP is essentially designed to give us a quick burst of energy.  Every athlete can easily explain the importance of this.  When your muscles contract, ATP is broken down to ADP and a phosphate molecule with the help of the enzyme ATPase. This reaction creates the desired end product — energy to allow your muscles to move and contract.  However, within our muscles is only a limited supply of ATP (3-10 seconds).  If you spend all of your ATP without replenishing it, your muscles won’t be able to continually contract, and you will fatigue.  Supplementing with creatine helps recharge the levels of ATP faster and helps the body to work harder for a longer period of time, which means more reps in weight training and more or longer sprints.  Ultimately you can build more muscle and burn more fat without tiring quickly.  In addition to the increased energy and endurance, supplementing with creatine offers acceleration of muscle recovery, therefore people feel less soreness post workout, and are able to have a positive, enthusiastic attitude for heading back to the gym the next day.

The question still remains though; will a woman gain muscle mass similar to men? The main function of creatine is to provide our muscles with more energy, and therefore our bodies will adapt to the greater stress we put on our muscles, and inevitably growth will occur through protein synthesis.  Women must understand though that they are physiologically made up differently than man, and have smaller cross-sectional muscle fibers than their male counterparts.  Therefore, women will experience strength gains and endurance in their more explosive work-outs from taking creatine, but will most likely not receive the same massive “pump” as experienced in men.  Keep in mind that more muscle also keeps metabolic rate high and burns fat.  For women looking to loose weight from their work-out and weight training routine, creatine can actually help keep weight down by increasing muscle.  This is great news for the woman athlete, or exercise fanatic looking to improve her overall work-out performance, muscle tone and increased strength and speed while also looking to maintain a lean physique.  Of course, diet and daily intake is a factor in gaining muscle mass.  Creatine can be an excellent supplement for increasing mass (as it has been for many men), but only if you are eating for mass.  Women who take creatine should also be consuming a well-balanced diet, including low-fat proteins, which will provide the necessary amino acids that, with the help of creatine will aid in muscle recovery and repair.  In fact, creatine is vital in functional energy for bone, tissue and joint injuries.

There are still some known side effects that may also be a deterrent for women, the biggest one being “bloat” and water retention.  One woman reported gaining up to 5 extra pounds in water weight while taking creatine.  Most creatines, such as creatine monohydrate, have been known to cause side effects, such as stomach cramps, bloating, water retention, diarrhea, and GI stress, due to their requirement to take large amounts of the supplement in the loading phase.  Because of these large amounts taken upfront, people are encouraged to cycle-off after 1-2 weeks to give their stomachs a break from the negative side effects.  However, with CON-CRET’s pure, concentrated creatine, there’s no loading phase required and no need to cycle-off.  CON-CRET is the only creatine dosed by body weight, which is extremely appealing to women.  Due to CON-CRET’s unique micro-dosing, where only ¼ tsp (or one capsule) of creatine is needed per 100 lbs of body weight, there’s no need for those large amounts upfront, and therefore no side effects such as gastric distress.  CON-CRET is also available in a convenient capsule form for women, who may not want to be bothered with mixing a powder in a drink. 

A study conducted at The University of Nebraska Medical Center showed convincing evidence of a remarkable improvement in plasma uptake and bioavailability (at least 60% more soluble) in CON-CRET, compared to creatine monohydrate and all other popular forms.  Due to CON-CRET’s pure, concentrated creatine and its incredible solubility, only small amounts are required for superior results.  CON-CRET offers women who are pregnant or breastfeeding a healthy sports supplement that’s proven to be pure and safe, whereas other creatines such as creatine monohydrate products may contain hidden stimulants or additives.  CON-CRET offers the perfect solution for women who are looking for an improvement in their overall work-out performance, stamina, and lean muscle growth and strength.  So what’s stopping you from giving it a try?