Introduction
Creatine is a well-known dietary supplement that has gained popularity among athletes and fitness enthusiasts. It is renowned for its potential to enhance performance, strength, and overall well-being. It's important to understand the science behind creatine. How can you determine if it's working for you, especially when using a product like CON-CRĒT®?
Here we will dive into the science, benefits, and address common questions related to its usage.
The Science of Creatine
What is Creatine?
Creatine is a natural compound produced in our bodies and found in red meat and fish. It plays a crucial role in energy metabolism, particularly during short bursts of high-intensity activities. When taken as a supplement, creatine increases the body's creatine phosphate stores. This can improve performance during activities like weightlifting, sprinting, and high intensity exercise.
How Does It Work in the Body?
To understand the science behind creatine's effectiveness, it's crucial to understand its role in energy metabolism.
Creatine is stored in your muscle cells where it's converted to creatine phosphate. Your body relies on ATP (adenosine triphosphate) as its primary energy source during high-intensity activities. However, high intensity activities rapidly deplete ATP. This is where creatine phosphate comes into play.
Creatine phosphate can rapidly replenish ATP, providing a quick energy source for muscle contractions. By increasing the creatine stores in your muscles, your body is able to sustain high intensity activities. This leads to improved power, strength, and endurance during intense exercise.
In short, creatine is essentially the battery that supplies energy to every cell in your body!
Creatine Loading and Maintenance
Creatine loading is one of the many downsides to taking traditional oral creatine supplements such as creatine monohydrate. Creatine loading is the process of taking higher amounts of creatine during your initial supplementation phase.
During this period, you'll initially consume high doses of creatine (around 20 grams). A lower daily maintenance dose (around 3-5 grams) follows this. This loading phase assists in maximizing your body's creatine storage. However, some individuals choose to skip the loading phase and start with the maintenance dose because of its inconvenience.
Please note that while creatine is a powerful supplement, its effects can vary from person to person. Genetics, diet, exercise routine, and other factors can influence how quickly you'll experience the benefits.
CON-CRĒT®: Creatine Hydrochloride (HCl)
CON-CRĒT® is the original Creatine Hydrochloride (HCl). Creatine HCl is 59X more soluble than creatine monohydrate. This means that your body can more efficiently absorb and put it to use. Because of this, CON-CRĒT® leads to quicker and more noticeable benefits.
Due to its increased solubility and absorption, CON-CRĒT® does not require a loading phase. Your body is able to make use of it immediately! With CON-CRĒT® you can say goodbye to taking heaps of creatine every day.
Additionally, CON-CRĒT® utilizes Micro Dosing®. Instead of taking 5g of creatine monohydrate, you only take 0.75g of CON-CRĒT®. With CON-CRĒT® less is more - you still get the same benefits of creatine without the negative side effects.
Common Questions
How Long After Taking Creatine Will I See Results?
The timeline for experiencing results with creatine can vary from person to person. It typically depends on factors like your individual response, dosage, and the type of creatine used. With many creatines, it can be difficult to tell if creatine is working. With CON-CRĒT®'s highly soluble HCl form, you might notice effects sooner, often within a few weeks of consistent use.
What Should I Feel When Taking Creatine?
When taking creatine, the most common sensation is improved endurance and strength during workouts. Some individuals also report enhanced muscle fullness. However, creatine is not a stimulant, so you won't feel the same kind of "buzz" that you might get from caffeine.
What Does Creatine Feel Like When You First Take It?
Initially, the effects of creatine can be subtle. You likely won't immediately feel a sensation upon consumption. The changes you experience are more performance-related, such as the ability to push yourself harder during your workouts.
What Will I Notice After Taking Creatine?
As your creatine levels in your muscles increase, you may notice improved strength, endurance, and muscle fullness. Your workouts can become more productive, and you might find it easier to achieve your fitness goals. Also, you may find various cognitive benefits such as better memory, sharper focus, and improved mood.
Does Creatine Make You Puffy?
One common concern is that creatine can cause water retention, which may make you feel "puffy". This is generally due to an increase in water content within the muscles, not under the skin. This temporary effect can cause unneeded weight gain.
On the other hand, CON-CRĒT® does not cause water retention. Instead, you are able to put on lean, dense muscle mass.
Does Creatine Make You Stronger or Just Bigger?
Creatine primarily increases strength and performance. As we know, creatine can lead to increased muscle size and increased muscle strength because of improved training intensity. However, it's not a direct muscle growth supplement like protein or amino acids. The strength gains it offers can indirectly contribute to muscle growth.
Can You Get Lean on Creatine?
Yes, creatine can be a valuable supplement even if your goal is to stack on lean body mass. Creatine HCl is the choice creatine for many athletes due to its ability to stack on lean muscle mass. Creatine monohydrate can cause water retention which makes it less optimal for those looking to build a lean physique. Of course, it's important to exercise and maintain a caloric deficit to ensure you're staying lean.
What is the best Creatine?
Close to a dozen different creatine compounds are on the market today. This leaves many wondering "how do I decide what's best for me" or "how well does creatine work"? The answer comes down to one word: bioavailability. This describes how efficiently our bodies are able to put our creatine to use, and CON-CRĒT® wins by a landslide.
CON-CRĒT® is the original Creatine HCl, and it's 70X more bioavailable that creatine monohydrate*. This means that our bodies are 70X better at using Creatine HCl than creatine monohydrate. Additionally, China manufactures most of the world's creatine where there are few quality checks. CON-CRĒT® proudly manufactures its creatine in the USA, which makes it the highest quality in the world.
Additionally, CON-CRĒT® provides all the benefits of creatine without the negative side effects of monohydrate. Common side effects from traditional creatine are muscle cramping, water retention, and GI distress. Because of its increased solubility, CON-CRĒT® avoids these issues and delivers real, concrete benefits.
Conclusion
Creatine is one of the most extensively studied supplements in the world. Scientific evidence supports that creatine can provide numerous benefits for athletic performance and overall wellness. With so many types of creatine, CON-CRĒT® stands out among the rest. This is due to its incredible solubility and bioavailability.
Science is an integral part of our brand. Our pursuit of science is something that sets us apart from our competitors. By now, we hope this blog has shed light on the science behind creatine as a compound. Hopefully we've answered some of your common questions regarding its use.
*Studies on file