Its popularity in the sports world is due to the fact that various clinical studies show that it’s effective for the regeneration of the energy source (ATP) of muscle fibers and, therefore, improves performance, strength, and recovery of muscle mass. This component can be found in foods such as red meat, tuna, cod, rabbit, salmon, milk, eggs, blueberries, among others.

Currently, it can be seen that many supplements are added with creatine. This makes us think that it’s vital or very important for the diet. In this blog we will take a closer look at the beneficial properties of creatine to answer the question in the title of this article.

Benefits of CREATINE

Creatine helps you train with greater intensity when doing explosive anaerobic exercises. In addition, muscle recovery times are shorter and volumization is greater by taking this supplement. There is even evidence that creatine can improve brain function.

What exercise is CREATINE used for?

Basically, creatine stores are depleted within the first few seconds of high intensity or explosive workout. The exercises that are recommended to perform are of high anaerobic intensity such as CrossFit.

These exercises require more energy in short periods of time and creatine plays a fundamental role within the energy in these periods. Cycle creatine intake is important as the reservoirs will fill up more, last longer, and recovery will be better, leading to better muscle volumization.

Enhancers of CREATINE levels in the muscle

Creatine levels can be increased by 60% by accompanying yourself with a simple carbohydrate, such as a banana, than by taking it alone. That’s, the strength, intensity and your performance in a high-intensity exercise will be increased by 60% if you consume creatine accompanied by a portion of carbohydrates.

How to take CREATINE

In the human body, there is, on average, about 160 g of creatine stored and ready to use. It turns out that about 30% is found in skeletal muscle. These are the muscles that we mainly work when we exercise.

So, in order to achieve optimal performance and take advantage of the benefits of creatine, it is necessary to increase its presence in skeletal muscle. For this, there are 2 methods.

FAST LOADING OF CREATINE: This method consists of taking 20 g of creatine daily for 5 to 7 days in a single dose. This should be accompanied by some sweet juice for better absorption.

SLOW LOADING OF CREATINE: What varies in this method is that, instead of taking the 20 g daily in a single dose, we’re going to divide it into 4 doses during the day and the same for a period of 5 to 7 days.

Now, it is important to note that creatine has to be taken in cycles. It cannot be taken permanently. Here's how to take creatine in a 1-month cycle.

Complete 4-Week CREATINE cycle

Week 1: 20 g should be taken daily. It can be fast or slow charging, whichever you prefer.

From week 2 to 4: A maintenance phase is carried out where a maximum of 5 g to 10 g of creatine is consumed per day.

After completing this cycle, you should rest for 4 weeks. All this is known as the 4 x 4 cycle, which is one of the most recommended to get more out of it.

CREATINE mixed with other supplements

Creatine is currently being incorporated into other supplement formulas. For example, there are proteins, pre-workouts, BCAAs, fat burners, among others that are mixed with creatines within their composition. All of this is so that the healing effects of the supplements are enhanced by the benefits of creatine.

So, is Creatine as good and necessary as they say?

The definitive answer is YES. It is a supplement that offers many benefits for muscle development and is also enhanced with other supplements and in turn, some of these enhance it.

To highlight its importance, it is necessary to comment that this is a mandatory supplement for every vegetarian or vegan who practices sports or is involved in the fitness world since it is obtained naturally from red meat.

If you are interested in the subject of supplements, we invite you to review other articles on our blog that talk about Glutamine y los Amino acids that make up the so called BCAA.