Many athletes take various supplements and dietary supplements, which have a positive effect on the process of gaining muscle mass, accelerate the burning of adipose tissue, increase endurance . One of these supplements is creatine, about what it is for and when it's time to start its reception, and we'll talk today.
Why do I need creatine in sports?
First let's see what this substance is. So, creatine enters our body together with food of animal origin. Unfortunately, the rhythm of the life of a modern person is often such that we simply do not have time to eat properly, do not eat the right amount of meat, fish, vegetables and fruits, so people often lack creatine. If you are faced with this situation, the normalization of the level of the content of this substance in the body will help the intake of a food supplement. But this is only one of the situations when you need to take creatine, there are other moments in which it is worth doing it. To understand what other reasons may be for taking supplements, let's figure out why creatine is needed in bodybuilding and what effect one can expect after increasing its amount in the body.
It has now been proven that supplementation affects:
- Acceleration of metabolic processes. The higher the metabolic rate, the sooner the muscle mass will be accumulated and the force will be burned.
- The speed of achieving the result. Creatine is a source of additional energy and makes it possible to increase the time of exercise or intensity, so if you are more active in cardio or strength training, you will be able to see the result of your work much more quickly.
Thus, if you want to achieve the effect of playing sports in the shortest possible time, then without the use of this supplement will be extremely difficult.
Now let's talk, whether creatine is necessary to girls or it is possible to do without it. There is no unequivocal answer to this question, it all depends on the purposes of training, as well as on the characteristics of nutrition. If a woman wants to quickly gain muscle mass and at the same time does not eat at least 200 grams of red meat a day, it is better to begin taking the supplement. In the event that the goal of sports is weight loss, and not in the shortest possible time, but rather measured, you can do without buying creatine.
How to take creatine?
If you decide to accept this supplement, you can choose one of 2 schemes. In the first case, 3-5 days you take 2-5 grams of creatine at least 2-4 times a day, and then start drinking it in recommended amounts (1-5 g once a day). When applying the second scheme, you immediately begin to use the supplement 1-5 grams 1 time per day. The duration of the course in both cases will be 2 months, after which it is necessary to take a break for 3-4 weeks.
Having chosen the first scheme of reception, you will feel the result after 1 week, the endurance will be added, the training will take place more intensively. When applying the second plan for supplementation, you will see an explicit result only after a month. When choosing a scheme, be guided by the trainer's advice, doctor's recommendations and the characteristics of your body, only in this way you will be able to choose the best option.
Many athletes ask whether creatine should be taken on rest days, coaches unanimously state that it is impossible to interrupt the course of reception, no matter what scheme you decide to drink the supplement. If you started taking creatine, it is recommended to drink the course to the end, otherwise you will not see the maximum effect. Refuse to take supplements can and should only be if the body begins to react poorly to creatine, although such cases are extremely rare.