To date, creatine is one of the most well-known components of sports nutrition. As with all drugs, creatine initially has a very cautious attitude, but it is hardly possible to find a person who would have started taking a reception and did not notice its effects. However, it is not necessary to doubt the effectiveness of such a substance, since it is produced by the body and participates in internal metabolic processes. Consider how to use creatine and what benefits it gives.
Principle of action of creatine
Creatine is a special chemical compound that plays an important role in energy metabolism. It is thanks to him that ATP molecules are formed in sufficient quantity. Creatine accumulates musculature up to 1.5 g per kilogram of weight for an average person, and for a heavyweight athlete can be increased. In other words, even if you are far from sports, creatine is still in your body, it engages in a complex reaction that turns the energy coming into the body from carbohydrates into energy that we use for movement (ATP).
Despite the fact that the body produces creatine alone, this is not enough at a time when a person is too intensely engaged in sports. At these moments, a sports supplement comes to the rescue, which, if properly applied, can increase the amount of energy and improve athlete results by as much as 20%. First of all, this applies to those sports in which you need a sharp return: running for short distances, power sports, etc.
Creatine: route of administration and dose
Strangely enough, the only true way of using creatine has not been determined so far. Currently, specialists have developed three basic schemes, each of which is quite effective. It should be noted that at the present time in addition to pure creatine monohydrate, there are many variations of this substance. If you choose one of them - read the instructions on the package, because many questions, including how long to take creatine, can have their own specific answers.
If you take creatine monohydrate, then there are three options for reception:
- Method with loading. First, you need to load the body with creatine, taking 5 grams four times a day for a week. After that, another 6 weeks are taken 2-3 grams once a day. Then a break of 2-5 weeks is mandatory, and the course continues.
- Method without loading. In this case, you simply take 3-5 grams of creatine once a day for 1-6 months, after which you take a break for 1-2 months and continue. Perhaps, this is the most sparing and correct reception of creatine.
- The way "download - rest". According to this scheme, you need to take creatine for 5 weeks 4 times a day for a week, and then give yourself a week rest . Cycles repeat.
Do not forget that any course of taking creatine must certainly alternate with rest. In addition, it is worth considering that taking a dose of more than 20 grams per day did not give any additional results, so it is not recommended to exceed these dosages.
The question of when to take creatine is also left open at the moment and you can find out,
How to cook creatine?
Creatine is unstable and rapidly degraded in liquid form, so it is usually released as a powder. The resulting cocktail should be drunk immediately after cooking or, at least, within the next thirty minutes.
Traditionally, creatine is bred in juice or water, sometimes together with a protein or a gainer, which, as a rule, have a positive effect on the assimilation of creatine. In nutrition when taking creatine it is necessary to include carbohydrates, they will enhance the production of energy.