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By Sean Cassidy
What is it?
Creatine is an amino acid that occurs naturally in the body and:
Creatine has an integral role in energy metabolism as a substrate for the formation of ATP (the only source of fuel that muscles can directly use) during intense exercise. It has been demonstrated, that an increase in this energy source is advantageous for athletes who rely on this energy system. It has been shown, that the intramuscular stores of creatine can be increased by ingesting creatine (creatine monohydrate) (Volek & Kraemer, 1996, p.200).
An analogy can be made between the loading of creatine in the diet, and the practice of carbohydrate loading. The objective of carbohydrate loading is to increase the amount of glycogen within the muscles. This delays the depletion of carbohydrates and improves the performance of athletes affected by low levels of glycogen (endurance events and late stages of team sports). Creatine supplementation involves a similar idea, except creatine intake is increased to improve creatine storage instead of carbohydrates to increase glycogen storage (Volek & Kraemer, 1996, p.209).
Use of Creatine Monohydrate to Improve Sporting Performance
In various studies, creatine supplementation has been reported to:
The performance improvements for short sprints and the ability to perform multiple sprints is probably due to an increased initial store of PCr for the first and each subsequent sprint, which is assisted by accelerated PCr repletion during the recovery periods (Dawson et al., 1994, p.61). The increase in muscular strength would probably be as a result of the increase in muscular size and also athletes performing at greater intensities during training.
Creatine supplementation has been utilised extensively by elite athletes since prior to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Athletes from Track and Field, Rugby League, Powerlifting and Weightlifting have all reported performance benefits while supplementing creatine in their diet.
A majority of the research on creatine supplementation has focussed on its benefits for high intensity, short duration activities such as repeated sprint ability and short bouts of maximal activity. Recently creatine supplementation has been shown to dramatically increase muscular size and strength (Wilson, 1996, p.8). Balsom et al. (1992) proposed that the increase in body mass may be due in part to an increase in total body water content. However, they also suggested that part of the increase in mass may be due to an increase in the diameter of muscle fibers (Volek & Kraemer, 1996, p.206). Balsom et al. (1992) postulated that the increased volume of water within the muscle cells may act as a stimulus for protein synthesis (increased muscle mass) (Volek & Kraemer, 1996, p.206). This adaptation may be a more permanent adaptation than water retention, resulting in long term gains in lean body mass if training is continued.
Loading
Creatine monohydrate comes in a powder form.
Typical usage patterns vary widely, however, the most popular appear to be:
(Wilson, 1996, p.8)
Interestingly, a 5g dose of creatine is equivalent to the creatine content of 1.1 kg of fresh uncooked meat (Harris et al., 1992, p.367).
Some athletes experience diarrhoea, nausea and perhaps cramping in the loading phase. In my experience if athletes experience these side effects they are only of a minimal discomfort and are short lived.
Although creatine supplementation is initially expensive (1 kilogram will last 5 - 9 months) the benefits for performance far outweigh the initial outlay. Like anything else the benefits gained vary from individual to individual, with athletes with the lowest initial levels of creatine reporting the best results (generally vegetarians) (Balsom et al., 1994, p.274).