6 Reasons Why You Should Be Taking Creatine

by Liam O'Regan on March 30, 2022

Are you trying to get a few more reps in your workouts?

Are you trying to increase your strength and performance?


Creatine is one of the most researched, proven and safest performance enhancing supplements on the market and can help you achieve many different goals!


What is Creatine?

  • Creatine is a natural compound of amino acids (methionine, glycine, and arginine) that occur naturally in your body.
  • It is created in the kidneys, liver, and pancreas and then mostly found in skeletal muscle, and some in the brain.
  • Humans typically create 1g a day, and obtain 1g from food (meats), supplementing with 3-5g is recommended for optimal performance.
  • Creatine is a legal dietary supplement that is not banned by MLB, NFL, NBA or NCAA. It is an amino acid that boosts lean muscle mass and strength.


What does Creatine do?

  • Increases energy production
  • Improves exercise/performance power
  • Improves exercise/performance endurance
  • Increases lean muscle mass
  • Reduces recovery time between sets and workouts
  • Improves brain function (increases dopamine production, decreases risk of brain diseases) [1]

The Internationals Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) stated that "creatine monohydrate is the most effective ergogenic nutritional supplement currently available to athletes with the intent of increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass during training." [1]


Examples of sport events that may be enhanced by creatine supplementation

Increased PCr (Phosphocreatine (found in vertebral muscles))
 • Track sprints: 60–200 m
 • Swim sprints: 50 m
 • Pursuit cycling
Increased PCr Resynthesis
 • Basketball
 • Field hockey
 • America Football
 • Ice hockey
 • Lacrosse
 • Volleyball
Reduced Muscle Acidosis
 • Downhill skiing
 • Water Sports (e.g., Rowing, Canoe, Kayak, Stand-Up Paddling)
 • Swim events: 100, 200 m
 • Track events: 400, 800 m
 • Combat Sports (e.g., MMA, Wrestling, Boxing, etc.)
Oxidative Metabolism
 • Basketball
 • Soccer
 • Team handball
 • Tennis
 • Volleyball
 • Interval Training in Endurance Athletes
Increased Body Mass/Muscle Mass
 • American Football
 • Bodybuilding
 • Combat Sports (e.g., MMA, Wrestling, Boxing, etc.)
 • Powerlifting
 • Rugby
 • Track/Field events (Shot put; javelin; discus; hammer throw)
 • Olympic Weightlifting

[2]


Creatine can Increase Recovery from Exercise/Sport  

  • Creatine has been proven to decrease recovery time in between workouts and even exercise sets.
  • Cooke and associates evaluated the effects of creatine supplementation on muscle force recovery and muscle damage following intense exercise. They reported that "participants supplemented with creatine had significantly greater isokinetic (+10%) and isometric (+21%) knee extension strength during recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage." [3]
  • Santos and coworkers evaluated the effects of creatine loading in experienced marathon runners prior to performing a 30 km race on inflammatory markers and muscle soreness. The researchers reported that creatine loading attenuated the changes in CK (−19%), prostaglandin E2 (−61%), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha (−34%) and abolished the increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) compared to controls. [4]

Creatine Helps When Exercising in the Sun

  • Creatine helps your body retain water, which allows your body to stay hydrated longer.
  • Creatine supplementation (with or without glycerol) may serve as an effective nutritional hyper-hydration strategy for athletes engaged in intense exercise in hot and humid environments thereby reducing risk to heat related-illness [5]

How to Supplement with Creatine

  • On average, an adult that eats a normal diet consumes 1g of creatine through food, mainly meat.
  • Most adults could benefit from supplementing with Creatine Monohydrate to increase their daily intake.
  • Creatine Monohydrate is the most common form of creatine used for supplementation
    • Take it any time of the day, as long as it’s in your system you are reaping the benefits
    • 2-5g a day is the recommended dosage for supplementation
    • Included in Forty Steps AMP
      • 2g included per scoop (1-2 scoops per serving)
      • Take before or during your workout

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Sources

[1] Kreider, R. B., Kalman, D. S., Antonio, J., Ziegenfuss, T. N., Wildman, R., Collins, R., Candow, D. G., Kleiner, S. M., Almada, A. L., & Lopez, H. L. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z

[2] Williams MH. Facts and fallacies of purported ergogenic amino acid supplements. Clin Sports Med. 1999;18(3):633–649. doi: 10.1016/S0278-5919(05)70173-3. [PubMed] [CrossRef] []

[3] Cooke MB, et al. Creatine supplementation enhances muscle force recovery after eccentrically-induced muscle damage in healthy individuals. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2009;6:13. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-6-13. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] []

[4] Santos RV, et al. The effect of creatine supplementation upon inflammatory and muscle soreness markers after a 30 km race. Life Sci. 2004;75(16):1917–1924. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2003.11.036. [PubMed] [CrossRef] []

[5] Buford TW, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: creatine supplementation and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2007;4:6. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-4-6. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] []

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