Everything you need to know about Creatine

Creatine monohydrate (or for short, simply Creatine) is one of the most popular supplements used by bodybuilders. It is extensively used by athletes both amateur and professional, bodybuilders, even casual fitness buffs. It's even in some soft drinks! But what is Creatine, exactly?

Creatine is a natural substance found in your body made up of three basic amino acids, Arginine, Glycine and Methionine. It's located in your muscle tissues where it plays the important role of giving energy to your muscles. As for "technical talk", Creatine is an ergogen.

"Creatine is a what?" Follow me here. Put simply, ergogens boost your ability to do work - and Creatine delivers in that respect. Creatine helps make ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is basically the best possible source of energy for your muscles. ATP serves the purpose of making the proteins which compose your muscles contract. Further, when your muscles are at work (doing something like lifting weights), ATP breaks down into ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and energy is released. Keep in mind this all happens in a matter of seconds.

So how does your body replenish this breakdown of ATP? You might have guessed it by now -- it's by Creatine! Creatine is a type of reserve for ATP... basically the more creatine you have the more ATP you'll have -- it's that simple. And the more ATP you have the more endurance you'll have -- which is basically why so many bodybuilders and athletes use this substance.

What are some other sources of creatine? Other than the nutritional supplements sold at health food stores and specialty shops catering to bodybuilders, there are two other sources of creatine. One is the many popular soft drinks containing this metabolite (I don't actually recommend this - these drinks usually contain large amounts of sugar and other things you don't want along with your creatine).

The other good source of creatine is red meat. A large serving of red meat (make sure it's lean meat if you're bodybuilding) contains about a gram of creatine. All in all though, a creatine supplement is more efficient.

The other benefits of creatine are a higher threshold of fatigue and the promotion of muscle tissue building! Creatine is a supplement which as far as is known thus far is totally safe and really does perform as advertised - a rarity in this age of fitness and bodybuilding products making all manner of claims as to their results, only to fail to deliver as often as not.

Article by: CalebLee | Total views: 10 | Word Count: 411

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About the author: Caleb Lee knows a lot about building muscle. His website will teach you how to build muscle fast.