You might be asking yourself why Creatine is so popular, and maybe you don’t know what creatine is to know how it benefits you and your lifestyle? Many people don’t know that creatine is a substance found naturally in your muscle cells called Creatine Phosphate. Creatine Phosphate helps makes a substance called ATP, (Adenosine Triphosphate). ATP provides the energy for muscle contraction used for heavy lifting and or high intensity training.
But what does all this mean and how does Creatine benefit you?
Creatine is so popular because studies have shown to increase lean muscle mass, strength, and exercise performance.
The body produces some of the creatine it uses, and it comes from protein-rich foods such as meat or fish. It would be difficult to get all the creatine that you would need just from meat as you would have to consume a lot of meat. Hence why dietary creatine supplements such as a powder or capsule-form can really help tremendously as a supplement source to heighten the amount of creatine you can get into your blood stream.
When did Creatine become popular?
Back in the 1970’s scientists discovered that Creatine taken in a supplement form can help your performance, but it didn’t really get catch on and get popular until the 1990’s among athletes. In the 1990’s it became a popular supplement in high school and college and professional sports. Sports such as track & field athletics, gymnastics, football and soccer.
Studies have shown that Creatine is greatly beneficial and gives athletes a muscularity boost, energy boost during short bursts of high intensity activities such as weightlifting or sprinting. Every athlete wants an edge in everything they do, and studies have shown taking Creatine daily will give you that slight aesthetic or performance edge.
Creatine is popular because
studies have shown to increase
lean muscle mass, strength,
and exercise performance.
Why are people both taking creatine as a dietary supplement? Because the more lean muscle mass you have the more it drives and speeds the rate of your metabolism. And we all want to have a fast metabolism whether you want to be lean or mean.
How does Creatine help you gain muscle?
Creatine helps you gain muscle the following ways:
- Increases cell hydration by pulling more water in your muscle cells which causes a cell volumization effect which can play a role in muscle growth
- Increasing satellite cell signaling which helps to aid muscle growth and muscle repair
- It helps to boost your workload which enables you train longer and lift heavier which is a key factor in increasing lean muscle mass growth
- It reduces protein breakdown and the result of that is an increase in muscle mass because it decreases muscle breakdown
Don’t forget to stay hydrated
Because creatine pulls water in your muscle cells it’s important to stay hydrated and drink lots of water, so you don’t get dehydrated. Vegetarians typically have low creatine stores in their body because they don’t eat enough meat (or any at all) and that’s the main natural dietary source. So, Vegetarians need a daily creatine supplement more so than a non-vegetarian to increase their creatine stores in their body so they can produce more ATP to allow them to increase their strength, energy and lean muscle growth when exercising.
Bottom line is that Creatine is one of the safest and most effective dietary supplements you can take to stay in shape. And if your goal is to maximize your fitness goals you will never go wrong with incorporating some form of creatine supplement into your daily workout routine.
At Ethical, we appreciate that you’re here to commit and we’re here to help make it easy for you! If you’re struggling to exercise or need a plan to commit to, we have fitness and nutrition programs designed to target your whole body, meet you where you’re at right now and level up with you as your fitness becomes more advanced. Various programs from our popular 21-day Get Fit to the Ultimate Twelve Weeks Home Workout and Diet Plan will ensure you’re getting the most out of your workouts. And trust us – there’s no magic pill to do it for you.
Take Care,
Obi Obadike
