Creatine: What is it, What it does, and Is it good for you?

If you have ever lent thoughts to fitness or trained at a gym, you must have come across people discussing the muscle-building benefits of creatine. Maybe you are thinking of including supplements in your diet to reap the benefits for yourself too. After all, these are supposed to build up muscles and improve strength right?

But it's important to educate yourself about the benefits, risks, functioning, and working of these popular supplements before starting to consume them.

And here’s MSF bridging the gap for you!

Before you jump right in with a diet plan that includes Creatine as a supplement, I have answered some important questions for you! Brush up your knowledge on what Creatine is, how it works, what it does, and more to make the call for yourself!

What is Creatine?

Creatine is an amino acid that is present in food like meat and chicken. However, you cannot get enough creatine through diet to get your desired results. Hence, we need to supplement with creatine.

What is its function?

Creatine helps in building the body muscles, power, and strength which is very essential to have a fit and healthy body. It also helps with fatigue. This means that if you consume creatine, you will be able to do more reps while working out. Creatine is a great supplement for sports performance, active workouts and increased energy levels.

How does it help with my muscle building and fat loss goals?

Consuming creatine has various positive effects on the body.

It aides in muscle growth
Increase your strength and power
Boosts your muscle endurance
Reduces fatigue, lethargy, etc related to workouts
It holds water in the cells and gives the appearance of muscle fullness

As the muscle mass and strength improve due to Creatine, it also results in fat loss. Thus synchronously matching with your fat loss and physique goals.

Which is the best form of creatine?

The best form of creatine is creatine monohydrate. It has the best safety record for consumption. It exerts a variety of positive effects on health and exercise performance, including increased power, strength, and muscle mass. It is also one of the cheapest forms of creatine available in the market and the easiest to find.

When do I need to consume creatine?

There is no best time to take creatine. Timing is completely irrelevant.

It does not matter if you take it in the morning or evening, pre-workout or post-workout, or even before bed. Consistency in the timing of consumption every day is also not important.

However, it is super important to be consistent though. Make sure you take it EVERY SINGLE DAY without fail i.e. even on your rest days.

How much creatine do I need to take?

Creatine works in minimal but regular consumption. It is recommended to take 3 to 5 gms of creatine per day. This will saturate the body muscles 100 percent.

It is important to note that it takes about 30 days of consuming 3-5 gms of creatine per day for it to start working. One may not see any immediate effects on consumption, but over a period of time, Creatine shows effects.

You also don’t necessarily need to cycle or load up on creatine - as long as you take it consistently every single day!

How often do I need to take creatine?

Creatine only works when the muscles are saturated. One must take creatine every single day to saturate their muscles fully. Taking it every single day will keep the creatine levels high to work on the body and reap effective results.

Alternatively, there is a faster way to saturate the muscles for the creatine to show results earlier. This is called the loading phase. This is when a person takes 20 gms of creatine per day split up into four even dosages. This saturates the body muscles in 7-10 days. After that, go back to the maintenance phase of 3-5 gms per day.

Do I need to cycle its intake?

Cycling the intake of creatine is pointless because creatine works best when taken every day in a specific quantity. It takes some amount of time for the body to completely purge creatine.

It is the consistency in small amounts which brings about a result. Small phases may not show the impact in a short time.

Here’s one thing that all experts will agree on – Supplements alone don’t create the magic. Your diet is important. Your training is important.

In the end, it all comes down to creating a healthy lifestyle around the right kind of exercise and food to achieve your fitness goals. With the right diet plan and exercise routine, Creatine will improve the quality of your Fitness Training.

Remember: The Hard Work rests with you!