Creatine Supplements
When you think of taking creatine supplements for bodybuilding, it is natural to sweat on which one to choose, keeping various factors in mind. So if you are drowning in confusion, this article will help you decide better, and by the time you are done reading, you will probably have a choice in mind. But before we get to our list of top three creatine supplements, let’s quickly look into the technicalities.
What is creatine?
Creatine is an ingenious origin of vitality present within the human body to assist energy flow into the cells, especially the muscles. It consists of amino acids such as glycine, L-methionine, and L-arginine and contributes 1% of human blood.
Most of the creatine supply takes place through a carnivorous diet where the liver and kidney are the partial suppliers, with 1.5-2% stored for the functioning of the organs. Nearly 95% of it is accumulated in the skeletal muscle and 5% in the brain and released through physical exercise.
You can naturally source high creatine via fish, red meat, milk, or other seafood by consuming 1-2 grams of it in a day to increase production in your muscles. Apart from gaining attractive and strong muscles, there is evidence that creatine also helps prevent specific health hazards like sclerosis, skin senescent, muscle diseases, and more.
Why use creatine supplements?
You may wonder if creatine is naturally produced through the human body or diet, why do you require to consume creatine supplements separately? According to studies, athletes or bodybuilders taking intense training need 5-10 grams of creatine daily to maintain their progress.
Since the body or diet cannot produce such an amount of creatine at one go, creatine supplements play a vital role. It acts as a tonic for bodybuilders/athletes to boost performance, increase muscle gain, energy building, and stamina for training or assist the body when it dries out of creatine.
The creatine supplements are usually taken by males as studies highlighted that most women consuming creatine supplements fail to see muscle gain or strength compared to men. Athletes or bodybuilders associated with sports like hockey, football, wrestling, and bodybuilding generally consume creatine supplements.
Also, creatine supplements become helpful to reduce such health complications for people whose bodies cannot produce enough creatine due to particular health conditions and require 10-30 grams of creatine daily. Hence, it is unquestionable that creatine supplements are necessary.
Benefits of creatine supplements
We are aware that creatine supplements help in enhancing athletic performance. But we don’t know how? So let’s get more specific along with other benefits.
Boost performance
The human cells consist of a common type of energy known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which helps function and energize the muscles.
But ATP gets quickly exhausted when the exercise becomes intense, and that’s why creatine supplements raise the accumulation of phosphocreatine and allows the body to manufacture additional ATP energy for better performance.
Repairs damage
The effect of creatine supplements has shown tremendous results for athletes/bodybuilders as it speeds up the recuperation procedure after an injury.
It also helps avoid muscle damage and shows signs of anti-inflammatory effect, which reduces muscle cramps or muscle tightness. Creatine supplements proved to be effective even in the healing process for various injuries, including the brain.
Growth in body mass
When there is an increase in creatine content, it causes the muscles to retain water, leading to water retention and increasing body mass. Also, since creatine supplements help enhance your performance during a workout, it simultaneously soothes the muscle in building more body mass.
Besides all the above, creatine supplements also add quality performance with high speed, tolerance, and fat-free mass. The supplements also positively impact neurological diseases such as depression, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, muscular dystrophy, and more.
Overall, studies have shown that consumption of creatine supplements lead to 70% of positive outcome while 30% showed average effect with no adverse effects.
Top 3 creatine supplements
Coming to the exciting part is our list of the topmost three creatine supplements. So what are we waiting for? Let’s dive in!
#1 Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Monohydrate Powder
The Micronized Creatine contains 5 grams of 100% pure creatine monohydrate, which aid in reprocessing ATP to increase muscle gain, power, tolerance, and restoration.
The product is unflavoured, which can be mixed with water or any beverage, and has high absorbency to make the best use of each dose. The supplement comes in various servings starting from 30-400 per pack and costs $17-$56 accordingly. Initially, take 20-25g for 4-5days and 5-7g after.
#2 Muscle Tech Platinum Creatine Powder
The Platinum Creatine Powder provides you with the medically investigated micronized creatine to boost the ATP to level up your anaerobic energy for an intense workout. It comes with a single ingredient of 100% pure creatine monohydrate, which is HPLC-tested.
The supplement works well for the ketogenic diet and showcases excellent results in muscle building and recovery. The product is flavorless and costs $21.17 with 80 servings. During the loading phase, take 1×4 scoops daily and during the maintenance phase, take 1×2 scoops daily.
BulkSupplements’- Creatine Monohydrate(Micronized)
BulkSupplements consist of the organic compound creatine monohydrate, which quickly dissolves to gain muscle mass, weight gain, improves anaerobic strength, and assists in better functioning of the brain and analytics.
The supplement is vegan friendly with no additives and easily mixed with juices, smoothies, and more. The product comes in various sizes, from 0.17 ounce-2.2 pound per pack, and costs $16-137 accordingly. Consume 2500mg-5000mg daily.
These supplements are available for purchase on their respective websites as well as other online retail stores. But before making any decision, it is advisable to discuss with your physician to avoid any misfortune.
Conclusion
Creatine has been one of the most important and extensively studied dietary supplements since 1993. It has become the go-to supplement for any bodybuilder, even vegetarians.
Also, make sure you do your research as supplements work differently for every individual. Now that you are a creatine pro, it’s time for some creatine supplement shopping.
