How to Pick the Best Creatine Product ?

Pure Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine is one of the most tried-and-true supplements for muscle building. It doesn't claim to have any crazy "miracle" effects, but many people find that it truly works for helping them get the most of their workouts and build more muscle. Here are a few tips on how to pick the best creatine product.

1. Go For Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine monohydrate is the original form of creatine, the best creatine, and the one on which most studies have been done. It is has been proven time and again to help cause in increase in the production of ATP (energy) in muscles, and to allow lifters to take their muscle-building sets a little farther.

The other main competitor of creatine monohydrate is called creatine ethyl ester. While it certainly has good properties, it is not nearly as time-tested and proven as monohydrate, and it tastes like absolute garbage. If you've ever tried to just take some with water, you'll know what I mean - it is possibly the most bitter substance I have ever tasted.

2. Pick A Reputable Company

There are probably thousands of different supplement companies, large and small, but if you want the best creatine, go with a company with an established reputation. Such companies include Biotest, Higher Power, and EAS.

Some of the less reputable companies have the potential to give you impure creatine and straight-up scam products. I mean, creatine is a white powder - it's not that hard to fake!

3. Avoid Products With Fantastic Claims

Certain companies market supplements that claim to be the best creatine product, but they overhype them to the point that you know something fishy is up. Sometimes you'll see products that are basically just creatine combined with a sugar drink priced at TEN TIMES the price of plain creatine or more.

These types of products are often marketed in nice little packages or even drinkable cans, premixed. They also make outrageous claims as to the effectiveness of the product, or even about creatine in general.

One thing you have to understand is that while creatine is a great, proven supplement, it is not a miracle powder, and it is not the "secret" or "key" to finally putting on lots of muscle. If a company tries to tell you differently, they are lying to you.

4. Only Buy What Is Dirt Cheap

Creatine is one of those products that just does not have to be expensive. The best creatine is going to be one that is pure creatine monohydrate, and that is around 10 cents per serving. Don't waste your money on anything more expensive, as it will literally do nothing more for you.

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Creatine Who Should Use It?

Creatine is the most popular sports supplement in the world. It has been scientifically proven to increase energy, muscle size and strength. Supplementing with creatine gives you more instant energy (to push out those last few reps in the gym), acts as a buffer to lactic acid, increases muscle volume (users report weight gains of up to 6lbs in 2 weeks) and enhances protein synthesis. Creatine is an awesome supplement for bodybuilders, strength athletes and anyone who wants to increase size, strength or speed!

Creatine has benefits that relate to numerous kinds of people. In this article I will talk about who may gain from taking creatine.

People Who Want To Get Bigger
Many scrawny men want to add muscle to their frame. Creatine can help in doing this. Using creatine draws water into the muscle cells, increasing the size of muscles. It also enhances the repair rate of cells, so if you are exercising you can add muscle faster. Using creatine will enhance your size in the short and long term.

Do You Want To Get Stronger?
Using creatine increases your power in brief time period, high intensity activities. This means you can exercise harder. You will be able to move extra weight and perform more reps. More intense exercise means additional stimulus for muscle growth. Creatine also enhances the action of repair cells called satellite cells. This speeds up muscle repair, and enhances the rate of muscle growth.

Would You like To Be Faster, And More Explosive? 
Many individuals observe feeling extra explosive after starting on creatine. This is great for athletes in numerous different sports. That extra speed can give you an edge, allowing you to out jump, kick, swing, throw, sprint, or lift, your competition. It is tough to think of a sport where more explosiveness isn't desirable.

Would You Like More Endurance?
For some time, people believed that creatine was just useful in sports that required brief, intense periods of action. There is now evidence that it also has benefits for endurance athletes. A study with runners found considerable improvement in 300 meter and 1000 meter interval times after using creatine.

One trouble with using creatine is weight gain due to water retention. Employing the traditional loading method (20 g per day for 5 days) can result in an increase of 2-5 lb in the first week. For sports where each pound matters such as running and cycling, this weight gain can have a signficant impact on performance. However, using modest quantities of creatine (2-5 g per day) results in little to no water retention. And even these low amounts of creatine can substantially enhance performance.

There Are Few Athletes Who Don't Benefit From Creatine.

When used properly, I believe creatine can improve performance in just about any sport. I suggest buying a small container and trying it out to see if you experience its benefits. Skip the loading period and just use a small daily dose (2-5 grams). Take it one month on, one month off. Write a journal of your workouts to see if you observe enhanced performance.

Creatine The Popular Bodybuilding Supplement

Why Creatine Is Such a Popular Bodybuilding Supplement

Creatine is a naturally occurring chemical produced in the human body. It is created in the liver and kidneys from the amino acids L-arginine, L-methionine, and glycine. Skeletal muscle contains nearly 95% of all the body's supply. Though it is found in fish and meat, it is a popular supplement for athletes because once converted into phosphocreatine it is stored in the muscles and used for energy. Bodybuilders especially appreciate it because during short bursts of intense exercise, like weight lifting, phosphocreatine turns into ATP, our body's fuel.

First identified in 1832, it did not rise to popularity as a supplement until the early 1990's. Then they discovered it was safe for naturally and legally enhancing athletic performance and increasing lean muscle mass. This supplement has such mass appeal with bodybuilders and other athletes that annual sales are reportedly between $100 and $200 million.

It is also popular among professional athletes. According to published reports, 50% of professional football players and at least 25% of professional baseball players use it. It is wildly popular with bodybuilders because it stimulates muscle growth and increases muscle mass. Pro athletes like Troy Aikman, Sammy Sosa, and John Elway have publicly endorsed it as an important element of their athletic achievements.

Creatine use has increased with adolescent athletes who are anxious to increase their lean muscle mass quickly and improve their performance. Unfortunately, they are also the population most likely not to take it in the amounts supported by scientific findings. Surveys suggest that adolescents exceed both loading and maintenance dose recommendations to achieve their desired results quickly. This is worrisome because although generally safe, in high doses there can be serious side effects like kidney damage.

Professional sports, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the International Olympic Committee all permit its use. However, in 2000 the NCAA prohibited colleges and universities from distributing it or paying for it with school money. Without scientific evidence that it is harmful, they will not ban it.

Some questions do remain because not all of the clinical studies agree about the benefits of using it. However, these variations may be due to such things as carbohydrate intake, muscle fiber type, amount of physical activity, and fitness level. In fact, one study found that increasing carbohydrate intake also increased the muscle's ability to absorb phosphocreatine.

Touted by professional athletes and sports enthusiasts from around the world, this supplement has been a rising star for nearly twenty years. Some may have more questions but for others the verdict is clearly in. Creatine is a winner by a knockout.