What is it and where did it come from?
When it comes to performance there are typically two sides that make up the whole picture. There is a training portion where we put in the work at IPC, sweating, yelling and occasionally puking. While it may seem grim this is typically the side of performance training that is more enjoyable. The other side, which does not get the attention it deserves, is performance nutrition. Since fueling for performance is such a large topic it may be better to narrow it down to a small factor like supplementation, which may be very helpful to most that are unaware of its benefits.
The supplement that comes to the top of everyones mind when considering performance values is usually creatine, and this is for good reason. Of all the possible pills and powders that have been rumored to improve performance, creatine has been by far the most tested and critiqued legal supplement. This only makes sense considering how long it has been around and used by both athletes and non athletes looking to improve aspects of their training.
Before we get into what it is and why it’s worth talking about, let’s get a brief history on the supplement. It was first discovered in 1832 by a chemist named Michel Eugène Chevreul by isolating the skeletal muscle of animals. Little was known about the compound until the 1920s when scientists found that it was stored in muscle as creatine phosphate and is highly involved in the process of producing alot of energy in a short period of time. This gave rise to the idea that supplementing creatine might benefit high intensity exercise and therefore improve performance. This theory was put into the spotlight in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when athletes had publicly confirmed their use of creatine and their performance results had shown. Today it is one of, if not the, most researched performance supplement, with hundreds of studies backing its use for improving strength, power, and muscle mass as well as its translation into lifting, sprinting and jumping.
If you are curious about what some of these studies are saying, a link will be included at the bottom of this blog to a study that collected data from multiple other studies supporting creatine efficacy.
From a personal standpoint I have had many conversations with athletes and folks that just want the most out of their training about the use of this particular supplement. There is rarely a situation in which I would not recommend the use, such as if the individual has extremely weak kidneys or they are wanting to reduce their water weight for a certain sport, but even then the drawbacks are minimal. Honestly the worst that can happen is nothing, meaning no change to any performance metric, and in that case simply stop supplementing.
Do i need to be supplementing it into my diet
Typically the go to response to supplementation would be to try your best to provide your body nutrients through the whole foods included in your diet, this applies to creatine as well. Since creatine is absorbed by our muscles it makes sense that we can include it in our diet from protein sources like red meat, poultry and fish.
Addressing concerns about supplementing creatine
Even though it has been established that this compound has been heavily tested and proven to provide physical benefits, there are always some that can’t completely trusts a supplement. To provide some relief let’s address some of the popular concerns about creatine.
Kidney damage
Some time during its rise to popularity, there have been some misconceptions that creatine use could possibly impair kidney/renal function. This theory can likely be attributed to a singular case study from 1998, in which a young male with pre existing kidney disease had begun supplementing creatine and found that his kidneys were able to filter less of the supplement over time. However, since this case study experimental and controlled research trials have substantially increased and disproven any notions of kidney impairment with supplementation.
Water retention or bloating
The myth of creatine producing water retention likely stems from studies examining the early effects of the supplement. It is true that total body water will increase but this is unlikely to persist over long term use. That being said, this is one theory that actually does make sense. The way this product works is by being taken up by the muscles and drawing more water into the muscle for better oxygen transport. This is ultimately a beneficial response leading to increased muscular performance and has not been found to continue in the long term.
Is creatine a steroid
While the physical performance outcomes of anabolic steroids and creatine supplementation can be similar the actual mechanisms and legal categorization are very different. By classification steroids are a schedule 3 controlled substance regulated by the FDA. Creatine fits well within the statutes set by the dietary supplement health and education act of 1994. On top of that creatine has a completely different chemical structure than steroids.
Types of creatine
If anyone out there has done some digging into creatine and gotten confused by which one they should be supplementing into their diet, you are not alone. There are essentially 6 types of creatine supplement; creatine ethyl ester, creatine hydrochloride, creatine magnesium chelate, buffered creatine monohydrate, liquid creatine, and creatine monohydrate. Let’s not make this complicated, creatine monohydrate has been the most researched and been shown to have the most benefits, the only decision that could be made is if you want to supplement the powder or liquid form.
Here are some example of what creatine can help with
- Muscle mass
- Power
- Speed
- Strength
- Cognitive
How to start taking it?
Now that we have established creatines’ credibility for performance, let’s talk about how we start taking the supplement. It’s recommended for anyone new to the product to start with a loading phase, this consists of taking 20-25 grams per day for the first 5-7 days of supplementation. Follow the loading phase with a maintenance phase of about 5 grams for as long as you wish to continue using the product.
What’s interesting about the loading phase is that the team originally studying it wanted to wrap up the research before the end of the year, so they had participants take large doses to see results and found that the uptake was a lot faster in a shorter period of time. Looking back it’s likely that you would get the same long term results regardless of a loading phase. A case when this might be applicable would be if an athlete wanted to maximize the results of creatine in a short period of time adopting the loading phase may be beneficial.
Takeaways
What you put into your body is completely up to you, after all your body is your responsibility. Given the information provided you can now make an informed decision to supplement your diet with creatine for its performance benefits. Hopefully if you were on the fence or concerned about the effects of creatine you are no longer left with any lingering questions.
If this type of blog has interested you, keep a close eye on upcoming news from IPC on performance nutrition information and webinars.
Meta analysis on creatine: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10180745/
