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One of the most widely used and known sports  suplements on the market, creatine helps you make incredible gains in developing a strong, muscular physique. All workout gurus and athletes look for the latest and greatest way to get results faster, so if one person starts proclaiming creatine supplements as the “magical” bodybuildingingredient, chances are others will begin to follow suit.

But do creatine supplements live up to their reputation? Learning how creatine supplements work within the body can help you make an informed decision as to whether or not your training plan could benefit from its use.
Creatine and exerciseCreatine plays a key role in helping the body generate ATP, which is the muscular source of fuel during high-intensity activities. The faster you regenerate your ATP stores, the sooner you will be able to perform muscular work again.

Since ATP is only depleted during high-intensity non-glycolytic work, creatine supplements are only going to be beneficial for this type of exercise. Therefore, your average endurance athlete is not going to see any advantages whatsoever from supplementing their diet with creatine. Those participating in anaerobic activities, such as weight lifting, will derive some benefit.

Creatine is naturally made by the body by three amino acids -- glycine, arginine and methionine -- and it’s also available in the foods you eat, primarily in meat products and fish.   

Once formed, creatine plays a key role in resynthesizing the muscular fuel source ATP. Without ATP, you would not be able to effectively produce the muscular strength and power to perform activities like weight lifting. As you can see, creatine is a vital component in making your  workouts  successful.

Creatine works to synthesize ATP by splitting into two phosphate molecules, which are then bonded to an ADP molecule. This combination forms new ATP and gets used by the muscles. Once the creatine phosphate stores are depleted in the body, high-intensity exercise will cease since ADP will not become phosphorylated.

So, if you can find a way to increase the creatine stores in your body, you will ensure that there is more to regenerate this ATP with.
Creatine supplementsThe typical protocol for creatine supplements involves a “loading” phase, which is followed by a maintenance period.

During the loading phase, you are essentially saturating the muscles with creatine by taking 20 to 30 grams per day, mixed with non-acidic juice or water. Grape juice seems to work well for this purpose and also supplies some additional carbohydrates, which can increase the uptake of creatine into the muscle cell.







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