Is Creatine the Best Muscle Building Supplement?

Anyone looking for the best muscle building supplement does well to give creatine careful consideration. It is not without reason that creatine is one of the most popular of all supplements for bulking up, because tens of thousands of users have found that it greatly accelerates muscle gains over exercise alone.

A 90-day study led by Dr. Jeff Volek and his research team at the Pennsylvania State University found that weight lifters who took creatine gained twice as much muscle mass as those who took a placebo capsule. Users of creatine also gained more upper and lower body strength.

Creatine works by incorporating water into muscle tissue. As the muscle becomes super-hydrated, it can do more work with less energy expenditure. The energy the muscle does not have to spend on work it can focus on protein synthesis, growing even more with less effort.

Even if creatine is unquestionably the best muscle building supplement, however, there are certain conditions that are necessary for it to work. Since part of the action of creatine is to incorporate water into muscle tissue, creatine is only effective if the user is well dehydrated. Taking a creatine supplement when you are dehydrated by doing a heavy workout in high heat won’t build healthy muscle.

Another consideration for the use of this best muscle building supplement is that it has a relatively short half-life in the human bloodstream. About 2 hours after you take a dose of creatine, half of the creatine that has not been absorbed by the muscles is eliminated in the urine. After about 4 hours, there will be almost no creatine in circulation, so it will be time for another dose.

About the only time the use of creatine can cause any serious side effects is it taken while the user is dehydrated. The creatine will incorporate water into muscle that simply isn’t available from the plasma in the bloodstream, and the result can be intense muscle cramps.

The solution to these muscle cramps is very simple: Drink water. When you drink water. The cramps will go away.

Sometimes swimmers overlook the fact that working out in warm water can cause dehydration. Swimmers, more than other group of athletes, are subject to cramping after taking creatine, but the solution is the same for them. About 3% of users may develop diarrhea after taking creatine, but this side effect usually only occurs after the first dose and goes away after repeated use.

Another quality of creatine that makes it the best muscle building supplement is it usefulness in protecting against certain chronic diseases. Just as creatine enhances the muscle-building benefits of resistance exercise, it also enhances the cholesterol-lowering benefits of resistance exercise. Creatine has also been used in the treat of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, and congestive heart failure.

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