| Creatine and Workout |
| Creatine via Diet |
| Relationship Between Creatine and Pre Workout |
| Is Creatine Safe |
| Conclusion |
Creatine is a compound that is found in our muscle cells. Its major function is to help your muscles produce energy during heavy lifting or high-intensity exercise. Taking creatine pre workout proves to be helpful for a majority of athletes and bodybuilders. Creatine and pre-workout together are said to be very successful in enhancing muscle health.
Chemically, it has many similarities with amino acids. Many factors affect the storage of this compound in your muscles. About 95% of creatine is stored in skeletal muscles in the form of phosphocreatine. The rest of the 5% is found in your brain, kidneys, and liver.
Taking creatine before workout helps to increase the storage of phosphocreatine. This helps your body to produce more high-energy molecules. And when you will have more of these energy molecules, your body will be better at performing the exercises. Creatine and pre-workout together also lead to increased muscle mass, strength, and recovery.
Creatine and Workout
Creatine has a lot of health benefits such as improving productivity, boosting your immune system, and building muscle. It is important to note that taking creatine before workout can be more or less effective for different people. Many people have this confusion regarding whether they should take creatine before workout or after.
A study experimented with 19 male bodybuilders. They were divided into two groups. The first group was given creatine before working out and the other group was given creatine after workout.
All the bodybuilders used to train for 5-6 days a week. They consumed around 1.9g of protein/kg of body weight. Afterwards, the results showed that those who consumed creatine after workout ended up gaining more mass. Their workout performance, specifically during bench-press, increased by one rep. In comparison to those who took creatine before workout, they could perform better on the whole.
Therefore, it was concluded that men who took creatine after the session gained more lean mass. But all men did gain muscle mass, irrespective of the timing.
Some days you can also be on rest from a workout, so you might be confused whether to take creatine during those days or not. Taking creatine pre workout is common knowledge. What rattles people is whether to take it on rest days or not. There is no prohibition on its consumption on rest days. The reason is to keep the content of your muscles high and healthy.
Creatine via Diet
Several studies have come up over the years showing different results. Some studies showed how taking creatine with carbs can be effective in boosting your muscles. Some studies have shown that this method has no effect on your immunity. According to nutritionists, spreading your creatine intake is the best way to consume it. Take it either with your drinks or meal. Staying hydrated is also very important at the same time.
There isn’t much research that suggests taking creatine in the morning would be better than at night. It depends on your workout routine.
Relationship Between Creatine and Pre Workout
Creatine before workout helps muscle cells to produce more energy which ultimately makes your workout performance better. We get sufficient phosphocreatine from creatine. It promotes ATP (adenosine triphosphate) production in our body that is the sole key element used for energy and other life functions. While working out, ATP is broken down. It produces energy in our bodies and the more it is broken down, and fades up, the more it limits your capability of performing afterwards with maximum intensity.
Creatine and pre-workout or supplements can eventually increase our phosphocreatine stores. They can also produce more ATP and help your body to perform better when you work out. It is one of the most popular supplements that add mass weight to your muscle. It also supports new muscle growth in your body.
If you take creatine before workout, it will raise your levels of insulin-like growth factor 1. It controls hormones that cause an increase in your muscle mass.
Creatine supplements can also improve the water levels in your muscles which results in an increased volume of your muscle. It can also improve your energy levels and increase your performance intensity in workout sessions as we stated earlier too. It also speeds muscle growth. When we work out, we know that our muscles grow but when we take creatine before workout or creatine and pre-workout together, the speed at which our muscles grow gets increased. Creatine is known to be the most popular for being an effective supplement that increases energy levels and adds muscle mass.
Even if you take it for as short as 5–7 days, you will notice significant changes in your body and muscles and witness them growing by themselves eventually. This initial growth of muscles is due to an increase in the water content of your muscles.
And when we talk about long-term benefits, it also improves fibre levels in your muscles by boosting your workout performances.
Is Creatine Safe?
Taking creatine before a workout is safe. Taking creatine and pre-workout together is also a safe option. Creatine is beneficial for athletes like weight lifters, sports athletes, and sprinters who look for short bursts of energy and muscle strength.
Now, there can be times when creatine won’t be of help to all kinds of athletes but taking them generally, as prescribed or directed, cannot do any harm.
People who take creatine before a workout or in general might have questions about safety and side-effects. So, when you are taking this supplement orally, as directed or inappropriate doses, it is safe to take it up to 5 years. If you are taking it as a dietary supplement, it is important to choose the product wisely and go through all the instructions, guidelines, and processes of manufacturing to ensure the product’s quality.
When we talk about side-effects, there is not much to it and more research is needed. But for those who already have kidney issues from before, it will not be a good idea to take it as a supplement.
Conclusion
It has been proven several times how taking creatine pre workout can improve your performance. It helps build your muscle mass and boosts your energy levels. If you are considering including creatine in your diet, make sure you do sufficient research and go for the best and most reliable product that suits your workout needs and goals the best.
