Creatine Supplementation

Creatine monohydrate has been a popular supplement among the weightlifting world for years now. Since the mid 1990's, creatine supplementation has shown a remarkable upward swing in not only purchases but individual usage as well. What is interesting is that, during this same period, no other fitness supplement has seen such remarkable growth. This leads many to believe that creatine is the best working fitness supplement available on the market these days. Funnily enough, this has turned out to be completely true, for once.

With the exception of whey protein, creatine supplementation has consistently created incredible results in the users. What creatine does, in a nutshell, is help to decrease the amount of time needed between workouts for the muscles to rest. Anybody who knows a bit about weightlifting knows that actual muscle growth takes place when the muscles are recovering from the workout. This is when the bits that have been broken down build themselves up larger and stronger in order to be able to perform the same task with more ease next time. What creatine supplementation does is allow these muscle fibers to rebuild more quickly so that more weight is able to be lifted during the next workout.

In addition, creatine supplementation helps muscles to look larger while at rest. This effect is mainly cosmetic, and is accomplished because creatine takes water from the body and places it in the muscles, allowing them to bulge and look more bloated. This effect can be a bad thing for some people, because there are those who like their muscles to look more "cut" and lean. Essentially, some people prefer definition over girth, and in those instances creatine may not be ideal.

When taking creatine, it is important to increase your water uptake. This is because, as previously mentioned, creatine takes water from your body and uses it to inflate your muscles superficially. One must make sure to drink plenty of water so that dehydration doesn't become an issue. On the same note, creatine must never be abused. Anything more than five grams a day, or twenty grams during a loading phase, may be too much and can cause undue stress on the liver. Always follow the instructions on the label to make sure that you are using creatine properly. With those guidelines, you should begin to notice your strength and size increasing in almost no time. That being said, go out there and let creatine make you the man you always wanted to be.