Performance Enhancers : Creatine
...pecifically the creatine phosphate (CP). CP is able to react with the ADP in your body and turn "useless" ADP back into the "super useful" energy source - ATP. More ATP in your body means more fuel for your muscles, causing this to let you work out harder, and even for longer periods. The second step in this four step process is how Creatine helps you increase the volume of yours muscles. Creatine does this by pulling water from your body into your muscles. This can only be achieved if you are doing intense working out while using Creatine. This is one of the most important steps in the Creatine sequence. The third step is how creatine helps slow lactic acid build-up in your muscles. Lactic acid is a waste product of muscle-energy exertion. So when an athlete is pitching in a baseball game and he/she is in he/she’s last inning of pitching in the game muscles become sore and very tired. This is because of lactic acid buildup in the muscles used. A natural way of getting rid of lactic acid is cardiovascular workouts after a game or match. This fact has been scientifically proved. So basically during this step the creatine bonds with a hydrogen ion while helps “buffer” the lactic acid buildup. The fourth and final step to the process in creatine’s adaption to the body is how it may enhance protein synthesis. There is some information which proves that if Creatine is being used properly then if will help enhance protein synthesis by putting the body in more of an anabolic state, which is how Creatine helps build muscle mass. Like some other performance enhancing drugs, Creatine has many different forms which all can get the same results, just in a different way. You can get Creatine in a powder, liquid or serum, pills, gum, and effervescent powder form. The powder form is definitely the most popular of all the different types. For the powder form you simply mix the powder up in some juice and drink it down. While this is the most popular and cheapest form of creatine supplementation, it does have some problems. For starters many people find creatine powder has a very gritty, dry taste. This can be helped by grounding the powder to make it much more fine. This would dissolve better in a liquid. The other major problem is that creatine powder is not very effective when you look at how it absorbs into the body and its muscles. The powder passes through the stomach and the acids in the stomach start to digest the creatine. This is not what you want, since you want the creatine to reach your muscles. Studies have shown that as much as 40-50% of the creatine powder you take is lost before it ever reaches your muscles. Finally the powder tends to absorb more water - which can lead to an upset stomach and possible dehydration. If you drink enough water - these should not be major problems. All that being said - creatine powders still remain the most popular form for supplements. Some of the main reasons are that it is relatively cheap and easy to make creatine powder. Most of the studies done were with the powder, so it is well researched. You can also take creatine in liquid or serum form. In theory there are many advantages to liquid creatine over powder. It is a more effective delivery mechanism so much more of the creatine is absorbed. This means you can take less creatine in liquid form and still get the same, exact results. In addition, you don not need to leave as much time between when you take your creatine and when you can start working out. The major down side to liquid creatine is it is very hard to make. If creatine is just mixed in a liquid it starts to breakdown into a waste product (creatinine) after about 20 minutes. So, to make liquid creatine effective the creatine must be stabilized. If the creatine is stabilized it will not break down into a waste product - and it will remain as creatine monohydrate. Now in the many different ways of taking Creatine into the body, there are different versions of such. This will be overlooked later. In these many forms of Creatine, the safety of taking this drug must be questioned. Just like any other performance enhancing drug, too much of it can be dangerous. This is why it is very important to take proper dosages of Cre...