King Creatine: Your Expert Guide To The Sovereign Muscle-Building Supplement

For a long time, confusion surrounded creatine monohydrate like football players on a fumble. Everyone wanted a piece of the ball, but everybody had questions: is creatine safe and effective, or is it dangerous and over-hyped?

I'm Layne Norton, a natural pro bodybuilder and Ph.D. in Nutritional Science. With my background, I can cut through the bro-science and bring you the true science.

Let's clear the field and get to the core.

Creatine monohydrate is one of the most heavily researched and widely debated supplements available. Ever. It's also one of the most effective. Learn what it is, how it works, and why you should be using it.

Crea-what?

Let's start at the top. Creatine mono isn't some super-chemical created by a bodybuilding Tony Stark. It's actually an organic acid found naturally in food, and it exists in significant quantities in meats like beef and fish.

Creatine is nitrogenous, which means it's nitrogen-containing, and is made from a combination of 3 amino acids (the building blocks of protein): glycine, methionine and arginine.

In humans, approximately 95% of creatine is stored in skeletal muscle where it exists as creatine phosphate and can donate its phosphate molecule during certain metabolic processes. We'll discuss the importance of this in greater detail soon.

Building muscle takes a lot of work, and to get the most out of the gym you've got to put your best effort into it.

Build Those Boulders with Creatine Monohydrate! Crea-who?

If you're wondering whether you can benefit from creatine supplementation, consider your fitness goals. Creatine is primarily for people who are looking to maximize muscle, strength, and/or performance gains.

So, if you're trying to get bigger, stronger, and maybe even lift longer and heavier, creatine can help. If you're not trying to do any of these things, go take a nap and come back when you're ready.

The Energizer Bunny

Creatine supports these goals because it can be used as a source of energy for anaerobic work, which includes high-intensity weight training and cardio work like sprinting.

Supplementing with creatine has been shown to significantly increase the concentration of creatine in muscle. Remember that, in muscle, creatine is found as creatine phosphate and can act as a phosphate donor. Our body's energy currency - a molecule called Adenosine Tri Phosphate, or ATP - happens to use phosphate to power certain cellular processes.

During exercise (and other activity), ATP is broken down to Adenosine Di-Phosphate (ADP), where it loses one of its phosphate molecules. The loss of this phosphate essentially provides the energy to power your cells during any activity, including exercise.

As your ATP stores become depleted, performance can suffer. Creatine phosphate can help restore ATP by donating its phosphate to ADP to reform ATP. In this way, creatine can help improve performance and has also been shown to increase strength and power.

Size Matters

While all this performance and strength stuff sounds great, I'm sure you may be wondering what creatine will actually do for your body.

Creatine has also been shown to increase lean body mass, mostly through increasing the fluid content of muscle cells. While this may seem like an 'artificial' increase in lean body mass, keep in mind that muscle cells that are better hydrated are also more anabolic.

Additionally, creatine has been shown to increase the activity of muscle satellite cells, which may increase the overall capacity for long-term muscle growth.

So Many Options!

Every few years, it seems like the latest and greatest form of creatine comes out. Creatine monohydrate is the most common, and the most studied, form of creatine on the planet. It has proven its worth in research time and time again.

Nonetheless, many other forms of creatine exist - too many to name here - but none have shown the consistent results of creatine monohydrate. Fortunately for you, creatine mono is generally the least expensive form of creatine available, so it's good for the muscle and the wallet.

How Much, Man?

There are two traditional ways of taking creatine monohydrate. You can take 3-5g per day (depending upon muscle mass), which will saturate your intramuscular creatine stores in a few weeks. Or, you can load creatine at 15-25g for the first 4-5 days, which will saturate the muscle cells more rapidly.

While loading saturates the muscle cells faster, the downside is that you do not assimilate the majority of that creatine, so those on a budget may consider it wasteful.

Timing Is …

Many people consume creatine post-workout since it's been speculated that taking creatine after training will lead to better uptake of creatine into the muscle.

In all likelihood, however, this is splitting hairs. Consistent supplementation of creatine at 3-5g per day has been shown to saturate muscle cells, mostly regardless of time consumed. Therefore, I suggest consuming your creatine whenever it's most convenient.

Pack Your Stack

Creatine has been shown to work synergistically with both beta-alanine and HMB, so users who want to maximize creatine's benefits should consider supplementing with those products, as well.

Of course, your usual supplement foundation of a multivitamin and protein - whey and/or casein - still applies.

What To Choose

As a rule, I recommend purchasing supplements whose maker can provide lab analysis of their products. This ensures that what's on the label is actually in the bottle.

Based on current research, it appears that creatine monohydrate is the most effective creatine product available on the market today. If you are going to spring a few extra dollars for anything, then go for a micronized form of creatine monohydrate to improve mix-ability.

Other Sides To The Story?

When creatine was introduced to the market as a supplement in the early 90s, many anecdotal and theoretical side effects were brought up as potential concerns - including kidney and liver problems, dehydration and cramping. Thus far, short- and long-term research studies have demonstrated no side effects of recommended creatine use on kidney, liver and/or the heart. Additionally, creatine has not been shown to increase the incidence of cramping.

There is some evidence that creatine can increase dihydrotestosterone levels. Some have theorized that this may cause an increase in acne, but this has yet to be demonstrated.

Finally, strong anecdotal evidence exists that some users may experience gastrointestinal distress when loading creatine. This is likely caused by excess creatine intake exceeding the GI tract's capacity to absorb it, which could lead to gas and cramping due to the unabsorbed creatine.

If you experience GI distress during creatine loading, try reducing your creatine intake until you reach a comfortable level of intake. Alternatively, skip loading entirely.

Finally, if your physician has advised you against using creatine, then you should avoid it.

That's A Wrap

The bottom line is that creatine is one of the most effective and affordable supplements on the market today. I suggest it for anyone looking to improve muscle mass, strength and performance.

Forget the fumble of misinformation. Now that you know the facts, you can grab the ball and claim your creatine.

About The AuthorCompetitive Bodybuilder Layne Norton teaches bodybuilding tips and tricks for success

Muscle Energizer And Strength Builder!

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Whey To Transform: Your Expert Guide To The Premier Muscle-Building Protein

Whey protein powder is as close as it gets to a "required supplement" for anyone looking to build muscle, gain a performance edge, drop body fat, or enhance overall health and wellness.

Whey does everything for you, it seems, short of unracking the barbell and bagging that gorgeous cardio-bunny's phone number.

So how does it work? How much is enough? And should you be using it?

Yes, is the simple answer to the third question. The first two, however, will require some explaining. So let's unscrew the cap on everyone's favorite supplement and take a closer look at the wonders of whey protein.

What The Whey?

Whey itself is extremely common. In fact, you've probably been using whey protein since childhood. Don't worry, nobody spiked your Cheerios. Whey is actually one of the two proteins found in cow's milk. Casein accounts for about 80 percent of milk protein, and whey accounts for the remaining 20 percent.

Ever opened a yogurt container and found a clear liquid floating on top? Yup, that's whey. Don't go slurping yogurt-juice by the spoonful. This whey isn't the protein you've heard so much about. Not yet, anyway.

To make whey protein powder, the good stuff, whey first needs to be extracted from milk. Ever eaten a chunk of cheddar? Cheese manufacturers do the same thing as supplement makers: they separate whey from milk solids. In fact, long before anyone understood the benefits of whey, cheese manufacturers considered it useless and dumped tons down the drain.

Once whey has been extracted and isolated, it's filtered to remove fat and carbohydrates. What's left is the protein you love. Then, the more the whey is filtered, the purer the protein becomes. As filtering and protein content increase, carbs and fat decrease. While this sounds simple, I wouldn't start pouring yogurt run-off into your Brita. The processing required to make whey protein is a bit more advanced.

The Wonderful Types of Whey

There are basically three major types of whey protein. Each reflects a different degree of filtering and processing. From the least processed to the most processed, the types of whey are: whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, and whey protein hydrolysate.

Whey protein concentrate goes through minimal processing. As a result, it's often much cheaper than other forms of whey, making it a good choice for those on a budget.

Whey protein concentrate is made with gentle filtration processes known as micro- and ultrafiltration. These processes create a supplement that is around 70-80 percent protein, with the remainder being carbs and fat.

Whey protein is a fast-absorbing source of protein to support lean muscle! Great for anytime of the day - especially post-workout!

Get some Whey Protein today

These processes also retain most of whey's beneficial peptide fractions, which are small particles of protein that perform various functions in the body. For example, whey peptides provide helpful antioxidant benefits and support immune function.

Whey protein isolate (WPI) is more protein-packed than concentrate. Isolate is made with longer filtration times or additional types of processing, such as cross-flow microfiltration or ion-exchange chromatography. These fancy methods basically make a more protein-packed powder.

Because of the additional processing, whey protein isolate often has protein concentrations higher than 95%. Isolate is thus a great choice for dieters because of its extremely low carb and fat content. It's also perfect for pre- and post-workout since it's digested and absorbed quickly.

Whey Isolate is a low fat, low carb, fast-absorbing source of protein. Great as a post-workout to help build muscle or lose fat!

Get some Whey Isolate today

Whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) is the most highly processed of all the whey proteins. Therefore, it's often the most expensive. It's produced by putting whey protein through a process called hydrolysis, which breaks longer whey protein chains into smaller peptide fragments.

Hydrolysis basically pre-digests whey protein, which makes the protein easier for the body to utilize. Because it's broken down and pre-digested, WPH is digested and absorbed even faster than whey protein isolate, making it the ideal protein around your workouts.

Hydro whey is digested and absorbed faster than standard whey protein! It's perfect for after a workout and mixes smoothly!

Get some Hydrolyzed Whey Protein today

Of course, many protein manufacturers combine two or even all three of these whey proteins into one powder so you benefit from each form. When buying a new protein powder, check the ingredient label before dropping dollars and going all the whey.

Whey Sweet Research Round-Up

Regardless of which form you use, pure or blended, concentrate or hydrolyzed, whey protein is undoubtedly the king of protein supplements. There's a hulking body of research that suggests whey is better at stimulating muscle protein synthesis - the process that ultimately produces bigger and stronger muscles - than soy or casein.

Whey is a fantastic muscle-builder for several reasons. The first is its rapid rate of digestion. Whey is the fastest-digesting protein powder a man can buy. Once whey is down your gullet, its amino acids - the building blocks of all proteins - break down rapidly and are absorbed into the bloodstream. Your blood then escorts these amino acids to muscle tissue, where they can quickly ignite protein synthesis.

In 1997, French researchers published a landmark study about whey's potent ability to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. Researchers reported that when subjects consumed a whey protein drink, protein synthesis increased by almost 70 percent. However, when subjects consumed a casein protein drink, protein synthesis increased by only 30 percent. Scientists attributed this dramatic increase to whey's rapid rate of digestion.

Furthermore, whey boosts protein synthesis effectively because it's an extremely rich source of the branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine. Leucine is the real MVP in this bunch. Research suggests that it acts much like the key to your car, turning on the powerful engine of protein synthesis.

Whey protein also boosts blood flow to muscle tissue, which is another secret to its protein-synthesis power. Increased blood flow enhances the delivery of nutrients, including glucose (energy), amino acids, and oxygen. These nutrients support muscle growth and spur recovery after a workout.

Still skeptical? Danish researchers found that subjects taking a whey protein shake before and after workouts for 14 weeks increased muscle growth by more than 25 percent, while those consuming a carbohydrate-based drink saw no change in muscle mass. (Suckers.) The subjects in the whey group also increased their squat jump height, while those with the carbs made no such leap.

Sure, the Danes pitted protein against carbs, but what about protein versus protein? An Australian study reported that male bodybuilders supplementing with whey protein while following a 10-week weight-training program gained an average of 11 pounds of muscle, while those supplementing with casein protein gained barely 2 pounds. The bodybuilders taking whey also experienced greater strength gains.

Fat-Burning Fuel For A Better Life

Whey is not only a powerful muscle-builder; it can also support fat loss. In fact, a recent study from the USDA reported that men and women drinking two whey protein shakes per day for 12 weeks (without dieting or exercising!) lost 5 pounds of body fat, dropped an inch from their waists and even gained muscle. Those drinking a similar amount of soy protein, however, didn't see any positive changes in body composition.

How To Use It So You Don't Lose It

Wondering how to add this miracle powder to your diet? The two most important times to consume whey protein are 15-30 minutes before your workouts and within 30 minutes after your workouts.

Again, this goes back to whey's speedy digestion rate.

Providing a fast stream of amino acids to muscle tissue before, during, and immediately after resistance training promotes max muscle growth. Whole-food protein sources like chicken breast, eggs, fish and beef won't digest fast enough to be beneficial during these critical times.

Before weight training, take about 10-20 grams of whey protein to enhance muscle strength, increase endurance, and decrease muscle breakdown. After your workouts, go with 20-40 grams of whey to enhance muscle recovery and boost muscle protein synthesis.

You should also consider taking 20-40 grams of whey protein as soon as you roll out of bed. This will stop the muscle breakdown that occurs as a result of fasting overnight. You can also drink a 20-40 gram whey shake as a snack between meals to boost muscle growth and support fat loss.

Whey is the Way

No matter your goals, whey can help. It's one of the first supplements you should consider-if not the first-when starting a muscle-building or fat-loss program.

To get the results you want, you can't ignore training, you can't forget proper nutrition, and you can't be a cheese-maker. You can't waste your whey.

1. Optimum Gold Standard 100% Whey Optimum's Gold Standard 100% WheyTM has won the Supplement Of The Year and Protein Powder Of The Year awards for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010! Since the very beginning, Optimum Nutrition has raised the standard by which all other whey protein supplements are judged. Pick up some Gold Standard 100% Whey  2. BSN Syntha-6 Syntha-6TM is the ultra-premium protein with an ultra-premium taste. Our multi-functional protein blend utilizes multiple individual proteins, each with varying digestive rates and distinct amino acid profiles. This combination ensures active muscles are fed for hours with the most complete blend of proteins available. Pick up some Syntha-6  3. Gaspari MyoFusion The competition between companies is fierce and the drive to sell more protein by differentiating a product by any means necessary (whether it's legitimate science or not) is prevalent to say the least. MyoFusion® delivers only the highest and most legitimately bioavailable proteins in existence - hard and fast!* Pick up some MyoFusion  4. CytoSport Muscle Milk Muscle Milk® is an evolutionary muscle formula that promotes efficient fat burning, strength, lean muscle growth and fast recovery from exercise.* Designed after one of nature's most balanced foods: human mother's milk, Muscle Milk takes the guesswork out of high performance nutrition, delivering a precise blend of ultra-premium proteins, complex carbohydrates, functional fats, vitamins and minerals. Pick up some Muscle Milk  5. Optimum Platinum Hydrowhey By combining the absolute finest ingredients with a series of highly specialized processing techniques Optimum Nutrition (ON) has created its most valuable muscle building protein yet.* Pick up some Platinum Hydrowhey 
About The AuthorJim holds a doctorate in exercise physiology and has been the personal nutrition and health consultant for numerous celebrity clients...

Train Harder. Recover Faster.

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