Benefits of Creatine Monohydrate for Gym Goers

Creatine is one of the most common supplements used by people who work out. The proposed benefits are building more lean muscle mass, recycling ATP, and increasing muscular performance in short bursts, all while being safe and affordable. But what do we know for sure happens when you take creatine?

The most studies form of creatine is creatine monohydrate, and this is a supplement I've been very interested in for a long time. An early study in 1999 caught my attention when I was in high school. They took a group of 19 folks, 10 who used creatine, and 9 who took a placebo. The creatine group did a loading phase of 25g per day for the first week, then 5g per day for the remained of the study which was 12 weeks long, along with strength training.

After 12 weeks, the body mass and fat free mass were both higher in the creatine group. Their bench press and squat maxes were also notably higher than the placebo group.

Many other studies since then have been done and found more or less the same thing. It's also strongly believed the creatine helps increase the ATP synthesis rate.

Let's think of this another way. Creatine is directly helping people build muscle simply by taking it, but it's also indirectly helping you build muscle by increasing your energy in short bursts, meaning you will be able to lift heavier than if you weren't taking it.

Then with that, creatine could help you indirectly lose fat. If we took someone who weighs 200 pounds with 25% bodyfat and someone who weighs 200 pounds with 10% bodyfat, the 10% individual would probably have a higher metabolic rate, meaning the burn more calories at rest due to the muscle mass.

Well, if creatine helps you build more muscle, and having more muscles burns more energy, then using creatine can actually help you build muscle, and lose fat! And the best part is that you can buy a 2-year supply for like $20 on amazon from Bulk Supplements.