Creatine supplementation research on recovery
August 18, 2009 by Ryan Irwin · 2 Comments
Creatine is arguably one of the most well know supplements in sports nutrition. It is a naturally occurring substance in the body made from consuming meat and fish (hence vegetarians can get a very big effect from creatine). In the body, creatine is converted to creatine phosphate which is used as a source of energy and increases ATP availability.
By increasing the amount of energy your muscles have, this translates into increased strength. A second component of creatine is that when the muscle fibers increase the amount of creatine stored within, they increase in size due to hydration of these fibers. A HUGE myth is that creatine causes water retention under the skin. This is completely false, but it DOES increases the amount of fluid inside muscle bellies, which translates into larger muscles.
There are a host of other benefits but one that is highlighted here are the improvements in muscle recovery from creatine supplementation. In a recent study from the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, creatine was shown to significantly improve the rate of recovery from exercised induced muscle damage. See complete study here.
Another study showed the same benefit for a group of athletes that normally might not consider creatine, which is endurance runners. This group too was shown to benefit from muscle damage for those who supplemented with creatine. See study here.
While creatine is widely touted for it’s strength increasing and mass building effects, there are many other benefits for taking this supplement, namely muscle recovery for both strength and endurance training athletes. This is why it is one of the foundational supplements we recommend when designing a supplement program.
Bio Cell -Advanced creatine formula
