PVL Creatine Monohydrate

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Creatine is produced by the body from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methinoine, and 95% of the body’s Creatine is stored in skeletal muscle. Small amounts of Creatine are found naturally occurring in foods such as beef and fish, with only trace amounts occurring in vegetables. The creatine that you purchase at the store, however, is produced by a controlled synthesis process. Athletic vegetarians have diets chronically low in foods containing high amounts of Creatine, making them among the people most likely to benefit from supplementation.

Creatine helps the body produce fuel, namely ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). ATP is the body’s energy molecule that supplies fuel for cellular functions. During anaerobic exercise (weight training, sprinting, etc) ATP stores are depleted rapidly. However, there is a limit to the amount of ATP that can be stored by a cell at any one time. The amount of ATP contained by a muscle and its ability to produce it directly determines how long the muscle can perform. Supplemental creatine doesn’t increase the amount of stored ATP, but rather accelerates the rate at which ATP is replaced or re-synthesized by the PCr (phosphocreatine) system of the cell. Creatine does make the body “retain water”, but the key here is “where”.

The very large percentage of water is stored intracellular, or inside the muscle cell, as opposed to under the skin (subcutaneous). It’s subcutaneous water retention that makes people appear soft or puffy. However, intracellular water retention (“cell-hydration” or “volumizing” as it’s often referred too) is actually a beneficial “side effect” but not the direct effect of Creatine supplementation. Super hydrated cells have higher rates of protein synthesis and therefore repair themselves quicker. Supplemental creatine can help push you though “one more rep”, or get “one second faster,” and recover quicker when participating in high intensity, muscle damaging sports.

There’s really no evidence that suggests that cycling is necessary, but most people do. Two months on followed by one off works quite well. Like dosages, this timeline may not be optimal for you or your sport schedule. Athletes should keep using Creatine until the effect becomes less noticeable than when you began. Many people become accustomed to their new level of performance and mistake it for the Creatine “not working anymore”. After a short break, most people are quickly reminded of just how powerful a supplement Creatine really is.

There’s really no evidence that suggests that cycling is necessary, but most people do. Two months on followed by one off works quite well. Like dosages, this timeline may not be optimal for you or your sport schedule. Athletes should keep using Creatine until the effect becomes less noticeable than when you began. Many people become accustomed to their new level of performance and mistake it for the Creatine “not working anymore”. After a short break, most people are quickly reminded of just how powerful a supplement Creatine really is.

There’s really no evidence that suggests that cycling is necessary, but most people do. Two months on followed by one off works quite well. Like dosages, this timeline may not be optimal for you or your sport schedule. Athletes should keep using Creatine until the effect becomes less noticeable than when you began. Many people become accustomed to their new level of performance and mistake it for the Creatine “not working anymore”. After a short break, most people are quickly reminded of just how powerful a supplement Creatine really is.

There’s really no evidence that suggests that cycling is necessary, but most people do. Two months on followed by one off works quite well. Like dosages, this timeline may not be optimal for you or your sport schedule. Athletes should keep using Creatine until the effect becomes less noticeable than when you began. Many people become accustomed to their new level of performance and mistake it for the Creatine “not working anymore”. After a short break, most people are quickly reminded of just how powerful a supplement Creatine really is.