Should you take creatine? Creatine monohydrate vs creatine HCl.
Supplements in the gym… are they necessary and do they work? Well the bottom line is if you have good nutrition and you work hard in the gym you will see improvements. However, proper supplementation can sometimes help. Today we are going to discuss one of the most popular workout supplements. Creatine is a substance that supplies energy to cells, particularly muscle cells. Energy from creatine helps with short explosive movements that require quick energy. Its effects have been studied over many years. A 2003 meta-analysis (a bunch of studies combined together from 1967-2001) found creatine to be one of only two supplements out the 250 that were investigated to show increase lean mass (muscle) and increase strength gains over a 3 week period of supplementation. Just this year a study by Zello out of Canada found that creatine supplementation resulted in increased muscle mass in males and females who hadn’t previously trained in the gym. The muscle benefits were observed more strongly in men than women. Similar results were found in a 2000 study where increase in lean muscle was found when combining bicep exercises with creatine supplementation. Findings for improvement in leg strength were also found in a study by Lanhers, Pereira, Naughton et al. in 2015. There are many types of creatine two common types you can purchase are HCl and monohydrate. HCl tends to dissolve more easily and to have better absorption in the body. In a study of 40 weightlifters in 2015 both types of creatine at a dose of 5 grams per day increased performance but only HCl effected the individuals body composition (make up of fat, muscle and overall body weight). The good news is creatine is also one of the most affordable supplements so if you are working hard in the gym and eating right it’s worth considering as an addition to your routine.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S053155651630256X
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http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-015-0337-4
http://general.utpb.edu/fac/eldridge_j/kine6362/ancillaryfiles/becque_creatine.pdf
