What Is Creatine?

Creatine is a naturally-occurring amino acid that is found in your skeletal muscles. You can get creatine from foods such as red meat and seafood, as well as through . The key to how creatine can be beneficial to lifters is what happens in your body after ingestion.

May Increase Strength and Power

Taking creatine before your training session may help you lift heavier. The extra boost of ATP and energy help you lift a little heavier each time. Over the duration of your program, this series of small boosts can add up to big long term gains.

May Improve Recovery

In addition to muscle and strength gains, research shows that supplementing training with creatine may enhance post exercise recovery.

When you train hard, you go through your glycogen stores. You need to replenish them to recover well and prevent overtraining.  Your pre workout is likely to include carbohydrates, which will supply glycogen for your body.

May Prevent Injury

Since creatine helps you to work harder and recover better, it makes sense that research shows it may also help to prevent injury . . Several studies showed that supplementing creatine during training either reduces or has no effect on musculoskeletal injury, dehydrations and cramping.

May Boost Brain Health

Most of the research and evidence of the benefits of creatine are on its ability to increase muscle strength, lean mass, and exercise performance. But new studies and evidence are emerging on whether creatine can boost brain health. The majority of the body’s creatine is found in muscle, but 20 percent of it is found in the brain.