One supplement to take that often tops the list of many people, is creatine. Let's have a quick look at the top 5 reasons why you should consider taking creatine. By: Shannon Clark

Article Summary:

Creatine will increase your workout intensity, which means a higher level of muscle mass. Creatine will allow you to train at a higher frequency, meaning quicker muscular gains. Since creatine causes water retention, the muscular pumps you'll experience will increase.

With all the different supplements that are available for use, many people have a tendency to get confused on which they should take. In some cases there will be one or two supplements in particular that will stand out to you and draw your attention.
By taking the time to learn what each supplement does and then selecting your most-wanted benefits, you can then formulate your supplement list to purchase to go along with your workout and diet program.
One supplement to take, that often tops the list of many people, is creatine. Let's have a quick look at the top five reasons why you should consider taking creatine.

Click Image To Enlarge.
With All The Different Supplements That Are Available For Use, Many
People Have A Tendency To Get Confused On Which They Should Take.

Why Should You Consider Taking Creatine?


1. Increased Workout Intensity Translates To More Muscle Mass:

One of the first reasons why you need to start taking creatine is because it will help to increase your overall workout intensity, which means you will achieve a higher level of muscle mass.

The creatine will allow you to keep pushing hard in the gym at a time when you would have previously had to decrease the load or stop entirely, so this helps in terms of building muscle faster.

Keep in mind that you will still need to push yourself with each and every session and then feed the body enough calories for the muscle mass to be built, but supplementing with creatine makes this very possible.

Individuals who struggle to maintain enough volume in their workout program will be the ones to really benefit from using creatine so if that's you, don't overlook the impact this supplement will give you.

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Individuals Who Struggle To Maintain Enough Volume In Their
Workout Program Will Be The Ones To Really Benefit From Using Creatine.

2. Better Muscular Contraction Means Enhanced Sports Performance:

The second reason to take creatine is for athletic performance. If you're involved in sports that require stop and go type of activity, creatine is going to come in very helpful for you.

These type of activities will rely primarily on the CP-ATP system, so by ensuring your supply of creatine phosphate is fully stocked, you ensure you don't sputter out after a few sprints.

	ATP-PC System: This system is used only for very short durations of up to 10 seconds. The ATP-CP system neither uses oxygen nor produces lactic acid if oxygen is unavailable and is thus said to be alactic anaerobic. This is the primary system behind very short, powerful movements like a golf swing or a 100 m sprint.

To put this into perspective, a player in a game of hockey taking creatine would not only be able to go harder with each shift he's on the ice, but he'll be able to last through more shifts total throughout the game.

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3. Quicker Atp Re-Synthesis Equates To Frequent Training Sessions:

Third, creatine is going to allow you to train at a higher frequency, which also means quicker and more significant muscular gains.

The more frequent you are able to stimulate a muscle, the faster it will grow bigger, provided that it has had the opportunity to fully grow back after the first stress load that was placed upon it.

Since creatine helps increase the recovery rate of the muscle cells, this means you may not require as much total rest time in between each workout you perform.

So if you're someone who commonly takes a few days off between each full body workout, using creatine may allow you to cut this down to just a single day between workouts. Over time this will translate to more workouts and will make a difference on your results from month to month.

4. Higher Glycogen Levels Generates Huge Muscle Pumps:

Fourth on our list of reasons why you need to use creatine is because of the muscle pumps you'll get. While muscle pumps don't necessarily help you out physiologically in terms of building muscle mass, they will help with motivational levels.

There's nothing like seeing a muscle grow at the end of a workout to motivate you to get back into the gym and do it again a day or two later, and since creatine causes a higher level of water retention in the body, the muscle pumps you'll experience will go up.

Usually you will see the highest muscle pumps when you initially begin taking creatine and are doing the loading phase (a small amount of bloating may be present as well), and then it'll level off as the body gets used to the creatine in the system.

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While Muscle Pumps Don't Necessarily Help You Out Physiologically In
Terms Of Building Muscle Mass, They Will Help With Motivational Levels.

5. Faster Sprint Performance Increases Metabolic Rates And Fat Loss:

Finally, the last reason why you should consider investing in creatine as one of the muscle-building supplements you use is because it'll help you increase your metabolic rate.

If you're currently looking for fat loss, how many calories you burn on a daily basis will have a significant impact on how quickly you see progress.

Since sprint cardio training is one of the best ways to boost your metabolic rate and sprinting relies strictly on ATP as a fuel source, supplementing with creatine allows you to have a better sprint performance during your weight loss phase.

	ATP: Adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) is a multifunctional nucleotide used in cells as a coenzyme. It is often called the "molecular unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer. ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism.

Additionally, since you are typically lowering your carbohydrates while aiming for weight loss, this often does result in lower levels of energy making it harder to get through your typical interval sessions.

By adding the creatine to your day you can help offset this fatigue so at the very least you can maintain what you would normally do while you are not on the fat loss diet.

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By Adding The Creatine To Your
Day You Can Help Offset Fatigue.

Conclusion

So, give creatine some serious thought and consideration. It's one of the least expensive muscle-building and sports performance supplements available so if you are running a tight budget, it is probably one of the best for you to consider.
If you do make the decision to utilize creatine with your training program also remember to perform the loading phase first as this will be critical to getting the muscle cells fully saturated right from the start and allowing you to see the biggest benefits from taking the supplement.