I decided to insert a few before and after pictures of myself so that you can see the transformation that can happen if you work hard and eat right. The gains I experienced are not solely attributed to creatine, Though it did help at getting over a platuea or 2. I'm a continual work in progress, I'm always trying to improve myself. So I might still put on a kilogram of muscle or try and get more ripped. I apologise for the quality of this picture. It was taken with one of those nasty camera phone type cameras, but its the only picture I have. If you cant read the Text it says Height: 183cm/6 foot Weight 68.4kg/150.8lbs If you cant read the text it says: Height 183cm/6 foot. Weight: 81kg/178.5lbs

My Experience with Creatine Monohydrate

About 2 months ago I decided to take creatine, just to see what would happen and if I would notice any difference. I bought myself 100g of creatine monohydrate made by a company in South Africa called USN. I followed the directions on the bottle and took 15g per day for the first 5 days and then a maintenance dosage of 5 grams per day. (which I later discovered was actually to much, I should have been taking 2.4g per day) The effects were definitely noticeable I picked up 3kg (6.6lbs) In the first week. This was largely due to my muscles storing water and fuel. But the area that I really noticed the difference was in my strength and recovery. I had started working out for the first time in ages about a month before. When I started, I could only manage 3 sets of 5 dips. That month I worked my way up to 3 sets of 10, But that was it. I reached a plateau and I couldn't seem to get past it. But in that first week that I started taking creatine I went from doing 3 sets of 10 dips to doing 3 sets of 20! And now I can do 30, 25, 20. I went from curling 12kg to curling 20kg! the increase in strength was phenomenal! Plus my recovery time shortened dramatically. Even my recovery time between sets was shortened. It truly does work. Your results may differ from mine slightly but I think you definitely will benefit. I stopped taking it after a month. My weight went down by 900g And I didn't feel like I had that much energy any more but I am still able to lift the same amount of weight. While I was taking creatine, I didn't notice any negative side effects, I felt fantastic. But that doesn't mean it wasn't putting strain on my body. I mentioned before that taking creatine puts a bit of strain on your kidneys. Well, I think, had I kept up that dosage for a while. I would have suffered later. From now on I think I will only use creatine as a plateau buster. If I reach a point in my workouts where I think I cant go any further I might take creatine for another month just to get through it.

Controversy with Creatine

For a long time creatine was a bit taboo. If you mentioned to someone that you were using creatine they looked at you funny, as if you weren't quite human anymore. A lot of this was as a result of some controversy surrounding creatine when it first came on to the market. You see, creatine is recognized as a food supplement by the FDA, so it does not have to live up to there legislation like other drugs have to. The problem with this is that in the early creatine boom everyone wanted a piece of the creatine action. So every Tom, Dick and Harry was making the stuff in there garage. The result: A lot of creatine was being contaminated with toxins and impurities. These days creatine manufacture is a lot cleaner and controlled. I think after the first few companies got sued, the others decided to clean up there game a bit. Another event that led to companies cleaning up there creatine manufacture was the fact that some professional athletes that were using creatine started testing positive for steroids. Again this was because the creatine was being manufactured in the same lab where steroids were being manufactured. And the creatine was being contaminated with steroids. But once again after a few lawsuits creatine companies made sure that there stuff was clean. These days it is a lot safer to use creatine than back then. But still try and go for a reputable brand, not just the cheapest one you can find.

Negative Effects of Creatine Monohydrate

Firstly, I would like to start by saying, that in the supplement, scientific and medicinal world, the sensible use of creatine is considered safe. However there are some genuine side effects that have been attributed to creatine directly or indirectly, or as a result of creatine abuse as well as a ton of unproven claims and rumors about dangers and negative side effects of creatine monohydrate. Because creatine is causing your muscles to store water (volumizing) there is a risk of dehydration. Some of the negative side effects are actually linked to dehydration and not directly to the use of creatine. Thus it is of utmost importance to make sure that you are getting enough water when you are supplementing with creatine. Drink at least 2 -3 litres of water per day. One of these side effects is cramping. Some people report that while using creatine they experience cramping. I personally, in my experience with creatine, have never experienced cramping. But scientists believe that the cramping is actually linked to dehydration and not directly to creatine. Other gastrointestinal side effects have also been documented. These side effects include diarrhea and cramping have been caused by large amounts of undissolved creatine landing up in the intestines. This can be avoided however by making sure that your creatine is completely dissolved in at least 16 ounces of water (475ml) or juice. Flatulence is another gastrointestinal side effect that has been documented, that is caused by creatine been taken in conjunction with sugars such as fructose. Try to limit fructose intake when on creatine to avoid flatulence. There has been some evidence that suggests that creatine can put stress on your renal system. Although, scientists found that in the case of sensible creatine use, no noticeable stress was placed on your kidneys, creatine abuse, however, may lead to serious kidney damage. The best way to treat creatine is the same way you treat table salt. (notice, I said the same "way" not the same "dosage"). Your body needs salt for certain functions and salt enhances food's flavour, so we put a bit on our dinner and we eat it. No one in there right mind is going to eat cans of salt or take in tablespoons of the stuff. That is a similar attitude that we must have toward creatine. Our body needs it, and we can use a little to enhance our performance, But lets not go crazy and eat cans of the stuff!

What are the Benefits of Creatine?

Maybe now you're wondering what exactly will happen If you start taking creatine. Well in this section I am going to list the benefits or "pros" Of taking creatine monohydrate. Basically, creatine increases muscle energy availability. In your body your cells store there energy in the form of a molecule known as ATP. The amount of work your muscles can do is directly dependant on how much ATP they have stored in them as well as how well ATP stores can be regenerated during heavy weightlifting. Firstly creatine increases the amount of times that ATP can be recycled in our muscles. Which Translates into more reps and faster recovery time between sets. So for example if you could only do 8 reps lifting a 20kg dumbbell and you started taking creatine you would probably be able to increase that to 12 or 15.Later on as this translates into new muscle tissue being developed you will be able to increase the weight you lift as well. Creatine has also shown to have a positive effect on mental performance. A study was done that showed a dramatic improvement on cognitive and memory functions in the brain. Especially in vegetarians probably because is the primary source of creatine. Another study was done to see the effect that creatine had on mice. The lifespan of the mice that were given creatine increased but whether these results would carry over to humans is not known. There are plenty of other benefits some, significant others not so significant that are attributed to creatine but I have only chosen to mention the ones above. I hope you have learnt a few more interesting facts about creatine.

How does creatine work?

So you may be wondering... How exactly does creatine work? Well the best way to explain it is in layman's terms. Think of your body as a city and all your muscles are shops selling products. Creatine is the delivery van delivering the stock. It is basically a transport system for water, fuel and nutrients to your muscle. When you pick up a weight, there is a certain amount of water nutrients and food in your muscle. As you pick that weight up your muscle begins to burn that fuel when you no longer can lift that weight it means that all the fuel has been burnt up. So theoretically if you could deliver more fuel, nutrients and water to your muscles you would be able to lift heavier weights and do more reps. Plus your recovery time in between sets and in between workouts would improve dramatically. That's where creatine comes in. It's the delivery van remember? so if you increase your creatine intake you are basically putting more delivery vans into your body that are able to delivery more water fuel and nutrients to your muscle. Its a fairly simple system to understand. There is more information to know before you start eating bowls of creatine! So keep reading the posts on the blog to get a good understanding of every aspect of creatine.

History of Creatine Monohydrate

The history of creatine goes way back. It was first isolated in 1835 by the french scientist Michel-Eugene Chevreul. It wasn't long after that, in 1847 that Justus Von Liebig Helped promote a commercially available meat extract that was marketed as an ergogenic supplement. That extract was in fact creatine. Creatine is actually named after the Greek word for flesh which is kreas, from which it is extracted. In 1912 Otto Folin and Wiley Glover Denis, from Harvard University, found that ingesting creatine dramatically boosts the creatine content of the muscle. In the late 1920's scientists discovered creatine phosphate and determined that creatine is a key player in the metabolism of skeletal muscle. While the benefits of creatine on physical performance have been documented since the early twentieth century, It wasn't until 1992 that creatine came into public view after a newspaper article reported that Linford Christie, a gold medal winner at the games, had been using creatine prior to the games. It was also reported in other magazines that numerous other medal-winning athletes had been using creatine during their preparations for the games. At the time low-potency creatine supplements were available in Britain, but creatine supplements designed for strength enhancement were not. But in 1993 this changed when a company called Experimental and Applied Sciences (EAS) introduced the compound to the sports nutrition market under the name Phosphagen. And just to give you an idea of what happened after that, in the year 2000 2500 metric tons of creatine monohydrate were sold worldwide and the demand continued to grow. Well that's the history lesson for today. Stay tuned to learn more about creatine monohydrate in future posts.

Creatine an Introduction

Welcome to my blog about Creatine Monohydrate. I'm sure that if you are a sports nut, endeavoured in any form of fitness or strength training, Or you read a lot you will have heard of creatine monohydrate before. With this blog I plan to deliver information and expose false information about creatine monohydrate. What is creatine monohydrate? Simply put, it is a fitness supplement that claims to increase muscle growth, muscle mass, and muscle strength. Allowing you to look bigger, weigh more and lift more weight. I will be supplying information about these claims and also about the history of creatine mono hydrate how it works and my own personal experience with it. I am not a health care professional or professional fitness trainer I will simply be bringing the information I have to the table and allowing you to continue with your own research. When I present a fact I will also state where I obtained the information so that you can look it up your self. So stay tuned to this blog and make sure that you read all the posts to get a thorough knowledge of this supplement. Also feel free to leave comments and ask questions and I will try to answer them. Thank you, Devin Nunns