Benefits of Creatine for Cyclists
Are you an amateur or professional cyclist who wants to improve repeated sprint cycling performance?
If your answer is a big yes, this guide on the benefits of creatine for cyclists will surely be of interest to you.
Why cyclists should take creatine? Does creatine help with cycling? Is creatine good for mountain biking? These are some of the most common questions before amateur and professional cyclists.
Let us find answers to all these and many other similar questions before we read about the benefits of creatine for cyclists.
Creatine supplementation can significantly increase muscle levels of phosphocreatine that is an energy-rich compound made from phosphorus and creatine.
Phosphocreatine fuels body muscles during high-intensity exercises such as lifting weights or sprinting. Creatine also helps in regenerating adenosine triphosphate (ATP) that is the primary source of endurance.
ATP fuels your body cells by breaking one of its three phosphate bonds that, in turn, gets converted to adenosine diphosphate (ADP).
Creatine is more than just a pure strength builder as it can help you ride harder and longer without feeling muscle fatigue or soreness.
In addition to this, creatine supplementation can minimize your lactate levels while improving the ability of your body to process it. This helps you to perform at a higher level without fail.
Creatine supplementation is also associated with massive gains in the levels of endurance, muscle mass, size, and definition.
Ideally, creatine supplementation should be combined with muscle strength training and high consumption of protein and energy.
Creatine also acts as a protein replicating matrix to intensify the synthesis of RNA (ribonucleic acid) by supporting the transport of energy to the sites of protein synthesis, in proportion to the intensity of exercise.
Can creatine give you an extra edge?
Several studies have revealed that creatine supplementation can drastically increase muscle glycogen stores that, in turn, stimulates glycogen synthesis. It has also been demonstrated that creatine can enhance intermediate sprints under aerobic conditions.
Therefore, creatine helps endurance cyclists increase power during their shorter efforts and bumping up their overall power and strength for race day to perform at elevated levels.
Creatine can be an excellent choice for cyclists who want to focus on weightlifting during the offseason. It is also highly effective to increase strength and muscle mass through resistance training.
The best thing about creatine is that it has an exceptional safety profile that makes it a good choice for male and female cyclists.
Creatine loading can also enhance intermittent sprint capacity at the end of endurance exercise to fatigue.
Moreover, it can be helpful to prevent muscle loss, especially during a phase of immobilization and rehabilitation.