Can We Use Creatine As A Pre-Workout Supplement?

When creatine entered the world of sports nutrition, a majority of elite athletes and fitness enthusiasts started using it as a powerful pre-workout supplement.

Let us read about the benefits of creatine as a pre-workout supplement.

Creatine is considered to be one of the world's most popular sports nutrition supplement when it comes to increasing athletic and gym performance. The fact that creatine has an exceptional safety profile and can be used by both men and women adds to its popularity.

When used as a pre-workout sports nutrition supplement, creatine offers the following benefits:

Helps your muscles produce more energy

Creatine supplementation helps increase the phosphocreatine stores of your muscles that help in the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the primary molecule that the cells of our body utilize for energy as well as all basic functions. ATP gets broken down during exercise to produce energy.

It is important to note that the rate of ATP resynthesis inhibits your body's ability to perform continually at maximum intensity as we use ATP faster than our body produces it. This is where creatine supplementation comes into the picture.

Creatine supplements can significantly enhance the phosphocreatine stores in your body. This allows the body to produce more adenosine triphosphate energy that, in turn, fuels the muscles during intense workouts.

Supports a range of functions in muscles

Creatine has the ability to alter numerous cellular pathways that results in the formation of new muscles. For instance, creatine boosts protein formation responsible for the creation of new muscle fibers.

Furthermore, it stimulates a surge in the levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) that promotes muscle mass gains. If this is not all, creatine can lead to a surge in the level of water content in your muscles (or cell volumization) and can quickly impact an increase in muscle size.

Improves brain function

Creatine not only helps you become bigger, stronger, and faster but it also improves your brain's health and function. According to research, the human brain requires ATP to perform challenging tasks.

Creatine can aid brain function by increasing mitochondrial function and dopamine levels. This can offer protection against certain neurological diseases while reducing age-related loss of strength and muscles and boosting brain function.

Improves high-intensity exercise performance

The direct role of creatine in the production of ATP means that it can stimulate significant high-intensity exercise performance improvements.

This is primarily because creatine enhances countless factors, including but not limited to ballistic power, strength, brain performance, muscle recovery, sprint ability, muscle mass, muscle endurance, and resistance to fatigue.

Speeds muscle growth

The consumption of creatine for 5-7 days at a stretch can dramatically increase lean body weight and muscle size, primarily because of an increase in the level of fluid retention.

In the long run, this fluid retention helps in the growth of muscle fibers by boosting gym results and signaling critical biological pathways.

In addition to these advantages, creatine supplementation can also reduce tiredness and fatigue while increasing energy levels during sleep deprivation.

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Creatine vs PreWorkout Supplements