Creatine: GH Nutrition
What is creatine?
Creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid which is stored in the muscles as well as the brain. Your body stores creatine as phosphocreatine, primarily in your muscles where it is used for energy.
What does creatine do
Speeds up strength and muscle growth
Creatine may help to improve muscle growth and improve muscle strength. Various studies have shown that athletes who supplement with creatine, achieve greater improvements in 1RM strength, as well as greater increases in lean body mass, muscle CSA (Cross sectional area) and contractile protein. (1)
A 2003 study showed that individuals who combine creatine supplementation with resistance training, achieved an +8% and +14% increase on their 1 rep max (1RM), in comparison to the placebo group.
Enhanced recovery
Creatine may help to reduce muscle damage and muscle soreness. A study was done to assess muscle recovery following exercise induced muscle damage. The participants of the study were split into two groups. One group supplementing with carbohydrates, with the other supplementing with carbohydrates and creatine monohydrate.
The study shown that athletes from the control group presented an increase in all muscle soreness markers, indicating a high level of cell injury and inflammation, while the creatine supplementation group significantly attenuated these increases.
As a summary, creatine has the potential to reduce muscle soreness, increase muscle creatine levels, and improve recovery from exercise sessions. (3)
Summary
Creatine can be a great supplement to take if you want to increase muscle strength, increase muscle size, reduce muscle soreness and improve recovery.
3) https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-6-13