All About Creatine: Optimal Dosing Strategies

Creatine monohydrate is probably the most popular bodybuilding supplement available. Supplements such as whey protein or weight gainers make life a lot easier when trying to reach your goals, but the nutrients provided in these supplements (mainly protein and carbohydrates) can theoretically be consumed as part of your diet in the form of ‘real foods’. Whereas creatine, in the amounts needed for a suitable effect in bodybuilding can only be consumed in the form of creatine supplements.


The positive effects of creatine are substantial, for example increased strength, power, endurance levels, energy and recovery. These benefits are backed up by over 20 years of research with no adverse effects shown over this period.


How Creatine Works – Overview
There are two main areas that creatine benefits, firstly the phosphocreatine energy system and secondly through increased water hydration in muscle cells.


Phosphocreatine Levels
Supplementing with creatine increases levels of phosphocreatine. Phosphocreatine is a high-energy storage molecule; it is used to increase levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is a source of anaerobic energy. After ATP is used, it is transformed into a waste product, adenosine diphosphate (ADP); increased phosphocreatine levels also help transform this waste molecule back into ATP for use as energy.


Increased Muscle Cell Hydration
Some people believe this ‘water retention’; is an unwanted side effect – far from it! Increased muscle cell hydration allows for far greater nutrients absorption and a more efficient muscle cell overall. A more efficient cell equals faster recovery and higher levels of performance.


Myth Busting: How To Take Creatine
There are 2 ways to supplement with creatine; loading and continued maintenance.


Loading
Take large doses for one week to fully saturated muscle cells, then take smaller amounts to continue muscle cell creatine saturation.


Example
Week 120g per day for 1 week
Week 2 Onwards 5 – 10g per day


A continued maintenance dosage protocol simply uses 5 – 10g per day for prolonged periods with no loading phase at the beginning of the cycle.


Which Is Best?
Both loading and continued maintenance eventually lead to the same result, however loading creatine at the start of a cycle will obviously lead to faster gains. The aim of creatine supplementation is to fully saturate muscle cells for optimal performance, therefore doing this as quickly as possible with the use of a loading phase will lead to gains at a faster rate.


Creatine & Simple Sugars
Creatine is often mixed with simple carbohydrates that spike insulin levels. The premise of this is, that an increase in insulin levels (a hormone that shuttles nutrients to muscle tissue) will increase the absorption rate of the creatine taken with it.


This technique is valid, however caution should be used when taking creatine with a simple sugar. If creatine mixed with a simple sugar is used during a loading phase there will be a lot of calories and up to 4 insulin spikes during the day. Along with this comes the possibility of excess fat storage, mainly because the simple carbohydrate will add calories.


Pure Creatine Monohydrate
Pure creatine monohydrate does not contain any calories and is therefore perfect for use during a loading phase. This enables all the benefits of creatine without any excess calories. Although the absorption of creatine can be increased when taken with simple carbohydrates, loading 20g daily for the first week should totally saturate muscle cells without the need for excess simple calories.


Creatine Mixtures
Creatine mixed with simple sugars can be used pre and post-workout to increase energy, and the uptake of creatine ready for exercise. Also a spike in insulin levels at this time is totally anabolic, so there is no worry of fat storage.


Conclusion - Different Forms Of Creatine
There are now many different forms of creatine supplements on the market today with many different claims, however I personally think that powdered creatine monohydrate is still the creatine of choice. It is the best value, most proven, absorbs better than capsules and is not any less effective than the pretenders to the throne creatine ethyl ester, liquid creatine etc.

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The Low Down On Whey Protein

Whey Protein

Protein supplements come from different forms such as milk, egg and soy. Whey protein is by far the most effective source, essential for muscle growth (from milk). Trained athletes need to consume roughly 0.5g to 1g per lb of bodyweight a day to actively recovery from intense exercise.

Whey protein has the highest bioavailability of any protein substance on earth with a score of around 104 (egg being the closest food with a BV of 100). Whey protein is the bedrock of an effective supplement regime with two main advantages:

Cost: around 30p for 30g of pure protein
Ease of use: taken in a shaker and mixed in seconds
Protein supplements often use a mixture of whey proteins as they digest at different times and cost different amounts.

The three main types of whey protein are:

Isolate
Concentrate
Hydrolysate

Isolates are the purest form of whey protein available; they are above 90% pure protein by weight and very low in fat, carbohydrate and lactose. Isolates are digested very quickly by the body and are perfect post workout as well as any thime of the day.

Concentrates are anywhere from 30% - 90% whey protein by weight. Whey protein concentrate used in supplements usually hits about 80%. Containing slightly more fat and carbohydrate that isolates, concentrates are still very pure and beneficial and are also cheaper.

Hydrolysates are partially hydrolysed and pre digested therefore they enter the body quicker than eny other form. These are again more expensive than usual whey protein and are perfect post workout and any other time during the day

Other forms:
Micellar casein: is a very slow digesting protein sutaining amino acid release for up to 8 hours and is perfect to take at every meal (except post workout) and especially before bed.
Whey protein has a very high and complete amino acid structure ensuring its lean muscle building power. Some companies also add more amino acids to enhance the effectiveness of their whey.

Serving Sizes?
Take whey protein whenever you need it! Protein should be consumed every three hours to continually feed your muscles with amino acids, whey protein can be used as a cheap and effective form of protein – especially beneficial post workout.

Complimentary Products?
Taking carbohydrates with protein is very beneficial post workout to start recovery. Methoxyisoflavone and Ecdysterone will exert potent effects on the uptake of protein, they will increase protein synthesis and the ability to recover quickly using protein to build lean muscle.

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Fat Loss: How To Diet Properly

Nutrition & Weight Loss How To Diet Properly

Looking to lose fat or go on a diet regime that actually works? Then you have to follow some simple, proven techniques and strategies that can really help you shed those pounds!

Nutrition

The first and most important rule in weight loss is the amount of calories you eat. Forget the macro nutrients fat, carbohydrates and protein for the moment, you can cut out as much carbohydrate as you want, if you are eating too many calories from protein and fat you will not lose a milligram in weight.

You may have lost weight quickly in the past doing this, but did you put it back on? The majority of you will say yes. Why? The weight you lost during that diet was mostly water out of your body, you didn’t lose any fat or bodyweight. The body is about 60% water depending on body size, so it is quite easy to quickly drop weight without losing any fat.

To lose actual body fat you must cut your calories by about 500kcal below your daily usage.

Work out your daily calorie usage with our BMR calculator

Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates should consist of about 40% of your daily intake. Get rid of all those empty carbohydrate calories like sugar and processed foods and cereals. The bulk of your carbohydrates should come from real foods in their unprocessed state.

Great carbs to eat are:
Sweet potato
Brown rice
Brown pasta
Brown bread
Rolled oats
All vegetables
Fruit

Far from cutting carbohydrates out of your diet they should be a vital part of it, especially if you a training at the gym to burn extra calories. The aforementioned slow release fibrous carbohydrates will keep you fuller for longer, give you bundles of energy and also keep you regular!

Simple carbohydrates such as dextrose, white potatoes, white rice etc can be taken post workout only. These carbohydrates will promote fat storage at other times of the day, but post workout are perfect for boosting energy levels and will not be stored as fat.

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Insulin: Muscle Building & Fat Storage

Protein
Protein should consist of about 40% of you daily intake
Protein is vital for active people and especially for those training regularly. Whilst losing weight we want to keep as much muscle mass as possible to appear toned. Protein will help rebuild muscle fibres after workouts and also keep you feeling fuller for longer

Great sources of protein are
Tuna
Lean chicken breast without skin
Protein shakes
Salmon
Pork
Beef
Egg whites
Prawns
Basically all lean meats, fish, poultry etc!

For vegetarians good vegetable sources of protein are couscous, cottage cheese and wheat based products


Fat
Fat should consist of about 20% of you daily intake

Cut out virtually all saturated fats, these bad fats are terrible for you health and body composition. As a rule of thumb, any fat that is solid at room temperature steer clear of. Any fat that is liquid at room temperature is ok!

Foods that contain bad fats are
Hamburgers
Chips
Crisps
Fried food
Ready meals
Doughnuts
Cookies

You get the picture… basically staw away from all the food you know you shouldn’t be eating and also refrain from drinking fizzy drinks, even the ‘diet’ ones. The ingredients contained in these drinks will heavily promote fat gain and storage.

Good fats
Good fats are essential for healthy living and can help you lose body fat and beat cravings. The body needs these types of fat to perform literally thousands of processes in the body, including normal hormone production, which will aid in a desirable body composition.

Essential fatty acids
The group of essential fatty acids, as the name suggests are absolutely vital to attain through our diet. The body cannot synthesise these fats and they must be consumed in our diet.

The EFAs are Alpha Linolenic Acid and Linoleic Acid. They are abundant in salmon, tuna, flaxseed oil, pumpkin seeds or an EFA supplement.

Other sources of good mono and polyunsaturated fats are
Olives & Olive oil
Avocado & avocado oil
Salmon
Mackerel
Herring
Almonds
Cod liver oil

Water intake

You can drink as much water as you like, if your body doesn’t need the water it will flush it through the system. Adequate water intake will also keep you from getting dehydrated, many people mistake thirst for hunger and then eat more calories! If you are dehydrated by as little as 2% your performance can be adversely affected by up to 20% so if you are trying to train hard to burn excess calories proper hydration should be taken into account.

Daily Intake
Your daily calorie intake should be split into 5 – 6 small meals daily. This will speed up your metabolism and also keep you from feeling stuffed full and then really hungry throughout the day. This will also prevent you from snacking on bad foods as you are constantly thinking for your next good meal only a few hours away. Eating this many meals may seem hard at first but it really is key to boosting your fat loss.

As mentioned before you protein and carbohydrates should consist of roughly 40% each of your daily intake and fat about 20%. You should also carry this through to an individual meal level. So every meal should be made of roughly this amount of each macronutrient. Without going into too much detail eating the three macronutrients together will help you store less fat.

For the more advanced athlete or if you are cutting your bodyfat to ripped levels try eating the majority of your carbohydrates at breakfast, pre and post workout where the body is the least likely to store excess carbohydrate as fat.

Proper and sustained fat loss will happen slowly over a period of time and the process of dieting should be done correctly and intelligently. Crash dieting is unsustainable and will lead to more fat storage eventually. A sustained, clever nutrition and exercise programme that allows you to slowly burn the fat and keep it off, without too many cravings is a sustainable and healthy way to lose those pounds.

Oh, and remember its ok to cheat every now and then!

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