There are many different supplements that we can take and creatine is one of the most popular among athletes and body builders. It promises increased muscle recovery, muscle growth, endurance and strength gain. When our muscles are exercising, ATP or adenosine triphosphate is used to create energy. One phosphate is released, changing ATP into ADP or adenosine Disphosphate. When the phosplate molecule separates from ATP, some amount of energy is released. However, our body only has limited amount of ATP, so ADP will need to be re-converted into ATP and this process requires some amount of energy, which we get from food.
Creatine should speed up the whole process and it provides phosphate molecules needed for the formation of ATP. When our body has enough ATP, it is ready for intense physical activities again. With creatine supplements, our muscles should be able to work harder and longer. This will contribute to muscle growth and increased strength.
Creatine is actually a natural compound that we can find from fish and meat. However, it takes a large amount of food to give us enough creatine. With supplementation, it should be easy to get a concentrated quantity of creatine, without adding weight due to higher food consumption. In sports supplementation, creatine monohydrate is used and it is available in liquid, powder, capsule and tablet forms.
Protein powders are also often offered for gym members and it could provide people with multiple benefits, such as increased metabolic rate, better body definition, muscle growth and strength gain. Protein is one of the essential macronutrients and it is the primary building block of our body. It is needed for the formation of muscle and our cell structure is also consisted of protein. Protein is needed to allow our cells to grow and rebuild itself. However, repeated exercises could deplete the protein stores in our body. Protein can also be broken up into energy. In this case, it is important for us consume enough protein to support our lifestyle, while allowing our body to build up enough muscle mass.
Ingesting enough protein should allow us to increase our metabolic rate. In general, protein is more active metabolically compared to fats and carbohydrates. About 30 percent of our energy consumption is generated from protein. It is actually consisted of many different kinds of amino acids. In this case, it is important for us to get adequate proteins if we plan to have intense physical activity during the day. Protein powder can be mixed with fruit juices, low-fat milk, water, smoothies or any kind of liquid, except alcohol and soda. Many athletes seek to achieve the “positive nitrogen balance” state and it should allow us to build lean mass.
In the hectic and fast paced world, it is important for us to try to consume adequate amount of protein, but unfortunately, it is not acceptable to consume so much chicken breast and fish. Other than consuming protein powder, we could also choose egg, soy and milk. In this case, we shouldn’t rely too much on protein powder, especially if we can get healthy protein from nuts and seeds.