Creatine is not actually a drug, it is a natural substance that our bodies produce. It’s a combination of three amino acids: glycine, arginine and methionine. We can get creatine from our diets, mostly from animal products like meat or fish. Whatever creatine is stored is usually stored in our muscles.

Creatine helps the body to do what is known as explosive high intensity and repetitive exercises. This entails that you will receive a much better workout when you use creatine. You will also feel quite a bit better once you conclude the workout because your muscles are able to regenerate and recover a lot faster than they would normally. This also will reduce the amount of lactic acids that are built up during exercise, meaning that you won’t be quite as sore.

Though you could easily get creatine from your diet like most people do, you can also take supplements to receive higher volumes of the substance. If you do it properly then your muscles won’t be as sore, and that means you will be able to exercise much more than you would have normally. This is a great help to those who want to do a lot of exercise and build their bodies up.

How does it do this? A substance called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP for short, simply sits in your muscles waiting for you to need it. When you need it, it is provided quickly and instantaneously, which accounts for the “explosive” benefit it gives muscles, in that you can do very intense workouts almost instantaneously.

Creatine works quite well, primarily because right after ingestion it turns into what is known as creatine phosphate. This will replenish the ATP stored in muscles through replacing phosphate that was expended during your workout. During intense activity such as exercise, ATP turns into ADP or adenosine diphosphate.

This is what creatine does for you. It replenishes that lost the phosphate molecule so that you have a ready supply of ATP once again. Used correctly, creatine can increase your workout times and give you better muscle mass.

As with anything though, there are some disadvantages to using creatine, one of which is that water will be retained in your muscles. This means that if you want to keep your body hydrated and get water to other organs in your body, you will have to drink more water than usual when you are using a creatine supplement.

Creatine will give you the ability to exercise to your full potential and will help you to develop your muscles at an increased rate. You won’t be as sore after your workouts, and this means that you can get back to is sooner than normal.

There are some issues with using creatine though. You will gain extra weight because of the water in your muscles; this is known as water weight. It won’t hurt anything of course, but you do need to be ready to see some higher numbers when you weigh yourself. You may also become dehydrated an d see some other ailments becoming present. Also remember that you should not take creatine if you have kidney problems.

And, how important is a good diet? Simply put, no matter the supplements you take, your body’s not going to function right and your workouts aren’t going to be as effective or as efficient if you don’t eat right.

You can take all the creatine in the world, but if you sit there and eat junk food instead of concentrating on lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and plenty of fruits and vegetables, you’re not going to be helping your workout.

Your muscles have to have something to build themselves on. So, make your diet healthy by including plenty of lean proteins like lean meats and fish, complex carbohydrates, and fruits and vegetables.

With these guidelines in place, creatine can certainly help you improve your workouts and therefore your muscle mass as long as it’s used properly.