Let’s talk about supplements to increase muscle mass and specifically creatine, the best ally for athletes
Despite all your hard work in the gym, are you not seeing the results you had hoped for? Do you wish to increase your muscle mass and have realised that training alone is not enough? Have you been told about creatine and you don’t know if it can really help you? In this article we’ll talk to you about the importance of supplementation for athletes and, specifically, about creatine to increase muscle mass, an irreplaceable ally if you want to help your body.
Every athlete, in order to be able to achieve their goals, needs to know what the four fundamental pillars of correct physical activity are, in order to increase strength and also muscle mass: constant training, regenerative rest, a correct diet and adequate supplementation of nutrients useful to the body. If even one of these four points is missing, achieving good results will be much more difficult, if not completely impossible.
Between the advertisements on television, the articles in specialised magazines but, above all, if you frequent a gym, you will certainly have heard of creatine, the absolute queen among supplements for athletes due to its many characteristics and numerous beneficial effects on the organism and on the physique of athletes. But what is it? What is it and what is it used for?
What creatine is
Creatine is an amino acid naturally present in the body. It is synthesised by the pancreas, liver and kidneys from three other amino acids (arginine, glycine e metionina) and increased through diet. It is mostly found in foods of animal origin, especially meat and fish. Its main function is to bind to a phosphate group, thus transforming into creatine phosphate or phosphocreatine, and act to meet the energy demands of the alactacid anaerobic mechanism; it is therefore essential for muscles to produce ATP.
The natural phosphocreatine reserves are depleted very quickly in about 4-5 seconds, therefore, to maintain high sports performance, athletes must necessarily replenish it in order to maximise their reserves. By replenishing creatine through specific products, such as sports supplements, it is possible to increase stores by up to 40% and significantly improve performance.
Creatine to increase muscle mass and more
Over the years, many studies on various athletes have shown the great benefits of creatine, especially from an ergogenic point of view, specifically during high intensity and short duration efforts. But that’s not all, creatine also has antioxidant, neuroprotective and cardioprotective properties.
The benefits of creatine supplementation for athletes include:
- the anabolic function of muscle cells, which is why creatine is taken to increase muscle mass and consequently muscle strength;
- an improvement in contractile capacity and neuromuscular function;
- the osmotic properties of creatine allow better hydration of the body and a more effective thermoregulatory response;
- increased glycogen storage capacity in muscles;
- an increase in critical power and consequently the removal of the feeling of fatigue.
Creatine for increasing muscle mass is not only important during training, but also in the event of injury and therefore forced stoppage. In such cases, taking creatine regularly will help reduce atrophy of the resting muscles and the subsequent recovery in terms of muscle mass, strength and vigour.
Sprintade® products for athletes
The Sprintade® line, produced entirely in Italy by investing in extensive research processes, was created to make food technology available to everyone that was previously only intended for professionals. All products are designed to guarantee all the energy that athletes need, ensuring maximum speed of nutrient assimilation thanks to highly concentrated formulations and more convenient and easily transportable formats such as gels, ampoules and chewable gums.
CREAFos di Sprintade® is the new powder supplement perfect for those seeking energy support and performance enhancement, especially muscle strength. Rich in creatine, fructose 1,6-diphosphate, magnesium, potassium, selenium and B vitamins, it can be consumed regularly to increase muscle creatine and phosphate reserves.