We all know creatine monohydrate works!  That's a given.  But why are there times when you get more from a bottle or cycle of creatine than other times?  There are several reasons for this.  All of which you can adjust with relative ease to make sure you are getting the full effects for faster strength and muscle growth.

Krebs Cycle Support

Creatine monohydrate alone will produce some very good results but only appears to do so for the first month or so.  After that, most people report little or no gains until they go off creatine for a while and then start back on.   This is common, and from a biological standpoint, very understandable.  Without going into detail, creatine supplementation "'clogs" the Krebs Cycle.  Not literally, but in a sense this is what happens.  You see, creatine is just 1 single component in a very complex and finely tuned (thanks to evolution) pathway for ATP production.  When you add creatine to your diet (through supplementing) you will see a sudden increase in weight and strength.  I have seen as much as 10 pounds in 10 days and over 20 pounds in 4 weeks.  These are serious gains and this is why creatine is so popular.  But after these initial, gains most everyone experiences a wall - a plateau where no mater what they do they can't seem to wring another pound from creatine.

The answer - stoke the Krebs Cycle with supporting intermediates that are vital to creatine/ATP turnover.  This is not a difficult process and fits nicely into a bodybuilder's supplementation plan.

Supplementing with creatine can be likened to starting your car on a cold morning.  When you first crank the engine a "choke" is engaged that dramatically increases the amount of gas that is delivered to the engine.   The car fires to life, idles high and runs with authority.  After about 15 or 20 minutes, when the engine comes up to temperature, this extra gas supplied is no longer needed and the choke is released.  If the choke were to remain on, extra gas would continue to flood the engine and the car would literally run like shit.  Why?   While the extra gas "jump-started" the engine and made it run good when it could utilize it, once the engine temperature was optimized, from then on too much gas and not enough other necessary elements - primarily air - overloaded the engine's need and eroded the performance. Now if you still wanted to gain the benefit of the extra gas going into the engine you're going to have find a way to get extra air in there as well.

This analogy fits quite well with what happens when you supplement with creatine monohydrate.  You get the initial size and strength increase and then things start to plane out.  You don't feel that same "strong" feel you did when you first used creatine.  Sure you're still strong, but the feeling is not the same and the progress slows dramatically.  Sound familiar?  The creatine is just not working the same because you have "choked" the pathways of the Krebs cycle.  You have a creatine overload that needs other intermediates to make use of the extra creatine consumption.

This was the phenomenon that sparked the development of Creatine Complex-5.  We integrated the essential intermediates necessary for optimum Krebs Cycle function.  These are not exotic compounds.  They are however, exotic in their critical mediation and timing of the numerous multi-step process involved in creatine conversion and ATP production.⁵  When you don't supply these essential elements during creatine supplementation, you interrupt the harmonious flow of chemical processes that encompass basic energy production at the cellular level. You cease getting the positive effects from creatine.

Everyone that has used creatine monohydrate has experienced this. The only way to feel results from it again is to quit using it for about a month and then redo the loading procedure.  But the problem here is you don't want to stop using creatine in fear that you'll lose all that you have gained.  And in most instances you will.  It's frustrating, but with Creatine Complex-5 and the integrated intermediates we feel we have solved the problem.

Spiking Insulin While Taking Creatine

This is a good idea and it works. Two current studies show that not only does simple carbohydrate intake while consuming creatine increases creatine entry into the muscle cell by over 60%, but it also increased overall creatine retention as well.^1,2 This method of creatine supplementation allows more creatine to enter the muscle cell and remain there.

Our new Creatine HSC advances creatine supplementation by incorporating the intermediates necessary for optimum creatine conversion and ATP turnover for continued creatine effectiveness without creatine/ATP overload. To compliment this important function Creatine HSC also spikes insulin during creatine ingestion for increased cellular uptake and retention.

So what you have with Creatine HSC is more creatine getting into and staying in the muscle cell for more efficient creatine conversion and ATP production through efficient integration of Krebs Cycle substrate provisions.  This is called Creatine Hyper-Saturation.

Mimicking Insulin To Enhance Uptake and Retention Even Further

Though no full studies have been performed in this area, some very interesting anecdotal feedback has uncovered what we feel is a very significant area of enhancing creatine performance.  We know spiking insulin works to enhance creatine's effectiveness.  What if you can provide a method that has been shown in medical studies to enhance glucose disposal into the muscle cell by as much as 65%?   This will theoretically push even more creatine into the muscle cell.

Well you can do this very easily with a little known natural compound called  ALA- Lipoic Acid or Thioctic Acid.   Taking just 600 milligrams of Lipoic Acid a day has been shown to enhance glucose disposal by 65%.  This glucose transport stimulation is accomplished through Lipoic Acid's participation in the insulin signaling pathway.³ Lipoic Acid provokes an upward shift of the glucose-insulin dose-response curve. 

Taking Lipoic Acid while taking Creatine HSC could substantially increase creatine's uptake into the muscle cell both  through the spiking of insulin and the rapid increase of Lipoic Acid mediated glucose uptake.

The Very Important "Hydration" Factor

When taking creatine it is very important to consume adequate amounts of fluid.  This is very important and instrumental in the success of creatine supplementation.  Part of the problem with people that experience subpart muscular gains from creatine is inadequate fluid consumption.  You have to understand that creatine works on a hydration bases.  It allows more intra-cellular fluid to be retained in the muscle.  But you have to provide this extra fluid.  Poor fluid intake results in poor response from creatine.  It can also lead to stomach discomfort and muscle cramps.

16 to 20 Ounces per 5 grams

This is a good number to shoot for.  Understand that this is above and beyond you normal daily fluid intake which, depending on your activity level, should be a least 80 ounces a day.  So while you're loading with creatine you'll need to consume an extra 64 (16 x 4) to 100 (20 x 5) ounces a day.   This a lot but keep in mind - hydration.

This change in fluid intake alone will make a major difference in the effectiveness creatine has on promoting size and strength gains.   One of creatine's main premise is fluid compartmentalization.  Convincing the muscle cell to hold more fluid.  More fluid in the muscle cell means more leverage (greater strength), more nutrient capacity and  significant up-regulation of protein synthesis (more muscle growth).

So forget the "add a little creatine to a small amount of water and gulp it down" routine.  This is a setup for poor results.  Also, shy away from creatine bars unless you plan to consume plenty of water with them, which by the way is usually what you have to do in order to choke them down.

Note:  Consuming extra fluid requires consuming extra vitamins as well.  Take a good multi-vitamin / multi-mineral at least 3 times a day.  A good gauge is to always piss yellow!  If  your urine is clear you are not consuming enough vitamins to support the extra fluid intake.  Multi-Pro 32X is perfect for this.  Just take a tablet 3 times a day and you're set.

Sodium - A Potent Creatine Transporter

No, you don't need to add salt to your creatine but sodium is a very effective creatine transporter.  This means that a correct sodium-creatine chemical gradient  invites cellular creatine uptake.⁴  So shying away from sodium is not a good idea from several standpoints.  The exact amount of sodium that should accompany creatine intake has yet to be established.  It's not known if it is even necessary to consume sodium and creatine at the same time although we have strong reason to believe (and will soon prove this clinically) that concurrent sodium-creatine intake will drive more creatine into the muscle cell.  Creatine HSC does have sodium added as a creatine transport component in the form of sodium diphosphate.

So, to further enhance creatine transport, utilization and muscle creatine uptake it is wise to consume sodium liberally.  Sodium is not the killer mineral the media would have you to believe.  Quite the contrary.  Also, liberal sodium intake is believed to facilitate numerous other anabolic responses as well.

The Creatine Market

Creatine has turned into a commodity on the supplement market.  What you have are  many "no-name" companies selling creatine at very low prices.  I must warn you the quality of these no-name creatine products is all across the board.  We recently tested a creatine supplement from a company called American Sports Nutrition out of Connecticut that assayed at 42% creatine.  The label claimed 99%.  Less than half of the powder in the bottle was creatine.  I don't know about you but I think that sucks!

So if price is the deciding factor in your creatine purchase, understand that in most cases, you get what you pay for.

Summery - Getting The Maximum Effects From Creatine Supplementation