By Korbie Nitiforo
Korbie Nitiforo is the owner of Training Innovations and has been a personal trainer since 1991. He has 9 years of continuing education including; 4 years in the College of Pharmacy at U.N.M, a degree in Exercise Science from UNM & he is also a graduate of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Creatine is one of the most popular and misunderstood supplements on the market. It is used to increase lean muscle mass, improve overall strength and help muscles recover quickly. Our bodies make some creatine and it is also present in protein rich foods such as meat and fish, but in much lower levels than is obtained through supplementation.
So what exactly is Creatine? Creatine is a combination of amino acids that our bodies convert to creatine phosphate. Creatine phosphate is responsible for helping to resynthesize adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which provides energy for muscle contraction. As muscles contract, they break off a phosphate molecule from ATP turning it into a compound called adenosine diphosphate, or ADP. The problem with this is the body has a limited amount of ATP. By taking a creatine supplement, ADP will use the creatine phosphate to create more ATP resulting in a higher level of muscular activity which is important for people who are looking to build more muscle mass and increase strength.
