Creatine, a natural substance that is produced in the body by itself. It functions as creatine phosphate in the body to support adenosine triphosphate. Mostly it comes from protein-rich diets, including eggs, milk, meat, peas, fish, chicken, and others.
ATP (adenosine triphosphate) uses muscle contraction to provide energy to the body and takes care of muscle mass and strength power. To improve the ATP, people, especially fitness enthusiasts, are using creatine as a supplement.
Though it offers several health benefits, including maximum gains, stronger and bigger muscles, more strength and power, enhanced energy production, and many more, we specifically talk about its role in getting lean muscle mass.
Creatine while cutting:
Elite bodybuilders are competing to cut the fats in their cutting bodybuilding phase. Diet restriction is an important part of cutting that leads to less intake of creatine. This can hurt your competitive success. It is better to have a supplement in such cases. Here are some other reasons:
For success in cutting, lot of factors play an important role, including sex, overall health, physical performance, stress, genetics, concentration, and others. Creatine helps you to improve them. Only sweating in the gym will not support your lean muscle mass. You have to take creatine before and after your workout. This helps you to stay energized even after your intense workout.
During cutting, it plays an important role to bring water into the muscles that prevents muscle damage and boost recovery. Many bodybuilders limit water intake while cutting. They may experience muscle fiber damage. So, with supplementation, drinking plenty of water is quite important. That helps in improving body fat percentage, athletic performance, and muscle strength.
During intense training for cutting, a rapid weight loss can cause different health issues in energy levels, blood pressure, muscle mass, heart rate, hormone levels, sleep, concentration, testosterone, and others. Supplementation with creatine can help to prevent such issues.
Side effects of creatine:
Though creatine is a natural substance, there are no such side effects. But taking it more than recommended as a supplement can have some common side effects, including upset stomach and weight gain. It is safe to take creatine from natural sources like fish, salmon, black pudding, beef, meat, eggs, milk, poultry, duck, peas, and others.
Avoid side effects:
To avoid these side effects, you need to follow some tips:
Maintain dose of 3 grams
Plan for slow fat cutting
Proper sleep
Consume plenty of water
Protein consumption
Conclusion:
Creatine mainly stores in the skeletal muscle but small amounts are stored in the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and brain. When you gain lean muscle mass gain, you increase the intensity of exercises, restricting diets, reduce water consumption, and many more to gain strength, improved athletic performance, and others. This leads to a lack of creatine in the body that can impact your fitness goals and overall health. Try to fill the creatine with natural sources first. In absence of them, supplementation becomes crucial at that time.