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Creatine - Facts, Myths, &

Practical Application
The Most Misunderstood Supplement
on Earth

BowTiedOx
Nov 14, 2021 23 7

I should have known this post was inevitable.

Anytime I send a tweet about creatine, I get
100 questions and hear a new myth someone
“heard from some bro one time”.

Creatine has been studied for years, it is

actually the most studied supplement in the
world. The consensus? It’s highly bene$cial
and SAFE.

Creatine is considered one of my “must haves”

for the gym, and with this post I’m going to
explain why, and dispel every myth you’ve
heard about this wonder supplement. By the
end of this you will have a complete
understanding.

Buckle in, this is going to be quite the ride.

*Autism Intensi-es*.

What Is Creatine?

Creatine is simply a molecule that is

produced from the amino acids: glycine,
arginine and methionine. Yes, it IS produced in
the body naturally—it is not a foreign
compound.

When creatine enters or is synthesized in the

body, it binds to a phosphate molecule to
create creatine phosphate.

To understand how we use it, it will involve

some biochemistry 101, so don’t say I never
taught you anything.

ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is our body’s

primary source of energy. Everything we eat is
converted to ATP to be used as energy—it is
pretty much the fuel for almost all of our
body’s functions and processes.

The way ATP is used as energy is by

hydrolyzing a phosphate group, which simply
means energy is given oP to fuel whatever
activity or process it is fueling, which uses a
single phosphate in the process.

Now consider this: if ATP is adenosine

TRIphosphate, when a phosphate is given oP,
this makes it adenosine DIphosphate (ADP)
and ADP is practically useless in the body.

This is where creatine comes into the picture.

Note that creatine is converted into creatine
phosphate when it enters the body. Creatine then
donates it’s phosphate to the ADP to create
ATP, which can be used as fuel.

You can see where this is bene9cial—creatine

allows the body to use and store more ATP.
This has a ton of beneTts for both
performance and power production, but also
neuroprotective and cognitive enhancement.

Creatine For Muscle Growth and

Performance

Creatine directly provides a rapid fuel source

for the muscles to use when you are liUing
weights. LiUing weights is an anaerobic
function—short, intense burst of energy.

The more ATP you can use during an exercise,

the more intense you can perform the exercise.
This will help us get an extra rep or two than
we normally could’ve done without creatine.

If we think back to what causes a muscle to

grow and progressive overload, then we can
see how creatine directly leads to muscle
growth through better performance in the gym.

Creatine also provides another beneTt for

muscle growth, it helps with intracellular
hydration. By allowing the cell to hold more
water, a few things happen:

1. The muscle looks bigger and fuller.

2. You get a better pump thus nutrient :ow

to the muscle.

3. Muscle cell hydration leads to increased

muscle protein synthesis.

4. This additional water weight helps

leverage more strength into our reps.

In terms of power for exercise not directly

aimed for muscle growth, creatine also
provides great beneTts. Again, this comes
down to the increased energy conversion.

In terms of pure strength, creatine has been

found in multiple studies to increase overall
strength and force production.

Creatine can also prevent fatigue due to heat,

which is big for athletes who play a sport
outside in the heat. This is thought to be due
to the cellular hydration as mentioned above.

When it comes to cardiovascular exercise—

namely sprints or anaerobic exercise—
creatine is again found to improve
performance. With sprints it helps with the
recovery period, which is again due to the
increased ATP pool.

As you can see, from an exercise perspective,

creatine provides SUBSTANTIAL bene9ts.
From muscle growth to increased performance.

Cognitive Performance and Neuroprotection

The beneTts above are more than enough

reason to use creatine, but the most
important beneTt might be what it does for
your brain.

The brain itself runs oP ATP (just like every

biological process), so creatine allows the
energy conversions in the brain to happen in
a more e>cient manner. This obviously leads
to increased cognitive activity (brain power).

A well-known, reputable study showed

creatine supplementation improved working
memory and intelligence “to a statistically
signiTcant degree”1

If this wasn’t enough, creatine also has

neuroprotective factors—by its energy reverse
abilities, creatine is able to help prevent
neurological disorders like Parkinson,
Alzheimer’s, and Dementia.

Creatine also has anti-depressant properties and

can help repair/maintain the brain aUer a
head injury, adding to the extremely long list
of beneTts.

In short, creatine is also just as good for your

brain as it is for athletic performance.

Other Bene$ts

There are so many other beneTts being

explored by creatine:

One is the ePect on the heart and

potentially avoiding heart failure from
weak heart muscles.

Creatine can potentially increase

insulin sensitivity and lower the risk of
diabetes.

Provide protection and repair of joints.

Dosage

Creatine needs to reach a saturation in the

body to reap the beneTts of supplementation.
The commonly recommended dose is 5g of
creatine a day.

For larger individuals, 10g a day might be the

best dosage for you and help maximize the
beneTts of supplementation.

Some people opt to “creatine load” or take

larger doses while tapering down—this is
unnecessary, but some have success with this.
Dosages of 25g are taken for 5-7 days then
you drop down to the 5-10g a day daily
dosage.

When you take creatine does not matter. Some

take it in the mornings, some take it at night,
others pre-workout and others post-workout.

It does not really matter as having consistent

levels in your body is how creatine works.

Personally, I take 5g of creatine in the

morning and 5g of creatine before my
workout.

You DO NOT need to cycle creatine—you

would only cycle a supplement if its eNects
diminish over time, which is not the case
with creatine. You can take it all the time,
year-round, and maintain the bene$ts,
SAFELY.

Source

The cheapest and most e@ective form of

creatine is creatine monohydrate.

I personally buy in bulk from True Nutrition

for $14.69 and the bag lasts me for a couple
months.

There are other forms of creatine, (they all

work) but monohydrate is the best bang for
your buck, it works just as well as the others
—creatine is creatine.

If you choose to shop from True Nutrition,

code “BowTiedOx” can save you 5%.

Side ENects

Creatine is safe. We will start with that.

There are maybe a handful of things to
consider when taking creatine—it will largely
not apply to most of you.

Creatine can cause water retention through the

process of cellular hydration—this is not a bad
thing. However, if you have high blood
pressure, this can cause your blood pressure
to raise slightly.

Some people do not like the water retention as

it makes them “bloated”. This water retention
goes away aUer a few weeks, and to be frank,
if you look “fat” from water retention you’re
probably not lean enough as is. Water retention
is good as the extra weight can help you push
more weight and cellular hydration leads to
greater MPS.

Creatine *can* potentially cause hair loss

(though the jury is still out on that one) by
increasing 5 Alpha Reductases conversion of
Testosterone to DHT.

If this was going to be an issue for you, you would

already be exhibiting signs of male pattern
baldness.

In theory, this conversion to DHT would lead

to greater muscle growth and anabolic
properties, but the studies that show this
conversion have not been successfully
replicated.

TLDR: If creatine causes any hair loss, you were

probably going to lose that hair anyway, just get
jacked and be bald, it looks cool.

Creatine is simply not toxic and has not been

shown to have any serious side eNects.
Dosages of 5-10g a day have shown no
adverse side eNects in any studies and have
even been given 20g a day to a man with
kidney damage with no recorded negative side
eNects.

Which brings us to the biggest myth “it’s bad

for the kidneys because elevated creatinine (not
creatine) levels.” Elevated creatinine can
indicate kidney damage. Creatinine can also
be elevated due to working out and
potentially creatine (at higher doses) causing
a false positive for elevated creatinine levels.

This is absolutely nothing to be concerned

about—creatine is not bad for your kidneys.

Creatine, for healthy individuals with no

underlying health conditions, is
PERFECTLY SAFE.

Bottom Line

Creatine is one the the most studied,

ePective, and safest supplements you can
take. The health beneTts are immense as well
as your ability to perform better in the gym
and put on muscle.

There are tons of myths around creatine that

are simply unfounded and not backed by any
science or anecdotal/empirical evidence.

I encourage you to do your own research and

come to your own conclusions (they will be
the same as mine)—I personally use peer-
reviewed studies and Examine.com for all of
my information on supplements.

Creatine is simply too eFective to not be taken

if you are serious about your progress in the
gym, not to mention the plethora of other
beneTts.

#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DICLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice.

Please consult a medical professional before
starting any workout program, diet plan, or
supplement protocol. These are opinions from a
Cartoon Ox.

1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PM
C1691485/pdf/14561278.pdf

23 7 Share

Write a comment…

BowTiedMarmot Nov 30, 2021

I’ve heard that with creatine you need to

drink much more water to protect your
kidneys. Is that a myth? How much water
should I be drinking per day if I am
bulking?
Reply

1 reply by BowTiedOx

LorenzoPronto Nov 15, 2021

When is the best time to consume

creating? I’ve heard right after workout.
Reply

5 more comments…

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