imagine being able to increase your strength, muscle growth and athletic performance in just seven days, it seems incredible, doesn't it, believe me, it's possible and all this thanks to a natural supplement that has been proven safe and effective after decades of research. I'm talking about creatine, but don't worry, that's not the case. just another one of those miracle products you see around, creatine is different, in fact our muscles already contain a certain amount of creatine because our body produces around 1g of it per day, in addition it is present in many foods rich in protein such as meat chicken and fish here's the trick, although our body already has creatine, sometimes it's necessary to give it a little extra help to maximize the amount stored in the muscles, that's where what we call the creatine saturation phase comes in.
In this video, we're going on a real journey through our body to discover exactly what happens step by step when you saturate your muscles with creatine, all of this in just one week, we will also talk about the controversy over creatine and hair loss. After all, does creatine cause hair loss or not? understand how creatine feeds our muscles and provides energy for high intensity activities such as running, weight lifting or even boxing this is directly related to a molecule called ATP which stands for adenosine triphosphate ATP is like gasoline that gives energy to our cells But it is quickly depleted during intense activities and this is where creatine comes into action within our muscle cells we have a reserve of phosphocriatin a kind of energy store when we do intense physical effort such as a hard workout at the gym or an intense bag session of blows our muscle cells use one of the three phosphocline molecules present in ATP to generate energy this transforms ATP into adenosine phosphate or ADP It is at this moment that the phosphocline stored in muscle cells comes into action converting ADP back to its useful state ATP this rapid process of ATP replenishment allows our muscles to continue functioning at full capacity even after the initial depletion of ATP and the best part here by consuming the appropriate amount of creatine you can maximize the creatine stores in your muscles in just seven days this way you will be ready for maximum performance but to achieve this goal in a short time it is recommended to take 20 to 25 grams of creatine per day during the first seven days there are more accurate calculations based on your body weight which is to multiply your weight by 0, 3 or you can follow the guideline of 20 to 25 grams per day to make it easier I know this may seem like a high amount but during this initial phase your muscle cells will absorb this creatine Like a sponge storing most of it imagine your muscle cells empty containers ready to be filled with additional creatine, this Extra creatine increases the energy reservoir of the muscles, preparing them to provide bursts of energy when needed.
As the days of saturation pass, the amount of creatine in the muscle cells gradually increases at the end of the seven days of this saturation phase your muscles will be completely saturated with creatine this will result in a noticeable increase in strength, power and endurance in a relatively short period of time during these seven days creatine will also gradually attract water to your muscle cells increasing cellular hydration this occurs naturally as your body seeks to maintain cellular balance your muscle cells store creatine and water together to maintain this balance as you increase your creatine intake your cells will naturally have more water This increase in cellular hydration can result in an increase in muscle volume contributing to a more muscular accentuated but it is important to know that this effect is mainly due to the increase in water retention and not necessarily to muscle growth Real in just seven days you want to gain muscle mass three times faster check out my practical guide to hypertrophy the link is in the first pinned comment as long as you continue to maximize your creatine reserves which I will explain shortly can lead to greater cellular hydration this hydration can actually contribute to muscle growth over time by exerting pressure on muscle cell membranes and their cytoskeletons which are perceived as a threat to the integrity of muscle cells triggering anabolic signals and increasing the rate of protein renewal muscle growth occurs when the rate of protein renewal is positive i. e. when protein synthesis exceeds protein breakdown our muscles are more likely to grow this is why increased cellular hydration can be a One of the reasons why creatine supplementation stimulates muscle hypertrophy in any case even without considering the increased water retention after just 7 days of saturation your muscles will be more prepared for growth in other ways this is probably due to the fact that you will have more energy to lift more weight and progressively overload your workouts, which is why Research shows that creatine supplementation can benefit the muscular cross-sectional area for different types of people, from Elite athletes to sedentary people and even the elderly.
Research also shows that it saturates your muscles with creatine can even influence bone mineral density and bone formation markers, which could be especially beneficial for people at higher risk of osteoporosis or recovering from an injury. Another likely effect as your muscles saturate with creatine during these seven days is that you will experience faster recovery from your workouts this is linked to increased protein synthesis rates creatine can provide a more favorable protein synthesis rate it can help your muscles repair micro injuries more quickly allowing you to train intensely sooner a A possible disadvantage for some athletes who want to quickly saturate creatine to improve performance is that during this phase they are likely to experience an increase in body weight due to greater water retention in muscle cells. To be clear, this weight gain has nothing to do with do with body fat gain But this can still be a problem for certain athletes, such as fighters for example, who need to maintain a certain weight.
Fortunately, the weight gain is usually only a few kilos and is usually temporary, decreasing after the seven-day saturation phase. but if you continue to take creatine your weight may remain high for most people who are not athletes and do not need to meet a specific weight for competitions weight gain should not be a cause for concern you should continue to take 5 grams of creatine day after the seven days instead of the 20 to 25 grams you were taking every day during saturation you should do this to keep your muscle creatine stores completely saturated for a longer period 5 grams is actually the regular dose of creatine but it takes a few weeks longer to reach the same degree that the saturation phase reaches in just seven days. This means that you may not get the same rapid increase in performance that saturation can offer during the first few weeks of regular use when you do the saturation for this seven days your muscles quickly reach the highest level of creatine saturation significantly increasing your ability to produce energy at a very fast pace on the other hand consistent use causes your muscles to gradually increase towards complete saturation over the course of the time if you take a higher dose of 20 to 25 grams of creatine per day to speed up the process or simply increase muscle creatine concentration more slowly from 5 grams per day in a month both methods lead to better performance and muscle gains In simpler words both methods will give you the same result in the long run since you cannot exceed the maximum amount of creatine that your muscles can store.
Seven day saturation offers the advantage of getting there faster now another often overlooked effect that will occur inside your body during these seven days concerns the effects that creatine has in your brain and cognitive abilities, you see, your brain needs a constant flow of energy to function properly and ATP, the same source of energy that fuels your muscles, is also essential for brain function, as you already know, creatine helps with recitation of ATP in our muscles and it turns out that the brain also has similar ATP regeneration abilities so some of the creatine you consume actually enters the cells of your brain after starting the blood brain barrier, creatine assists in the Regeneration of ATP within the brain cells providing the energy required for various cognitive functions This means that tasks that require quick thinking mental clarity and focus can be indirectly supported by supplementing with creatine this can provide an advantage in tasks such as studying creating creative ideas or simply carrying out tasks that require deep focus this is why Research shows that people who supplement with creatine have better brain function. In fact, the lead researcher of a study conducted by the University of Sydney in Australia concluded that creatine supplementation provided a significant measurable boost to brain power .
