Ana Calderón Ramos*

Graduate in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at the Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain

*Corresponding Author: Ana Calderón Ramos, Graduate in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at the Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain.

Received: July 24, 2023; Published: August 14, 2023

Abstract

Creatine supplementation shows greatest benefits when applied with the aim of improving strength and endurance in anaerobic exercise. Nevertheless, there is also evidence of benefits from supplementation for endurance exercise such as cycling, middle distance, team sports or HIIT. The aim of this review is to evaluate the potential benefits of creatine as a nutritional supplement during endurance exercise, as well as identify the potential mechanisms may influence. There are many types of creatine, but the most evidence-based and most widely consumed is creatine monohydrate. Most effective way to achieve gains is by performing a loading phase with the intake of 5 g of creatine monohydrate (or 0.3g/kg body weight) four times a day for a period of 5-7 days. Once muscle creatine stores are fully saturated, an intake of 3-5g/day is usually sufficient to maintain them. In the case of endurance activities, improved performance is attributed to an increase in phosphocreatine resynthesis and muscle creatine content. The response to supplementation can differ greatly among individuals, usually depending on the individual's initial phosphocreatine stores. Potential mechanisms that could affect training adaptations include an increase in exercise intensity, the role of creatine in aerobic metabolism and finally its antioxidant properties. Nevertheless, further research is needed to fully understand its impact on training adaptations in endurance sports. According to the results of some studies, the best time to consume creatine is after exercise; consumption of 5 g of creatine after exercise shows improvements in body composition (gains in fat-free mass and loss of fat mass). In addition to its efficacy, it is also considered a safe supplement, and is approved and recommended by several official organizations. It is true that in some specific cases, such as in polymedicated, elderly or postmenopausal women, adverse effects may occur after supplementation. However, in most cases this will be unusual. Finally, additional applications of creatine have recently been identified that enhance recovery, warm-up exercise tolerance, injury prevention and rehabilitation, and neuroprotection of the brain and spinal cord, as well as other potential medical uses in different clinical contexts. In summary, creatine supplementation seems to have benefits in endurance exercise, although more studies are still needed to specify which parameters are improved in each type of exercise, also considering the influence of other factors such as age or gender.

Keywords: Creatine; Creatine Monohydrate; Supplement; Sport; Exercise; Resistance Training; Endurance; Ergogenic Aid

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Citation

Citation: Ana Calderón Ramos. “Use of Creatine as a Nutritional Supplement during Endurance Training". Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 7.9 (2023): 63-68.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2023 Ana Calderón Ramos. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.