Creatine is shaking off its association as a product solely for gym-bros and bodybuilders, as more of us are unlocking the supplement’s benefits for strength and power output during resistance training, as well as for mental health, fatigue and memory. Among one of the most well-studied and effective supplements for improving exercise performance, creatine is a naturally-occurring compound produced in the body from the amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine.
It works by increasing the body’s store of phosphocreatine – the molecule that then helps produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The latter is the body’s primary energy currency during high-intensity or repetitive effort. The compound is found in meat and fish, but to hit the recommended amount (3g to 5g) needed to improve physical performance, you’d need to eat a lot – a 90kg man, for example, would need to consume more than 2kg of red meat or 400 cups of cow’s milk to get 10g of creatine. So like many, I’ve been supplementing my diet with powdered creatine before I hit the gym.
