What makes KreAlkalyn Creatine Different?
As you might know, creatine breaks down into creatinine when it’s mixed in water and creatinine is a useless compound in terms of building muscle.  Research has found that the higher the PH of the creatine the slower it converts to creatinine.  At a PH level of 12 the conversion is stopped completely.

So, Kre Alkalyn is a PH buffered creatine with a PH level above 12 meaning it remains stable when mixed in liquids.  This is critical to us as bodybuilders because it means that when you ingest Kre Alkalyn creatine it remains stable and more of the active creatine reaches your muscles full strength.

Kre Alkalyn Creatine Side Effects & Benefits
As you can imagine there are some key benefits to taking a buffered creatine product like Kre Alkalyn.  In addition, the typical side effects from creatine are avoided.

• You get the full benefits of taking creatine with much smaller amounts.  Just 1-3 grams per day is enough.
• You’ll get the same results or better as creatine monohydrate.
• While some people will get bloated using creatine monohydrate, there are no such reports from users of Kre Alkalyn.
• Some people also experience upset stomach’s when taking creatine monohydrate, but with Kre Alkalyn this is no longer a concern.  No bloating and no stomach upset.

My Experience with SciFit Kre Alkalyn 1500
I found that when taking just 2 capsules per day after working out (1.5g) I was getting the same benefits as creatine monohydrate.  I was surprised to say the least.  Plus, if you’re one of the unlucky people that have been avoiding creatine or suffering because of bloating of upset stomach’s you now have an option that allows you to reap the benefits of creatine.

SciFit Kre-Alkalyn 1500, 120 Capsules The World’s Only 100% Absorption Creatine For Maximum Results!

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Well, there is most definitely a difference between plain creatine monohydrate and creatine ethyl ester. The CEE has been proven to have much more absorption in the body. It also doesn’t require that you pre-load it or that you take in huge quantities of dextrose to help push it into the muscles. Really no comparison at all. For my money I am going to go with creatine ethyl ester every time.

So, which CEE product is best? I certainly have not tried them all, but I can tell you my favorites. BSN Cell Mass and Omega Sports Cre-Ethyl Thunder. Both are inexpensive and do a great job as far as I am concerned. I use the Cre-Ethyl Thunder pre-workout and the Cell Mass post-workout for a total of about 5.5g of creatine.

BSN Cell Mass is a powdered form of creatine ethyl ester. That can be good or bad depending on you. Personally I am not that fond of having to mix my own and have no problems with pills so for me it is a negative. You may like it though. Where BSN Cell Mass really shines is in the effects. It pumps me up like crazy and seems to give me a huge strength boost as well. It also has glutamine added which saves me the trouble and expense of adding that to my post workout. And like I said it really is inexpensive.

Omega Sports Cre-Ethyl Thunder comes in capsule form which is great for me. Unfortunately you do have to take a ton of the capsules, 8 per serving, so if you don’t like pills stay away from this one. It is a pre-workout creatine and has caffeine, niacinamide and pyridoxine hcl added for an energy boost. Stacks really well with ephedra. And also inexpensive.

These are different questions with different answers. First lets look at why creatine makes you stronger.

Creatine helps to provide energy for our muscles. When a muscle contracts the first 10 seconds or so is fueled by adenosine-triphosphate (ATP). ATP is very efficient at fueling the muscles for quick and explosive movements, such as weight lifting. After 10 seconds the muscle has exhausted its supply of ATP and more is needed. That is where creatine comes in.

The body stores its creatine as creatine phosphate. The creatine phosphate is able to give up its phosphate molecule to adenosine-diphosphate (ADP) to create more ATP. If you have more creatine phosphate available then you can increase the rate of ATP synthesis as well as the amount of ATP synthesized. Studies have shown that supplementing with creatine can increase the amount of creatine phosphate in the muscles up to 20%. It allows you muscles to do a greater amount of work for a longer time. For you and me this means heavier weights and more reps. And that means increased muscle hypertrophy, which brings us to why creatine makes us bigger.

Actually, creatine increases the bodies size and weight through two ways. The first I have already mentioned. Because creatine allows us to lift heavier and longer we stimulate more muscle fibers and thus gain muscle mass from that route. But there is more.

Creatine also causes the muscles to hold water. Not like the water retention that makes you look smooth, but instead it pulls water into the spaces between your muscles cells. This makes the muscles fuller and bigger and also increases muscle mass and weight. Over the longer term studies indicate that the increase in muscle mass is more than just water. One possibility that seems to have merit is that the increased pressure in the muscle stimulates protein synthesis. That’s how our muscles grow. There are also studies that show an increase in the positive nitrogen balance which would also lead to increased protein synthesis and a decrease in protein breakdown.

There is no need to worry about side effects with creatine.

There is also no need to cycle creatine or stop using it. Nor does it become necessary to increase your dose. If you do choose to stop you will likely experience a small drop in weight as some water leaves you muscles. You may also lose some strength, but there is no reason to expect that you will lose any of your muscle mass.

In closing let me remind you that it is not the creatine that causes your increase in strength and size. The creatine just makes that possible. It is your hard work, intensity and dedication to your workouts that will cause you to grow. There is no replacement for this so just get out there, lift big and grow!

Creatine itself comes in several forms with creatine monohydrate being the most common. Last year it accounted for approximately 400 million dollars in sales for supplement companies. That’s a lot of new muscle being made!

Creatine monohydrate is creatine bonded with a molecule of water. This differenciates it from creatine ethyl ester (CEE) which is creatine monohydrate with an ester attached.

The effect of creatine in any form is to increase the capacity of the muscle to do work. A second effect is a volumizing of the muscle due to creatines ability to shuttle water to the spaces in between your muscles cells. This makes the muscles bigger and fuller, but has been thought to do much more.

The increase in strength from creatine monohydrate is thought to come from the pressure created in the muscles. It is also thought that this intra-muscular pressure creates a more positive nitrogen balance and thus increases protein synthesis. While this is unproven it does explain the increase in muscle mass seen in creatine users.

The bottom line with creatine monohydrate is that it works well and also does not have any significant side-effects. No wonder so many professional athletes use it to improve their performance.

Without creatine no muscular contraction would be possible as it is part of the cells energy path. The muscles energy in the first 10 seconds of intense work comes from adenosine triphosphate. It gives up one of the high energy phosphates to the cells for energy and becomes adenosine diphosphate. Creatine is stored in the muscles as phosphocreatine. Once all the ATP is exhausted phosphocreatine reacts with creatine kinase to give its phosphate group back to the ADP and form more ATP. This reaction also prevents the use of glycogen as an energy source and also stops the formation of lactic acid (that is what makes your muscles burn when you lift). So, the more creatine and phosphocreatine stored in your body the longer the cells can continue to function on ATP and the more work your muscles can do. In other words you lift heavier for more reps. Creatine supplementation has been shown to increase the level of phosphocreatine by up to 20%.

Because of the way that creatine works in the body it has three main effects

1. Increased strength
2. Increased capacity for work
3. Increased size or muscle mass

Creatine comes in several forms, but the most popular by far is creatine monohydrate. This is just creatine with a water molecule added. It works ok, but the absorbtion is not great so more needs to be taken. Absorbtion can be increased by creating an insulin spike using a simple sugar, but there is some question if this is good since insulin is also responsible for fat storage.

A second form of creatine is rapidly becoming popular and this is creatine ethyl ester. This is creatine monohydrate that has been esterified to promote better absorbtion. Reports indicate that it increases absorbtion 30-40 fold!

You take in about 1 gram of creatine a day, mostly from meat and fish. Your body also produces another 1 gram a day. Only 2 grams, but you can store many times more than that. And the more creatine you can hold in your muscles the greater the benefit you get from creatine. That is why we use creatine to raise the level of creatine in our bodies.

But don’t take my word for it alone. If you look at all of the professional bodybuilders and athletes you’ll find that a majority of them use creatine too. In fact, 75% of the competitors at the 1996 olympic games used creatine. It should be noted as well that if you already have a diet high in red meat you may not experience as many benefits from creatine. Remember red meat has high levels of creatine so you are already getting increased amounts.

Creatine Articles:
Creatine Facts & Creatine Side Effects Exposed

Because creatine is so effective at moving water into the muscles you must be sure to drink enough water. I think we are all guilty at one time or another of neglecting this VERY important rule. Remember, your body is a big bag of water and it is required for virtually every bodily function. One to one and a half gallons should be what you try to drink everyday. And be sure to drink at least 16oz of water with your creatine, in addition to the water required to mix it. If you follow this simple guideline then you will have no side effects from creatine supplementation.

Studies have shown that short term use of creatine is safe and free from side effects (Robinson et al., 2000). Longer studies also show creatine to be safe and effective as a muscle building supplement, but these longer studies have been small.

By all accounts creatine appears to be among the safest effective supplements out there.

The daily amount of creatine from natural sources is 1-2 grams. Half of that is from food sources and half the body makes itself. But, we can safely take in 5 and possibly even 10 grams per day. Some bodybuilders are known to take 20-30 grams a day for years with no negative side effects. That is where creatine supplementation plays its part. Increased creatine in our bodies leads to increased strength and muscle mass. See the effects of creatine.

When starting creatine some recommend a one week loading phase where you take in 2-3 times the normal amount of creatine. While this will saturate your muscles more quickly it is really not necessary. A maintenance dose will create the same amount of creatine in the muscle within 4 weeks.

Recommended doses per bodyweight follow:

• Less than or equal to 140lbs = 5-6grams per day
• 141lbs to 170lbs = 6-7.5 grams per day
• 171lbs to 200lbs = 8 grams per day
• 201lbs to 240lbs = 8-10 grams per day
• 241lb and up = 10-12 grams per day

Daily doses of creatine should be taken immediately following training as the muscles are most depleted at this time and will literally “soak up” the creatine.

Initially it was thought that creatine should be taken with a simple sugar (usually fruit juice). The idea was that the sugar would create an insulin spike which would push the creatine into your muscles. While studies have found this to be true there is much debate concerning the benefits of pushing creatine into your muscles like this vs. the effect of such an insulin spike because insulin also has the effect of causing your body to store fat. This combined with the usually high levels of cortisol in your system post-training have made it questionable whether the gain outweights the negatives. My suggestion is that you take your creatine with lukewarm water and then have a post-workout shake or meal containing 40g protein and 80-100g complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal.

Be careful and read the ingredients when you buy your creatine as many of the creatine monohydrate powders also contain dextrose to promote the insulin spike. If you do choose to go this route make sure you only use the dextrose added creatine after training. Get a straight creatine for off days. A creatine ethyl ester will work well here.

Basically there is nothing more you need to do to keep creatine kinase levels high than to lift increasingly heavy weights and stress your muscles. Add creatine and your body will take care of the rest.

Creatine Facts & Creatine Side Effects Exposed 01-25-2006 4:29 pm

Learn the true creatine facts! There is a lot of misinformation concerning creatine and more specifically the benefits of creatine, reported creatine side effects, creatine dangers, etc.

If you’ve ever wondered if this controversial supplement will work for you, just read this article on the true and unbiased creatine facts and you’ll finally know. We’ll go over both sides of the creatine debate and look at just how accurate the information is.

Creatine is one of the very few supplements that actually has years of extensive research conducted on it by countless university and medical centers world-wide.

Here are three proven creatine facts to get started; Creatine can help you increase your strength, it can make you leaner and it can improve your speed.

Possibly the biggest reason for using it as a part of your over-all exercise program, is of course to significantly improve muscle strength, size and endurance.

Before getting into any more creatine facts and discussing any potential creatine dangers or creatine side effects you have to understand what it really is.

Your muscles need something known as Adenosine Triphosphate or ATP as fuel. In most individuals, muscles only have a supply of ATP that will allow for a short duration of work lasting about 6 seconds.

Unfortunately, most exercises and activities require more than 6 seconds to complete. One of the main benefits of creatine is that it acts as ATP fuel in your muscles to allow your muscles to continue working at maximum capacity for another 12 seconds or so.

Look at it this way; think of your muscles as a car engine. The Adenosine Triphosphate is the fuel and creatine is an octane booster that allows for a much improved level of performance.

Most people find the greatest benefits from using creatine is during high intensity, muscle contraction work such as; all forms of weight lifting and sprinting.

That doesn’t mean that people who jog, compete in marathons, bike races, etc. won’t see an improvement. It’s just that high intensity activities have more pronounced results.

During endurance activities it appears that creatine will only help your ATP system as much as it needs to and no more.

Here are a couple more fitness related creatine facts: Creatine has been proven to reduce what’s known as “Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness”. This is the extreme sore & stiff feeling you have in your muscles 2 days after lifting weights.

Another of the benefits of creatine is that it drastically reduces recovery time. This means you can work out harder without the risk of overtraining.

Here are some creatine facts that will save you a bunch of money; Plain discount creatine is all you need to achieve noticeable results. There’s no need to waste money on the numerous “designer creatine” brands and products that are much more expensive and don’t offer any additional benefits.

Creatine facts about naturally occurring creatine in your body; Creatine is found naturally in everyone’s body. Your body can manufacture it’s own but not enough for improvements in health and fitness.

Creatine is also found in foods such as beef, pork, salmon, cod, herring and tuna.

You may be asking yourself this question right about now: If creatine occurs naturally in the above listed meats why not just get it that way?

Actually there are a few good reasons why this will not work.

First, vegetarians need creatine too. If you don’t like eating meat you can’t get creatine from a food source.

Next, no one can eat the required amount of meat each day that it takes to get enough creatine in your system to make a difference. Even if you could eat enough it still wouldn’t do you any good because you would be very overweight and unhealthy.

By getting your creatine from a quality supplement you can make sure you are getting the proper amount in the easiest way.

Creatine facts concerning how much you should be supplementing with; Most companies producing and selling it suggest a dose of about 2 – 5 grams each day. This would equal approximately ½ to 1 full teaspoon.

If you have a larger frame and more muscle mass you should stick with the 5 grams per day to see the best results.

Some reports have suggested certain creatine side effects such as extreme dehydration. Here are the creatine facts; It actually “super-hydrates” your muscles making dehydration almost impossible.

Now, the only proven negative creatine side effects occur in people with pre-existing kidney problems. Creatine is excreted through the kidneys and because of the “super-hydration” will cause your kidneys to work harder.

Hopefully these creatine facts will help you make an informed decision on using it to help you reach your health & fitness goals. Patrick Mckeeman has very quick, easy & effective health & fitness solutions for you. For extensive creatine facts & creatine side effects please go to: http://www.man-health-fitness-solutions.com/creatine-side-effects.html