Creatine.com

MMUSA Bloppers

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 16:12:33 +0000

Long description.

How does Creatine stimulate muscle growth?

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 15:55:45 +0000

Although creatine’s role in the energy production process is its most notable trait, there is evidence that creatine can stimulate muscle growth. It does this in a couple of different ways. By allowing you to perform more work as a result of additional energy, increased protein synthesis is stimulated. Secondly, when an abundance of creatine phosphate is stored n the muscle, the muscle will hold more water in its cells and become what is known as “volumized” or “super-hydrated.” The more volumized a muscle is, it will promote the synthesis of protein as well as deter the breakdown of protein. Volumizing the muscle will also create an environment where an increased level of Glycogen synthesis will take place. Increased protein synthesis along with training will lead to muscle growth. There is also scientific evidence that shows supplementation with creatine causes muscle tears to repair themselves quicker.

About MMUSA Products

admin — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 00:18:56 +0000

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What are the benefits of Creatine for women?

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 22:45:35 +0000

So far we have seen how creatine can enrich the physical well-being of the general athlete and the elderly, but we have not discussed its benefits for the female population in particular. Of course, creatine will help boost energy levels in the female athlete the same as it does with their male counterparts. However,by aiding the production of muscle mass, creatine will help female athletes add the muscle they need to improve their performance.Women generally have a more difficult time trying to gain muscle size and strength than men do. Creatine will help women see results in strength much quicker. It is a well documented fact that carrying more muscle causes the body to burn more calories…even during rest. Women that use creatine and add some additional muscle to their frame will burn more calories and body fat throughout the day.

How does Creatine affect Growth Hormone and aging?

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 22:12:10 +0000

Creatine does more than provide your cells with ample amounts of creatine phosphate. There have been studies performed that suggest creatine has the ability to raise Growth Hormone levels in your system. In these studies, subjects would consume 20 grams per day of creatine and their blood GH levels showed a statistically significant increase of GH for two to six hours following the ingestion of the creatine. It is important to note that these subjects did not exercise or consume any other type of supplement that could influence a natural elevation in growth hormone levels. The scientists concluded that the increase in blood levels of GH was solely due to the consumption of creatine. GH is the hormone that controls the regulation of body fat, maintains the body’s immune system, allows you to build muscle mass, heals wounds, maintains bone mass as well as hundreds of other vital functions. Besides the benefit of increased recuperation and additional energy supplies, creatine’s ability to promote the production of GH is a major step towards maintaining or enhancing health.

Science has proven that as we age the amount of Growth Hormone that our body produces declines. This is the reason that we have more physical related problems as we age such as; loss of muscle mass, our bones become frail, our skin is less elastic, we get sick more often, and we do not have the energy we once had at a younger age. Through its ability to enhance GH levels, creatine can offer aging health enthusiasts an opportunity to maintain their health as well as their youthful vitality and general well-being. For those elderly individuals feeling the effects of muscle loss as they age, creatine provides a “double-whammy” by volumizing muscle cells as well as increasing growth hormone levels.

What is Creatine and where is it found?

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 15:42:18 +0000

Unlike most supplements that athletes use, creatine is neither a vitamin, mineral, herb nor hormone. It is a naturally occurring amino acid that is found in our body that has the chemical name methyl guanidine-acetic acid (see Figure 1 below). As most of you are already aware, amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. The majority of creatine (about 95%) is located in the skeletal muscle system, and the remaining 5% is in the brain, heart and testes. We acquire most of the creatine in our system by consuming meats and fish as well as dairy products, egg whites, nuts and seeds. Although the human body has a way of storing very high amounts of creatine to enhance recovery and muscle power, it is quite challenging to consume enough food to provide the same amount of creatine that using supplements will. In the event that you do not consume enough creatine to suit your body’s requirements, your body can synthesize it from the amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine. This manufacturing process takes place in the kidneys, liver and pancreas.

Figure 1 – The Creatine Molecule

My first drop of blog writing

admin — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:44:30 +0000

So how shall I begin my first blog. I am wondering this, while I am trying to write this blog. Should I write some funny stuff or should I write about our products? It’s hard to decide as I don’t want people to think I’m promoting myself. Maybe be I should read more books about blogs to learn what works and what the rules are. But what the heck? I never follow the rules anyway so I’m going to give it a try. I promise to be straightforward, honest and say what is on my mind as it is the easiest way to communicate to readers.

I was flipping through fitness industry magazines, Muscle and Fitness, Fitness RX , Muscular Development and few more. I noticed how the industry has turned paranoid. Nowadays there are too many products, too many mass muscle builders, lots of protein products. I wondered what would happen if I tore all the ad pages out of the magazines. What was left was a few articles that also talked about the products that were in the ads.

I was wondering if these readers actually buy the advertised products or just they are look at the high gloss pictures. I do not think anyone knows.
My company, Muscle Marketing USA , now we call it MMUSA, came on the scene in 1995 at the beginning period of the creatine craze. At one time, we had our ads in so many magazines I cannot even remember their names but that was a great period. The magazines were very informative, the ads placed in them weren’t as cluttered and there was more product variety. Nowadays most products are made by very small number of companies. They market their products with contradicting messages as if the products are competing with each other. Poor consumers if only they knew.

I do not want to go into details about our company’s product and our breakthrough. When we came on the supplement industry scene our competitors (sellers of creatine powder) were infuriated, called us names and cried in protest. They were all wondering how dare we do what we’re doing. It is a long story, but an interesting one. I wrote a book about it called Creatine Warfare. You can get a free copy if you send me your email address. Don’t worry you won’t have to buy anything. If you’re at all interested in the supplement industry you’ll want to read the book.

The book is all about how the so called geniuses of the supplement industry, or Gurus, were after us for many years. Attacks after attacks. Spreading negative publicity. They told everyone not to believe us but only them. They even concocted bogus scientific studies to prove us wrong.
A couple of months ago I was shocked to see that a new product was introduced that claimed to have the same properties as our product. The company claims that once you open the can, the creatine powder will be poured into the can and voila you got your liquid creatine in stable form. Are you kidding me? What bull! Are customers buying into this?

The funny thing is that this company was one of the ones who used to attack us. They tried to take us to court and they claimed that it was impossible to create a stable creatine in liquid form. If it’s impossible, how is it possible now? What a bunch of hypocrites.

My apologies. I got a bit distracted but that was what was on my mind. I did promise you that I was going to be straight and speak my mind. Sometimes a mind like mine changes like the tides in the ocean. I hope that you will be able to excuse my ocean-like behavior. Next time, I will be more focused.

What purpose does Creatine serve exactly?

admin — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 15:41:45 +0000

Now that you know what creatine is and how your body manufactures it, let’s study the purpose it serves…especially to athletes. Creatine’s main benefit is its ability to aid in the production of energy. When ATP (adenosine triphosphate) loses one of its phosphate molecules and becomes ADP (adenosine diphosphate), it must be converted back to ATP in order for the molecule to be able to produce energy again. The creatine in our body is mostly stored as creatine phosphate (known as phosphocreatine), and it will donate its phosphate to the ADP which renews the ATP molecule and it can now produce energy.

Why does an athlete like you need Creatine?

admin — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 15:41:35 +0000

ATP is the form of energy that is used by the muscles in anaerobic activity (explosive movements that happen too quick to use oxygen as energy). This is what makes creatine ideal for most athletes. By consuming a creatine supplement, an athlete can create an environment in their cells where there is an abundance of creatine phosphate available, which allows for rapid replenishment of ATP. This leads to a readily available energy source so that the muscle is able to recuperate its energy much quicker and perform more work in a shorter time period.

How does Creatine help produce energy?

admin — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 15:41:23 +0000

The conversion of ADP to ATP takes place inside the mitochondria. These are tiny “power plants” that convert energy. The mitochondria are where cellular respiration takes place, which is the process that generates the fuel that our cells use as energy. When we consume food, it goes through a process and gets oxidized in order to produce high-energy electrons. These high-energy electrons get stored in the phosphate bonds of ATP. When these bonds are broken, the ATP is giving up a phosphate and the energy is released for use by the cell. This is accomplished by hydrolysis, which is when the addition of a water molecule will actually split the ATP into simpler molecules. In order for the newly formed ADP molecule to be able to produce energy again, it must bond with an available phosphate and reform the ATP that contains the high-energy bonds.

Figure 2 - ATP Molecule
As stated in the above paragraph, mitochondria are the sites for the process known as cellular respiration. Understanding more about this process will allow us to recognize the value that supplementing with creatine has. There are three steps in the process of cellular respiration: Glycolysis, the Krebs Cycle (The Citric Acid Cycle), and the Electron Transport Chain.
Glycolysis in literal terms means “the splitting of two sugars.” During this process, a 6-carbon sugar is broken down into two 3-carbon sugars known as pyruvic acid. These molecules of pyruvic acid will play an important role during the Krebs cycle and the production of energy. In addition to the pyruvic acid, two molecules of ATP are one of the products of the glycolysis process. There are actually four ATP molecules produced during glycolysis, but two of them are expended during other steps. Glycolysis is actually the first step in both the aerobic and anaerobic energy production process, and it does not require oxygen during its chemical reactions.
The pyruvic acid formed during glycolysis is later fully broken down into carbon dioxide (CO ) allowing for even more energy to be released. Three molecules of O are required so they can react with each molecule of pyruvic acid and form three carbon dioxide molecules. In addition, three hydrogen atoms will combine with oxygen to form water. Each molecule of pyruvic acid contains three carbon atoms. While one carbon is used when carbon dioxide is formed, the remaining two carbons are transferred to a molecule called acetyl coenzyme A. For every molecule of acetyl coenzyme A that is produced, it is broken down with two molecules of ATP as one of its products.
As the cellular respiration process continues, the Krebs Cycle and Electron Transport Chain will continue to produce more ATP until a total of 40 molecules of ATP have been created. This entire process occurs within the mitochondria. The cellular respiration process is extremely complex and there are many reactions going on simultaneously. One process that is taking place during Glycolysis and the Krebs Cycle is the release of electrons. The cell stores these electrons and forms a compound known as Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NADH). This compound is used to carry electrons to the electron transport chain so that the electrons can be used to create more energy. In addition, a molecule known as flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) combines with two hydrogens and two electrons to form FADH₂
The electron transport chain is a system of electron carriers inside the mitochondria that pass electrons from one compound to the next. For every molecule of NADH that is formed, it will donate two electrons allowing the formation of three molecules of ATP. FADH2 only allows for the formation of two molecules of ATP. It is believed that these electrons cause the “pumping” of positively charged hydrogen atoms across the inner membrane of the mitochondria which creates the energy required to synthesize ATP. In the last step of the electron transport chain, some of these hydrogen atoms combine with oxygen to form water.
As you can see, the process of cellular respiration is where the energy within the cell is produced and ATP has a vital role in that process. Having phosphate readily available is very important if you wish to be able to keep high levels of energy accessible to the muscle. By supplementing with creatine, you can ensure that you will have the phosphate levels required during your intense workouts.