Creatine is one of the most highly researched sport supplements ever. And the overwhelming evidence indicates Creatine offers big benefits to strength and power athletes including increased energy, more strength and power, faster muscle growth and improved recovery. It's almost the ideal supplement!
However Creatine does have a few draw backs. The most widely studied form is Creatine Monohydrate. This form of Creatine is not very soluble which can lead to several issues including absorption and stomach upsets, bloating and diarrhea. To overcome these issues manufacturers have developed a number of Creatine hybrids, or different forms of Creatine that are more soluble, have different absorption mechanisms and characteristics that are gentle to your stomach while boosting your natural creatine levels more effectively.
MAX'S Creatine X8 combines eight different types of Creatine to give you a highly potent and bioavailable formula for maximum results:
- Creatine Ethyl Ester is a highly soluble form of Creatine powder that uses the fat transport mechanism of muscle cells to enter quickly to replenish muscle stores.
- Tri-Creatine Malate is a new compound that can enter the Krebs Cycle (The process that synthesizes the high energy compound – ATP) faster than traditional monohydrate to maximise energy for training.
- Di-Creatine Malate is a slower absorbing version of Tri-Creatine Malate to enhance the sustained release properties of CreatineX8.
- Micronised Creatine Monohydrate is the best form of CM and has been scientifically proven to increase lean body mass, muscular strength, endurance and overall athletic performance.
- Creatine Anhydrous is the purest form of the compound and is not bound to other transport molecules giving it a slower absorption time – ideal for a sustained release formula.
- Creatine HCL is a stable acid salt of Creatine and is a medium absorption hybrid.
- Creatine Gluconate is Creatine bonded to Glucose. This improves intestinal absorption as it is absorbed in a manner similar to regular glucose, a fast-digesting sugar.
- Tri-Creatine Orotate delivers a 3:1 molar ratio of Creatine to Orotic Acid. Orotic acid is a precursor to Carnosine and helps to boost cell levels of Creatine Phosphate.
What benefits can you expect from MAX'S CreatineX8? Research shows multiple benefits from regular Creatine use:
- Increasing Intracellular Creatine Phosphate will increase available energy for intense anaerobic muscle contractions - which means you will be able to go all out for a bit longer which can be the difference between winning or losing a sprint, or squeezing out one or two more reps in your training that will lead to faster strength, power and size gains.
- Creatine has been found to have a positive influence on the way muscle responds to resistance training through what are called Myogenic Transcription Factors - the genetic factors that determine how big and strong your muscles can get. Simply put, Creatine can help your muscles to grow beyond their normal limits.
- For endurance athletes, new research is showing Creatine can have a marked effect endurance exercise performance when used with interval type training. In effect, Creatine allows athletes to tackle interval training with higher intensity which leads to greater performance improvements in overall endurance fitness.
Creatine is a naturally-occurring amino acid (protein building block) that's found in meat and fish, and is also made by the human body in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. It is converted into creatine phosphate or phosphocreatine and stored in the muscles, where it is used for energy.
During high-intensity, short-duration exercise, such as lifting weights or sprinting, phosphocreatine helps maintain levels of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) in working muscles, a major source of energy within the human body. By maintaining ATP for longer athletes can push harder in training or competition to achieve better results and bigger gains.
While your body can make Creatine and you can get some from your diet research shows that increasing your intake of Creatine can significantly increase your levels above "normal". In turn this extra Creatine can be used by your muscles to push harder for longer, which helps stimulate more growth and greater adaption in a given time period.
