WHAT IS CREATINE?


Right off the bat, a vast number of the best fitness trainers in America will tell you that you need two essential supplements if you're serious about building as much muscle as possible. You need a top-flight creatine-based supplement to increase your strength, and you need the best protein formula available to repair and build your muscles. But from among the hundreds of fluorescent, shrink-wrapped bottles to choose from, how are you supposed to know which products actually work and which don't? Well, in order for you to make an informed decision about what will bring you the most gains, it's wise to get educated about what creatine and protein are and how they can work for you.
If you're new to working out and want to get bigger in a hurry, one of the first things you need to get into your diet right away is creatine. Creatine (also called creatine phosphate) is a naturally occurring substance found mostly in the muscles of vertebrate animals. The reason creatine is so valued by athletes is that it helps in the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a major source of energy for the muscles. Muscle cells require more energy during contraction and may use up all the available ATP during a tough workout. To compensate for this shortage, muscle cells maintain a reserve of creatine phosphate. When needed, the creatine will "donate" a high-energy phosphate to adenosine diphosphate, forming ATP. And it's ATP that is used to power all energy-dependent reactions of cellular metabolism. Scientists have shown that by taking creatine, subjects can increase their strength so they can lift heavier weights (which is key to building bigger muscles). Studies also conclusively show that creatine can decrease fatigue so that you can increase the number Of times you lift a weight in a given set. This is key to improving athletic performance, regardless of your chosen sport or pursuit.
Creatine is found naturally in many foods, particularly meats and fish. The average person uses about 2 grams of creatine per day just to maintain normal energy metabolism. This is more than twice the amount of creatine found in the average person's diet. While the human body itself also produces a limited amount of creatine, a hard-training athlete burning more energy has to take in a greater amount of creatine than what he gets in an average diet or than what is produced by his body. This is why creatine supplements are so vital to optimal muscle growth and performance. The Next Generation of Creatine--More Powerful Than Ever
Creatine monohydrate in itself works, but lacks a delivery system to get more of it into your muscles. So you end up wasting valuable growing time on a supplement that could produce better results with a quick delivery, system. Realizing this, MuscleTech researchers created the best creatine on the market. CELL-TECH[TM] is a creatine-based formula specifically designed to drive more of that precious creatine into your muscles, where it does you the most good. That way, yon reap the maximum benefits from it. Incidentally, CELL-TECH is packed with high-quality micronized creatine monohydrate to help you get the results you want!
The science shows just bow effective CELL-TECH really is. CELL-TECH was put head-to-head against creatine in a 28-day research study, in which all groups followed a good diet and weight-training plan. And what was found was quite remarkable. After just 7 days of the study, those subjects using CELL-TECH enjoyed average gains of nearly 4 pounds of mass. Meanwhile, subjects taking just regular creatine with water averaged less than 1 pound of mass. With results like these, it's easy to see why CELL-TECH can, and should, be included in your sport nutrition program.
As you may already know, protein is the essential nutrient your body uses to build, repair, and maintain muscle tissue. Dietary protein provides the amino acids needed for synthesis of body proteins; these body proteins help to generate a strong red blood cell count and healthy organs, skin, bones, and tendons. Without it, you won't pack on the size you want. Any hard-training athlete requires more protein than a sedentary individual. This raises some questions: How much protein do you need, when do you need it, and exactly which kind is best for your musclebuilding goals?
First off, when it comes to protein needs, researchers believe you should take in a minimum of a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, you should have 200 grams of protein per day. Optimally, this should be consumed roughly every. 2 to 3 hours during the day in equal serving sizes. That would add up to 6 servings per day with about 33.3 grams of protein per sitting. What's more, it's critical that your muscles get flooded with high-quality protein within an hour after training, as they need to recover from this punishment.
This leads to the question of which types of proteins you need, and when. In general, eggs, lean beef, milk, chicken, turkey, and whey are among the best sources of protein. However, except for whey, all of these foods are "slow-digesting" sources of protein that can take hours for your body to process. For this reason, they are fine for before your workout, later in the day, or before bed (because the most muscle repair and growth occurs during sleep). However, whey is the ideal protein source for quick post-workout recovery. Research has also shown that whey has the highest biological value of any protein source! This is why supplement companies have flooded the market with every sort of flavored whey protein formula imaginable. Fortunately for the consumer, this supplement "war" among companies has advanced whey protein supplementation to higher and higher levels.

THE UNDERDOG!


Coming into Reading High people did not set their expectations high for Travis Wynn.  Standing at a mere 5'4" and weighing a minimal 115 lbs people did not expect for Travis to prevail, except for him and his beliefs.
     "Growing up all I can remember is going to Reading High football games, and to be suiting up seeing them white letters on your chest spelling out READING is just phenomenal."
     However for Travis to get where he is it was not a walk through the park.  He had to cut his own path from scratch.  After minimal playing time and being looked down upon at freshman level Travis said enough is enough.
     After freshman was over Travis saw a opportunity and he seized it.  When Travis heard the announcement after school allowing anyone to be in the weight room he was all over it.  As he entered the weight room he started out benching 115 lbs and squatting 185 lbs, Travis went and set high standards for himself.  He also went and invested in a performance enhancing substance called Cell-Tech (creatine).  With creatine and determination Travis was well on his way.
     "Many people looked at me as a cheater, however before I purchased this product I checked with all the coaches, trainers, and people who have used the product and they said it's perfectly fine to use so I did what I had to do."
     During his 10th grade year Travis still saw minimal playing time simply because people had more experience over him.  As Travis watched from the sidelines he took mental notes on how he could make himself and the team better.
     "During the season two things happened that pushed me mentally.  For one at the game in week one it seemed we had a substantial lead and a guaranteed win.  As the coaches were rotating players I just waited and listened for them to call my name and it just never came.  When the fourth quarter buzzer went I was ecstatic about the win however I came to find that me and only one other unparticular player did not get in.  I was in awe for weeks.  It just seemed so surreal.  Another thing that I did not like was being on scout time.  It was just the point on working for nothing."
     During the off season Travis worked even harder with creatine and determination.  He hit a max bench of 325 lbs and a squat of 460 lbs which were some of the highest mahouts in the weight room.  With exceeding these weights he decided to also change his position from corner to linebacker.  So within 2 years of lifting, Travis almost tripled his bench and over doubled his squat.
     "Creatine just helped my body physically by rejuvenating my body after lifting.  It didn't and never will harm my body and if it ever did I would stop it instantly but for right now I got a goal and a life to live so I'll take my chances for now!"
     Travis went on to start his 11th grade year leading the linebackers in tackles.  Travis and the Reading High football team have goals for next year bit it will take work and it starts in the weight room, and well it you can get an advantage by taking a legal substance then why not.

MY OPPINION ON PERFORMANCE ENHANCING SUPLEMENTS!

When the "baseball players on steroids" craze broke I was was pretty disgusted and somewhat disappointed. Despite not caring at all about baseball, or Barry Bonds for that matter, I could immediately see this branching out into other sports and it bothered me that cheating has become the new trend. The more I think about it now, however, the more apathetic I am towards the whole scene.
To begin with, you can't stop scientific progress. Very few of the recent scientific advancements in the medical field have been towards curing diseases… that's a shame, but if the people footing the bill decide they want to use medical science towards improving themselves superficially, that's the way it will have to go. Similarly, baseball players want to be able to use steroids to improve their performance, and, for no other reason than the fact that they can, they will. What's to stop them? If the science has made it possible, then it's only the responsibility and decision of the person using the drugs.
There's an argument against steroids that states that they're dangerous and athletes who use performance enhancers are role models to kids. First of all, athletes should never be role models, they're entertainment. Period. Secondly, what are the odds the steroids we have available now will be the end of the line when it comes to developments in the field of performance-enhancing drugs? Do you think the chemists and scientists who develop these drugs will just quit? Of course not. As the science gets better, the drugs will get better and it will only be a matter of time before the steroids that surfaced in the 80's (the ones that ultimately ruined your body) will be replaced with newer and improved ones that are virtually free of side effects. We might as well wrap our heads around the fact that science will continue to move forward.
Another argument against performance-enhancing drugs is that they will create an unfair advantage. I think that since a large portion of the athletic world is already using them, the playing field will level itself. It will become completely fair for all athletes when it's announced that all athletes are allowed to use whatever drugs they want. Instead of operating secretly and, for lack of a better word "cheating", athletes will just be able to embrace the 21st century chemistry that allows a player to hit more homeruns than Babe Ruth. Why not? It's their decision. Which brings me back to the point I mentioned earlier: this massive shift towards steroid use is the sole decision of the players and brought about by the players. They can do whatever they want with their own bodies and I couldn't care less. Like I said, as far as fairness goes, they should just lift the bans and let everyone who wants to get onboard.
But, you might be saying, it's artificial. I would argue that most of our biological performance is brought about by man-made science anyway. Does anything not given to us by nature qualify as "artificial"? Contact lenses, high heel shoes, prosthetic limbs for amputees, hair plugs, makeup, vitamin supplements, pain killers, dentures, false eyes, and countless other examples all prove that we're enhancing ourselves "artificially" already, both externally and internally. The cleats on the bottom's of an athlete's shoes give him more traction that he normally would be able to, and his helmet helps him hit harder. While these may not be internalized and don't contribute to an athlete's innate strength, extend your thinking… they're things that man has created for himself that help an athlete perform better. Why shouldn't drugs do the same thing? You might be saying that an athlete's performance is unimportant and doesn't warrant the health risks, but you could say the same thing to anyone going in for a nose job.
Frankly, there's no stopping it. If you tell someone that there's a drug they can take that will make them better at the job they chose as their life's work, they're probably going to take it. You can go into all sorts of arguments about ethics and morality, but if the use of this drug is steadily on the rise, it's a strong sign that the athletes in question are actively choosing that they want this drug to be a part of their sport and, as the use of this drug increases, the playing field will level itself. And that's the bottom line.
It almost makes you wonder where it will stop. We know as a given that science isn't going to stop its march onward, altering the human body and forever changing the way we perform, so the sports will have to change also. A big problem with baseball is that it's a sport that thinks it's still the 19th century, when actually it's the 21st. There's really going to be a problem when the players are getting their limbs artificially enhanced, so maybe MLB should start thinking about where science is taking the game.