Creatine Supplements
In combination with exercise, creatine can help increase muscle mass, performance and strength to support you in achieving your goals. Creatine powder is easy to mix with water or combine with your favourite protein powders or otherperformance-enhancing supplements to personalise your health and fitness regime. If you’re looking for a quality selection of creatine supplements, browse our collection online today.
We pride ourselves on offering the best brands at the best prices, so grab your creatine supply from New Zealand’s first choice supplement store now!
What is creatine monohydrate?
Creatine monohydrate is a form of creatine that's easily absorbed by the human body. Creatine powder supplements labelled as creatine monohydrate usually contain around 90 per cent of creatine by weight.
What does creatine do?
Let’s take a closer look at creatine and what it does. The first thing you need to know is that it’s a completely natural compound found in the muscle cells of the human body, produced by your body’s amino acids, arginine and glycine.
Its main purpose is to provide our muscles with energy during workouts, making it a useful supplement to take if you practise high-intensity activity like lifting weights.
By increasing your energy levels, creatine gives you that boost you need to help you work out harder for longer. So, in combination with regular exercise, creatine can help you achieve greater muscle growth in the long term as you keep on pushing yourself during workouts.
Who should take creatine supplements?
Creatine brings benefits for many different types of individuals. We’ve seen how it can enhance physical performance and help build muscle, so it’s ideally suited to athletes, gym-goers and anyone who wants to improve their muscle mass, fitness and strength. It’s that extra something for athletes and gym enthusiasts who might have lost their motivation or need to take their workout to the next level, helping incentivise them to work out harder for longer.
The safety of creatine
It’s also worth knowing that creatine is a legal, safe supplement. Many studies on creatine supplements have been carried out by experts and it is considered a safe and beneficial substance with no short or long-term side effects. In fact, a review by The International Society of Sports Nutrition (1) found it to be one of the best sports supplements to take to achieve individual goals such as better performance in high-intensity exercise.
Creatine supplements in NZ
For anyone looking for creatine supplements in NZ, swing by Sportsfuel, a 100% NZ-owned business offering the best brands at the best prices. We’re New Zealand’s first choice supplement store renowned for our great selection of general health supplements, as well as creatine — for anyone looking to enhance their performance and build muscle.
With fast and free shipping in NZ, check out our selection of creatine and other supplements. You won’t need any more excuses to fill your basket!
FAQs
Can both men and women take creatine supplements?
Yes, creatine powder and creatine supplements may be used by both men and women. One of the major myths surrounding creatine supplementation is that it does not work as well for women as it does for men; this is not true. While male and female bodies may exhibit physical differences, our inner systems all work pretty much the same way. Several studies (2,3) have shown that women can benefit from taking creatine just as much as men can when it comes to building lean muscle mass, increasing strength and promoting weight loss and management.
What are the expected effects of taking creatine?
Creatine is one of the most studied supplements on the market, and, as such, we can honestly say that it is one of the safer supplement options out there (4). This safety, combined with creatine’s potential benefits, makes it an incredibly popular supplement for athletes and non-athletes alike. Here are a few positive effects you can expect when you take creatine:
- Improved performance —Creatine is most often used for increasing workout performance, especially during short-duration, high-intensity workouts (5).
- Increased muscle mass and strength —Because creatine provides energy to your muscles, it is thought to help with building and maintaining muscles.
- Higher energy levels —Creatine offers short bursts of energy after it is ingested (6).
While creatine has very few side effects associated with it, there are several that you may experience when you take creatine powder supplements. These include:
- Weight gain — commonly due to water retention taking place in your muscles
- Increased levels of creatinine in the blood, though this is not always indicative of liver or kidney damage
- Digestive upset when creatine is taken in excess
That being said, it is important to note again that many studies have shown creatine to be one of the safest supplements, even when used long term (7).
References:
1. Kreider R, Kalman D, Antonio J, Ziegenfuss T, Wildman R, Collins R, Candow D, Kleiner S, Almada A, Lopez H. ‘International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine,’ Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017 Jun 13;14:18.
2. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.585.6700&rep=rep1&type=pdf
3. https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/13/1/article-p87.xml
4. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4020-6486-9_14
5. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1022465203458
6. https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1113/jphysiol.2012.241760