Unless we’re heavily involved in gym life, there’s a good chance many of us don’t know much about creatine or what it can do.
Often seen as something that can help individuals who are extremely dedicated to the gym or male gym-goers who want to build muscle, creatine supplements are very popular.
A supplement used to boost performance and develop muscle, not many women know the potential benefits creatine offers.
If you’re one of those ladies, you’ve come to the right place. Creatine has an array of useful benefits for women, particularly those who want to improve their overall health or workout performance.
In this article, we will show you what creatine is, what it can do for women, why you should take it, and any safety concerns you should be aware of.
Let’s dive straight in!
What Exactly Is Creatine?
Let’s start by looking at what creatine is. Creatine is a type of amino acid commonly found in food sources like fish and meat. It can be found in the muscles of these foods.
It is considered to be one of the best and most proven supplements when it comes to increasing muscle growth and improving performance.
Some levels of creatine in our bodies can actually come from our kidneys and liver. The amount produced is only small. The levels of creatine we collect from our diets is also pretty small.
As a result of this, most people turn to creatine supplements in the form of a pre-workout. Pre-workouts can be awesome for dramatically boosting the levels of creatine in our muscles, giving us the opportunity to reap the benefits.
How Does Creatine Work In The Body?
Creatine does a fantastic job when it comes to helping our bodies use the energy we have stored in our muscles.
This happens most when tackling higher intensity exercises like sprinting, lifting, and jumping. Thanks to the creatine doing its job so well, we can work a lot harder and lift more without feeling as tired.
Creatine supplements can also help the muscles recover quicker after exercise.
It can do this by assisting in the restoration of optimal levels of the body’s stored creatine. This helps regulate the body’s temperature and prevent injury.
What Can Creatine Do For Women?
Despite many men and women sharing the same goal in terms of working out, whether it be to increase power, speed, or strength, there are a lot of women that choose not to use creatine as they are concerned about looking bulky.
However, creatine has many benefits for women that should be taken into consideration. While most of these benefits are the same as men’s, various studies have shown the benefits of creatine that specifically affect women.
Below, you will find the most common and beneficial benefits creatine offers women.
Increased Strength
Studies have revealed that creatine supplements lead to a significant increase in the strength of the woman’s lower and upper body.
Interestingly, and quite pleasing these effects of creatine have been shown to happen without any weight gain or bulking effect.
This is a big benefit because it means women can perform more intense exercises easier without putting on any weight.
Reduction In Body Fat
A study that looked at the effects of creatine supplements on female athletes discovered that not only does it give women better strength, but it also promotes a reduction of overall body fat percentage.
In fact, the overall results demonstrated that after just five weeks of using a creatine supplement, women can expect to see significant reductions in their body fat.
Improved Heart Health
Another very good benefit that comes along with taking creatine supplements is how it could potentially reduce the risk of heart conditions and even improve overall heart health.
It is believed that creatine can decrease heart rate, increase ventricular pressure, and increase coronary flow. All of these things are what help improve heart health and reduce the risk of any serious diseases.
Boosted Energy Levels And Performance
Women who use creatine-based supplements can expect to see drastic improvements regarding their overall energy levels and performance.
As a result of these benefits, women eating a vegan or vegetarian diet are recommended to try creatine supplements.
This is because many food sources that contain creatine are animal-based. Therefore, by boosting the levels of creatine in their body, they too can feel more energized and improve their performance.
Why Should You Take Creatine?
You should consider taking creatine simply because of all its proven benefits. Whether you want to increase your overall energy levels or want help when it comes to carrying out high-intensity workouts, creatine will have you covered.
Creatine can help women, build muscle, recover effectively, improve strength, reduce body fat, and perform more successfully, so what isn’t there to like about taking creatine.
While it is beneficial for women, make sure to know how to use creatine correctly if you wish to avoid any negative side effects or safety concerns.
Regular supplementation is absolutely crucial to sustaining levels of creatine, but you need to get it right. We’ll look at this now!
Taking Creatine Supplements Safely
Luckily for us, creatine is one of the most well-researched and tested supplements that have beneficial properties. As a result, we can take creatine supplements with no safety concerns.
Research has shown that the use of creatine results in absolutely no health implications and only a few potential side effects. These side effects could be found in the form of bloating, trouble sleeping, or an upset stomach.
To avoid any negative side effects, simply ensure you take your creatine supplements correctly. This involves taking the correct dosage and knowing when to take creatine.
The Best Creatine Dosage
Deciding how much creatine you should take depends mostly on the individual. It is very important to take into consideration how long you have already been using creatine and how long you plan on using it.
The reason for this is that it takes a larger initial dose of creatine to maximize the creatine stores in the body. It then takes smaller and more frequent doses to keep the creatine at its optimal level.
The dosage you will take also depends on the size of your body and your diet. Vegans and vegetarians might need to take a larger dose to maximize their muscle stores.
Some studies recommend taking two smaller creatine doses of roughly 3 to 5 grams or one large dose of 6 to 10 grams a day.
Can You Take Creatine If You’re Pregnant?
Creatine is such a commonly used supplement that there is already a chance you were taking creatine when you got pregnant.
Seen as though creatine has many beneficial and protective properties, it is mostly believed that it will give you benefits while pregnant.
However, every woman is different and as they go through pregnancy, their needs and requirements change.
With this in mind, little is actually known about how exactly creatine affects a fetus. While it is thought to have no effect, it is best not to take any creatine whilst pregnant before first talking with your doctor.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, now that you’ve been through our blog post, you have a much better understanding of what creatine can do for women, how to take it, what to expect, and how it works.
Creatine is a hugely popular performance and health-enhancing supplement that has great benefits for both men and women.
It can improve muscle strength, burn fat, improve overall health, and give us plenty of energy to improve our daily performance.
There’s nothing to be concerned about when taking creatine either, so why not give it a try!
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