Brief signs of muscular physiology
Thanks to ATP, you can perform any physiological activity, including muscle contraction.
Food oxidation - Energy - ATP - physiological work (muscle contraction)
ATP, adenosine triphosphate, is the chemical form in which energy is stored in all muscle cells, only through its demolition is it possible to derive the energy with which cells can perform their specialized work.
ATP can be simplified, in a very complex component, adenosine, and in three less complicated parts called phosphate groups.
ATP structure
ADENOSINE --- P --- P --- P
The bond existing between the two phosphate end groups is a highly energetic bond whose breakage or hydrolysis frees energy (from 7 to 12 kilocalories) readily usable by the muscle cell to perform its work.
ATP <→ ADP + Pi + ENERGY
The ATP splitting process is a reversible reaction and allows the restoration of the original molecule.
Stocks of ATP in muscle cells are very limited and must be continuously regenerated to ensure that our body can work for long periods of time.
"ATP stored in your muscles is the only fuel immediately available to power, so the only fuel capable of generating a hundred percent maximum contraction.
You can store enough ATP for about 4-5 seconds of maximum contraction, enough to do a maximum repetition at the squat, throw a javelin or run 50 meters. As the 100 meter sprinters know very well, the maximum muscle contraction cannot be maintained for over 5 seconds, approximately. After that the goal is to lose as little speed as possible until you are beyond the finish line ". (Colgan, 2003)
After 4-5 seconds of maximal exercise it is possible to continue with an almost maximal contraction thanks to creatine-phosphate (CP). Adding the available energy with the stored ATP and the CP it is possible to carry out an effort at maximum intensity for a total of about 10-11 seconds, the time to perform 3-4 maximum repetitions or run at 100 meters maximum speed . This system of energy production is called Phosphate System or Anaerobic alattacid system, it uses ATP / CP stored in the muscles and does not use glycogen, glucose, fatty acids and amino acids.
"At the end of a muscle contraction, almost all the free creatine and free phosphate molecules that reside in the muscle rejoin again to generate creatine phosphate.
This biochemical activity is essential for building muscle and strength because it tells you exactly how long to rest between one set and another, for maximum growth.
Creatine-phosphate is the only means to regenerate the ADP spent in ATP and to allow almost maximal muscle contraction to continue beyond 4-5 seconds. So you can understand the importance of having a load of creatine-phosphate in every muscle.
Oral creatine supplements increase muscle creatine and strenuous exercise increases creatine use by about 50% ". (Colgan, 2003)
The biochemistry of creatine only tells us what we might expect from integration.
In a recent study, Conrad Earnest and colleagues from the Southwestern Texas Medical Center and the Cooper Clinic in Dallas gave advanced weightlifters 20 grams of creatine a day for 28 days. They measured the performance with the bench press at 1 RM. The average weight gain was 8 kg, the 6.5% power improvement.
Thanks to the use of creatine it is possible to prolong maximal exercise for more time, so as to allow harder workouts and create faster muscle growth processes.
In the overexposed study of strength, Earnest found that the repetitions on average of 70% of 1RM increased from 11 to 15.
Colgan identifies in low repetitions the best training with overloads to generate muscle strength and hypertrophic augmentation. The more muscle overload is increased, the more conditioning muscle growth is stimulated. During a month Balsom recorded increases in lean mass of about 0.3 to 2 kg with an average of 1 kg. Conrad Earnest has seen even greater growth in his studies: after 28 days of 20 grams of creatine a day, his subjects had an average increase in lean mass of 1.6 kg.
Creatine monohydrate is certainly one of the best supplements for increasing muscle and strength.
High-level athletes and very experienced athletes, with four 8-week cycles a year, separated by 4-week rests, show an increase in strength in the RM of the squat by 15-20% over.
Some studies have shown that a single week of creatine monohydrate (20 g per day for 5 days) increases the jump power by 7-12% and the running speed by 13% (Bosco, 1997).
How much creatine do you take?
