10.+Ergogenic+Aids+for+Strength

**Ergogenic Aids for Strength**

Creatine

 * 1) **Overview**
 * 2) **What is Creatine?**
 * 3) **Breif History and Discovery**
 * 4) **Natural Forms of Creatine**
 * 5) **Supplement Forms and Strategies**
 * 6) **Effectiveness**
 * 7) **Myths**
 * 8) **Summary**

Nitric Oxide

 * 1) **What is it**
 * 2) **How does it affect the body**
 * 3) **Essentials for production**
 * 4) **Dosage**
 * 5) **Benefits**
 * 6) **Effects on training and bodybuilding**

__Creatine Monohydrate__

 * =====This portion of the project will investigate the controversial supplement Creatine Monohydrate and its effects on strength training. Creatine Monohydrate is the largest commercially sold Creatine supplement and can be bought in two forms: isolated by itself, and as an added ingredient in countless performance enhancing supplements. Creatine is a popular choice of body builders everywhere, both amatuer and seasoned alike. As with any supplement sold now-a-days there are literally hundreds of different products competing for your dollar, most of which have their own special formula, special container, and their own unique claims as to what their product will do for the consumer.=====

__What is it?__

 * =====Creatine is one of the most widely available ergogenic aids available on the market. It is also one of the newest substances to emerge, as it has been on shelves for around 15 years. Creatine, or, (Creatine monohydrate), is a non-essential compound that is manufactured in the liver by synthesizing 3 amino acids, arginine, glycine and methionine. The newly formed Creatine is then released into the blood stream where it will embed itself in our muscle fibers. This of course is the natural form of Creatine that our body produces to sustain muscle growth and maintanence and is necessary to stimulate the production of our body's most precious chemical used during physical activity, ATP.=====





__Brief History and Discovery__

 * =====Creatine was initially discovered in the early 1800's by French chemist Michel Cheveul who named the compound after the Greek word for flesh, //"kraeten".// It was not until 1847 that the substance underwent research and was deemed a "real" substance by German chemist Justus Von Liebig. Creatine only began to surface on the market for top-notch body building professionals and enthusiasts as early as the 1970's. Which was, coincidently, when the sport of body-building was flourishing. Today, Creatine boasts a 200 million dollar share in the ergogenic supplement market.=====

__Natural Forms__

 * =====Creatine is naturally made in the liver by synthesizing 3 amino acids but can be ingested by consuming meats. Ingesting any meat will bring Creatine into your body, but not all meats contain the same amount of Creatine. Animals considered to be "gamey" contain more creatine than animals with hardier, bulky muscle. Fish are a particular good source of creatine, especially tuna and herring along with most poultry. After the liver produces Creatine in small, yet sufficient quantities, it is stored in our skeletal muscle, where 95% of our creatine is stored.=====

__Supplement Forms__

 * =====__Powders, Pills and Chewables__ - Powders are by far the most popular form of the supplement and are available from countless suppliers and stores. Many forms of Creatine are marketed as a "Pre-Workout" or "During Workout" supplements usually ingested in some form of a carbohydrate beverage (which somehow was deemed fit enough to resemble a "shake".) The belief is that by ingesting Creatine about 30 minutes before intense physical exersice, our muscles will be capable prolonged bouts of short burst, high intensity exercise due to the rapid restoration of ATP.=====

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__S____upplement Strategies__

 * =====A typical Creatine loading strategy usually utilizes the concepts of loading and maintenance. “Loading” being a heavier dose taken for fewer amount of days and “maintenance” being a much smaller dose taken for a longer amount of time(Beqcue et al). An example of this might look something like 20g/d for 5-7 days followed by a 3-5g/d for 3 weeks to a month. Our muscles respond most to Creatine during the initial loading phases, especially during high intensity exercise due to the rapid conversion of carbs into ATP and associated proteins into functional muscle building components.=====

__Storage Forms and Concepts__

 * =====Compounds - Creatine when stored in skeletal muscle after ingestion or bafter being synthesized by the body.=====
 * =====“Free” - The smallest, most concentrated version made through processing and condensing animal products. This is most often the supplement form and only exists until it is stored into the muscles, where it goes to work.=====

__Effectiveness__

 * =====The short answer is, yes, it works to a small degree which. A good way of identifying the effectiveness of creatine is measuring the results that you would like to see as an individual, rather than following the claims found on the internet and product labels. Most claims made on products are always extrapolated to an extent, however the basic and most popular claims related to creatine are that it builds muscle mass, allow you to gain strength, and enables you to intensify workouts due to more available energy to muscles, supported by creatine. The truth is, in order to get these desired benefets and see results(a very cliche catch phrase thanks to many fat-loss or muscle building products), YOU MUST WORK OUT. Taking a supplement and living a sedentary life will yield you zero results, zilch, nada. The only way to maximize your time and money is to partake in strenuous, high intensity exercise that strain your muscles of their ATP stores, it is now that Creatine will step in and you can get your money's worth by getting that "one more rep" sensation. This does not mean choking down your Creatine powder in a shake and casually curling 10 pounds at your leisure while eyeing the magnificent specimen you see in the mirror. It means pushing your body to the limit, lifting the maximum amount of weight that you can handle for about 4 reps, lasting no longer then about 20 seconds.=====

__Myths__

 * =====A very common misconception regarding Creatine Monohyrate are such myths as, “it just stores water in your muscles” or similar jib jab. These claims are only partially truthful and contain very little real factual information. The facts of the matter are that Creatine assists with production of ATP and stimulates protein synthesis by encouraging the transfer of cellular fluid into muscles fiber. This transfer of fliud essentially jump starts the synthesis of protein, thus helping protein fibers to rebuild and re-structure the muscle to be bigger and better. In conclusion, the description, "filling your muscles with water" is partially correct. However the Creatine is not just transfering H2O into the muscle as one might think. It is enhancing the amount of extracellular fluid(containing water of course) present in the muscle in order to increase the supply of ATP. Thus, the truth and the claims are very similar, yet not factually the same.=====

__Summary__
//B////emden, and Lamont 107-125)// [] Dosage [] [] [] [] ---
 * =====Creatine monohydrate has proved itself to be a worthy supplement due to its catalytic abilities with getting our muscles the energy they need. If it was useless and yielded no results then it wouldn't be flying off shelves at stores. Its stamina increasing properties also enable our muscles to become saturated to a degree with cellular fluid, which could very well be the "swelled" look that many describe. Muscles that are supplied with more ATP can fire faster and for longer durations of time, and if given an adequate supply of protein readily available thanks to the extracellular fluid highway, you will be able to build the muscles you desire.=====

__**Nitric Oxide**__
 * what is it? Nitric oxide is a gas naturally found in the body; its function is conveying information between cells. One of its main jobs is increasing blood flow by dilating blood vesselsit is produced by the body in the inner lining of the blood vessels as the body breaks down the amino acid Arginine. Since nitric oxide is a gas it is quickly expended and cannot be saved for later use

How does it affect the body The effects of nitric oxide,are increased pump and vasodilatation,in muscles that aren’t sustained for long periods of time and need a steady supply of nitric oxide to continue. Nitric oxide cannot be stored in your body. The body makes and uses what it needs as it goes. The increase of blood flow during a workout assists with building muscle that is permanent though. it isalso involved in oxygen transport to the tissues, the transmission of nerve impulses, and other physiological activities @http://youtu.be/YyWxOjHgz6c

how is it made Nitric oxide is produced in the body by an enzyme called nitric oxide synthasis, which converts the amino acid L-arginine to nitric oxide and L-citrulline. There are three types of nitric oxide synthase brain,endothelial, and inducible.

Essential for production
arginine is an amino acid commonly sold in supplement form and obtained naturally in the diet. L-arginine-rich foods include plant and animal proteins, such as dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, and nuts.Necessary for the production of protein, L-arginine also helps rid the body of ammonia (a waste product) and stimulates the release of insulin. In addition, L-arginine is used to make nitric oxide Although some studies suggest that L-arginine may benefit certain health conditions, other research shows that L-arginine may have harmful effects on some individuals. Foods with the highest supply of arginine are Fish, seal liver, spinach, water crest, and red meats.
 * =====arginine=====
 * foods that supply arginine


 * supplements for argeinine

supplements can be found in powder for or pill form. powder form is most popular because of how quick it is absorbed int o the body while pill for also very popular with athletes is used for a loading situation. Arginine can also be found in most BCAA supplements found in health stores.

Dosage
to much arginine in the body can result in stomach imflamation, bloating, cramping and diarhea, -arginine can affect chemical and electrolyte levels. It can increase the body's production of potassium, chloride, creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. Sodium and phosphate levels may lower. Those suffering from kidney or liver problems are especially susceptible to changes in these chemical balances.
 * =====effects of to much in the body=====


 * effects of to little in body

Benefits for health
arginine has been found to help those with heart problems because it does work as a vaso dialator resulting in lower blood pressure reducing stress on the heart during regular daily activities. @http://youtu.be/biDNwRHgAuc
 * =====heart function=====

Effects on training/bodybuilding
increased levels of nitirc oxide in the body led to vascodialation which allowed higher oxygen levels to be sustained in the muscles, this resulted in higher amounts of muscle conractions before the muscle would get tired an fail as well as higher oxygen levels the vasodialation results in more nutrient rich blood to be available to the broken down muscle resulting in faster more efficiant muscle repair and growth
 * oxygen supply to muscle
 * muscle repair

@http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/875.html @http://www.livestrong.com/article/403704-the-side-effects-of-too-much-l-arginine/

=__Glutamine__=

Glutamine is an amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks to protein. Glutamine is not just any amino acid, it is the most abundant amino acid in our body - and highly concentrated in our muscles. Glutamine has recently been re-classified as a conditionally essential amino acid. This means that while the body can make glutamine, there are times when the body's need for glutamine is greater than its ability to produce glutamine.
 * what is it
 * where does it come from
 * what are its uses

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Functions
Studies have shown that glutamine supplementation can do the following:
 * protein synthesis
 * nitrogen donation
 * carbon donation

Increase Protein synthesis (which leads to increased muscle mass) Increase nitrogen retention Decrease muscle breakdown Decrease recovery time needed after a workout Enhance immune functions Nitrogen donation for anabolic processes Carbon donation in the citric acid cycle Glutamine also increase the plasma HGH levels in your body when taken orally in the form of a glutamine powder This helps with muscle growth in weightlifting, bodybuilding, and endurance.



Usage

 * body building
 * powerlifting
 * endurance

The use of glutamine in the muscle is enhanced through four major pathways. A four-pronged attack on the bodies glutamine reserves occurs through the synergistic effect of these pathways.

The output of [|cortisol] is rapidly increased as training intensity is increased exponentially. The intestines need for glutamine is thereby instantaneously increased and this causes an acceleration of glutamine removal from the blood. Cortisol also promotes degradation of glutamine in the liver, further decreasing blood glutamine levels. Training increases bodily [|carbohydrate] uptake. This usually causes a decline in blood glucose and insulin levels. Gluconeogenesis then occurs and this causes the liver to attract amino acids, particularly glutamine. The liver then transforms glutamine into carbohydrates. Weight training produces lactic acid (LA) as a by product of anaerobic [|metabolism]. This LA passes into the blood and acidifies it, hence the muscle burning sensation at the end of a set taken to exhaustion. Blood PH (PH is a determination of bodily acid levels: 1 being most acidic and 14 being most alkaline, or basic) then drops and the kidneys detect this. The kidneys are forced to attract glutamine rapidly to restore blood PH and consequently the acid/base balance.

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