Supplementing with creatine has grown popular in recent years, but did you know that certain foods contain it? Meats and fish are especially high in creatine. However, to receive a significant amount of creatine, these foods must be ingested in substantial quantities. As a result, supplementing with creatine is an easier, less expensive, and more efficient way to achieve your muscle-building goals during the off-season.
Creatine, which is created naturally by the human body in the liver and pancreas, aids in the replenishment of ATP, the major source of energy, in our cells. The ability to maintain high-intensity exercise reduces considerably as our natural phosphocreatine stores are drained by high-intensity exercise. No wonder it is used as a supplement by many athletes.
In this guide, we will cover:
- What is creatine
- Do MLB players use it
- Should baseball players use it
- When to use creatine
- How much creatine should baseball players use
- Finally, which creatine is best for baseball players
Without further ado, let’s jump straight in.
Creatine for Beginners
Because baseball is a sport characterized by multiple, high-intensity bursts of action, knowing what creatine is and how it works will put you ahead of the pack. Our cells will have more phosphocreatine easily available in the bloodstream so that it may be utilized for energy if we just add creatine supplements to our workout plan. We can do more high-intensity work for a longer period if our cells are given more energy.
Creatine supplementation not only appears to have no harmful side effects on the body, but it also appears to have several favorable impacts on muscle strength and growth. Creatine is synthesized by our bodies naturally, however, supplementation can speed up the process.
Whether you’re an experienced baseball player or just getting started with baseball training, Creatine can benefit both groups, as well as anyone in the middle. Creatine’s key ergogenic impact is that it gives our cells more energy, allowing them to do high-intensity tasks for extended periods, which is crucial in baseball.
We provide our muscles a better ability to accomplish work, get stronger, and expand by providing this extra energy to our cells. You can see even more muscle growth and strength by combining Creatine supplementation with carbohydrates and protein.
Do MLB Players Take Creatine?
Creatine is popular among baseball players. Supplementing with creatine has numerous advantages, particularly for baseball players. It is one of the favorite supplements of every professional and amateur athlete due to its proven effectiveness and performance improvement in athletes.
During the research, I found a video of Matt Antonelli explaining his experience in the MLB. He said that in the weight room, supplements like whey protein and creatine monohydrate were commonly used among MLB players.
MLB players take creatine because it boosts their quick feet, batting power, muscular mass, throwing power, and capacity to repeat all-out sprint attempts, and lessens the discomfort for tomorrow’s game.
Yes, creatine is a baseball-specific substance, and it’s a compound that doesn’t need to be pushed; the research speaks for itself.
Should Baseball Players Take Creatine?
Creatine supplementation has been shown to improve lean body mass, decrease short sprint times (power), increase vertical jump (power), and raise creatine levels in skeletal muscle in several studies. Our bodies use creatine as a source of fuel during activities involving short bursts of work (less than 10 seconds), providing us with extra energy.
Baseball players should use creatine. Pitchers, in particular, have even more reason to use this supplement all year. Fastball velocity has been linked to body weight, and creatine has been demonstrated to boost body weight by increasing muscle mass and water retention. Pitchers may apply greater force to the ground and transfer more force into the ball because of their increased bulk.
Creatine is both safe and beneficial for baseball players, according to research, and has been shown to perform the following:
- Increasing muscle mass and strength levels increase the capacity of anaerobic running
- Reduces exercise-induced muscle damage and soreness
- Enhances power production and explosiveness
- Reduces the loss of lean muscle mass during a diet
Finally, combining Creatine supplementation with a strong resistance training program will only help you achieve better results, whether you’re a teenager or an adult. We strongly advise taking Creatine for baseball if you want to take your game to the next level.
How Does It Work?
Consider phosphocreatine to be the energy source for very short, high-intensity workouts. During high-intensity anaerobic workouts your body uses phosphocreatine stores to restore ATP in your muscles. Once your ATP stores are depleted, your body must rely on other sources of energy to complete the remainder of your workout. When you take creatine, you’re essentially increasing the amount of phosphocreatine stored in your muscles by 10-40%, allowing your body to perform at a higher intensity for longer periods.
Supplementation for a short period can improve sprint performance by 5% and maximum strength and power by 5% to 15%. Long-term supplementation has been proven to boost performance by up to 15% and can have a good effect on lean body mass over time.
During workouts, those who train for explosiveness, power, and strength rely heavily on their phosphocreatine stores. Creatine supplementation can assist any athlete who exercises at high intensities and lifts weights regularly. Vegan and vegetarian athletes may benefit the most from creatine supplementation, with the biggest increases in phosphocreatine reserves. These athletes have decreased phosphocreatine reserves in particular.
How Much Creatine Should Baseball Players Use?
Creatine is usually taken in doses of 3-5g per day. Although many of the early studies employed 20-30g of creatine per day for ‘loading phases’ to quickly saturate storage, lesser dosages are just as beneficial but take a bit longer to build up in the body and have an effect.
Creatine Loading
Creatine loading entails taking a large dose of creatine as soon as possible to maximize your creatine storage. This will enable you to begin reaping the benefits at the gym sooner, resulting in faster long-term improvement and better performance.
Taking 20g (4x5g) for 5-7 days is a common creatine loading technique. This will ensure that your creatine levels are fully replenished, allowing you to begin adding reps and sets to your workouts. While loading allows you to begin making gains sooner, the several dosages spread throughout the day may make it less convenient than a maintenance phase.
Maintenance Phase
It may be more convenient to increase creatine storage through a maintenance phase because you just have to take creatine once or twice a day. It may also aid in reducing the observed negative effects associated with a loading period.
Increased water retention and stomach discomfort are two of them. It will take longer to saturate your creatine storage during a maintenance phase, thus it will take longer to realize a benefit during your training or performance. A daily maintenance dose of 3-5g is normal. This method of supplementation will boost your creatine levels in about 28 days.
Best Way to Take Creatine for Baseball
The best strategy to take creatine for the fastest benefits is to do a 7-day loading phase (20g/d) to maximize storage, followed by a maintenance phase of 3-5g/d. Both ways will increase your creatine storage and allow you to boost your performance and training gains in the long run, but the optimal method will depend on what works best for you.
Taking creatine before and after an exercise can help with recuperation and creatine storage. Creatine has been shown to speed up the pace at which glycogen is replenished after a strenuous workout. As a result, recovery rates will improve.
Creatine supplementation after a workout has also been found to minimize muscle damage. Furthermore, combining creatine with carbs may boost both carbohydrate and creatine storage. Including creatine in a post-workout protein and carbohydrate shake could be the most effective strategy to recuperate while also increasing your creatine storage. To lessen the possibility of stomach cramping and other documented side effects during a creatine loading period, distribute in modest doses throughout the day.
Using a Powdered Version of Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine monohydrate and other creatine supplements are frequently sold as a powder to be mixed with water or juice. The dissolving process is aided by hot water or tea. Creatine monohydrate dissolves a little slower in cold water or other cold beverages, but it’s still just as effective.
It has a greater than 95% bioavailability once consumed. Because your body’s muscles can absorb creatine more efficiently when insulin is present, it’s also a good idea to take creatine with sugary drinks (e.g., grape juice) or with food. Taking creatine or creatine supplements without sugary beverages, on the other hand, is just as beneficial.
Using a Creatine Monohydrate in a Form of Capsules and Chewable Tablets
It’s equally as beneficial to take creatine as a pill or a chewable tablet. Capsules typically carry 750 mg of active ingredient each capsule, while tablets typically include 1 g. 3–5 g per day is the suggested daily intake.
It is thought that pure caffeine and creatine have a detrimental interaction. However, there has been no definitive research on this topic. Caffeine doses of 5–7 mg per kg of body weight were utilized in the experiments (i.e. 350–490 mg of caffeine for a 70 kg person).
Although there were no negative impacts on creatine storage or muscle growth, there could have been a negative impact on sprinting performance or explosive strength development. Caffeine intake should be restricted when taking creatine, but this cannot be determined convincingly. In any event, significant caffeine use should be avoided before any intensive exertion for safety reasons.
Is Creatine Taken Before or After Baseball Practice?
The answer isn’t so apparent when it comes to when you should take your creatine supplement in connection to a workout. Creatine, unlike some other sports nutrition supplements, does not have an instant effect on your body when you consume it. It takes a while for it to affect your performance and strength because it takes time for your phosphocreatine stores in your muscles to build up.
Creatine can be taken before or after baseball practice. It is more necessary to think about consistency than it is to think about timing.
Because things don’t happen right away, there don’t appear to be many advantages to taking your creatine dose right before or right after hitting the gym. However, there is some data to suggest that taking creatine after an exercise may be slightly more beneficial for people concerned with body composition and muscle strength.
If you want to see gains in body composition and performance, make sure you’re taking creatine close to the time you work out, whether you’re doing it before or after you work out. Waiting till much later in the day or taking it much earlier in the day may help to reduce the effects.
Best Creatine for Increased Baseball Performance
Creatine supplementation raises the amount of creatine in the body by up to 30%. There are numerous various forms of creatine on the market, but creatine monohydrate is the most basic and well-studied. It is also the most affordable, as other forms of creatine (such as creatine ethyl ester or creatine hydrochloride) are not superior.
Creatine ethyl ester does not break down into individual creatine and salt components when consumed, unlike soluble creatine salts. While creatine monohydrate is nearly totally absorbed by the body, scientific studies demonstrate that CEE decomposes swiftly in the gastrointestinal tract into an inefficient form of creatinine.
Creatine monohydrate is the best and most common type for increased baseball performance. This is the format that the majority of the research on the subject has taken. This suggests that the majority of creatine’s favorable benefits, such as better upper and lower body exercise performance, were virtually entirely noticed when creatine monohydrate was utilized.
Creatine monohydrate can increase the amount of water in muscle cells in addition to enhancing strength. Delivering signals related to cell swelling could have a positive influence on muscular growth.
Creatine is safe to consume, according to a substantial body of research, and no major negative effects have been observed. When small adverse effects do occur, they are usually stomached upset or cramps. Rather than taking one large dose, these negative effects may be alleviated by taking numerous smaller doses.
Creatine monohydrate is the gold standard for this supplement because it is safe, effective, and inexpensive. All in all, it appears that creatine monohydrate is the most effective kind.
In baseball circles, Cellucor Cor-Performance Creatine Monohydrate for Strength and Muscle Growth is largely regarded as the best option.
A money-back guarantee is included with all Cellucor orders made through Amazon. As a result, if you decide to invest, they provide a 30-day money-back guarantee. That’s how sure they are in your ability to enjoy the product while achieving excellent results.
NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
You should not rely on information in this article as a replacement for, nor does it replace, professional diagnosis, medical advice, or medical treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional.
