Creatine: A Practical Guide

Without doubt, creatine is one of the most used muscle building supplement. If you are a fitness enthusiast or is involved in any fitness related pursuit, then chances are, you have heard about creatine, considering taking it or you may already be a consumer of this amazing supplement.

With it’s popularity, one would expect that any person considering using it or for a person who is actually taking it would be well informed as to its effectiveness, dosage and how to take it. However, contrary to this belief, you can practically see numerous questions as the following being asked time and again:

"Is Creatine really Effective"

"Is it safe for me to take creatine?"

" What are the bad effects of creatine?

"How much should I take?"

" What is the starting dose"

" Should I take it continuously or should I stop?"

Well, this goes to show that creatine, though highly popular is still not fully understood by many. Some reported excellent results while some describe it as creating no effects or undesirable side effects.

If you do a check online, it’s not difficult to find "answers" to the above Frequently asked questions but I must warn you that you may end up even more confused than you first started out. Why? Because, many of these so called "answers" are conflicting and are usually mentioned by people who may be totally ignorant of the nature of this supplement and is merely talking out of one good or bad experience with it. Sometimes, these may even be just "hear-say" from other people and reported as the "real thing".

If you were really interested to find out more about Creatine, then I would highly recommend a book on it by a renowned scientist Dr Franco-Oregon. Its called

Creatine: A Practical Guide

Being a scientist, Dr Oregon has presented very objective views on the use of creatine. He gives you the bad as well as the good about creatine and he doesn’t treat any assumption as facts. As such, you can expect a complete, unbiased guide on creatine, which provides invaluable information, and advices on how to get the most out of this extremely effective supplement - Creatine

To be honest, I was skeptical to the usefulness of this book as I consider myself pretty knowledgeable on this subject as I have been taking this supplement for quite some time now. But I was totally amazed to know that what I know about is just a "scratch of the surface". I realized that I have totally underestimated the potential of creatine and how I could further make use of it to achieve my goals faster and more economically. An eye opener indeed.

Though written by a scientist, the book is an easy read where Dr Oregon presented his findings and advices in a clear and concise manner. Not full of scientific jargons as one may expect.

Ok, just to give you a glimpse of what you would find inside this book.

The book is mainly divided into 3 parts

As usual, Part 1 is somehow like an introductory chapter where Dr Oregon will educate and give you a better understanding on how and why creatine works and how it affects your muscle growth.

Part 2, may be the answer for your purpose in buying this book because here is where you will learn how to get the most out of your creatine supplementation. You will be taught how and when to take creatine for the best results. You will also be taught on how to take a correct dose and how to plan for maintenance and washout phases while supplementing with creatine. Doing so helps greatly in reducing the risk of taking creatine long term. Like most people, I simply follow the information on product labels, or advices from friends and fellow bodybuilders and is happy to see "some results" without realizing that I am actually not making full use of the potential of creatine. What a waste! Learning these facts alone could have save me tons of money.

In Part 3, He talks about the many brands of creatine available in the market and the advantages and disadvantages of these brands. He covered on some much "-publicized" side effects of creatine and presented facts to alleviate fears among people who have avoided taking creatine because of these bad effects.

This part is particularly useful in helping you choose a reliable brand among the many.

Lastly, the book comes with a lifetime update. This means that you will continuously get new information on creatine for a one-time purchase. At a price of under $20, this is really a steal. A must-have for any one serious about gaining muscle with maximal results using creatine.