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Maximize Muscles Creatine HMB

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Run faster, play harder, climb higher. Most athletes and physically active people want to get the most for their muscle, and some are turning to special supplements to enhance their performance. The latest trend is taking amino acids such as creatine and HMB (short for beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate) to boost energy and bulk up muscle size and strength.

Creatine and HMB are compounds naturally occurring in various foods and also in the body, mostly in the muscles. Creatine can be synthesized in the body from a combination of three amino acids — arginine, glycine and methionine. It can also be absorbed from food sources such as lean red meat and fish. HMB, on the other hand, is a breakdown product of the amino acid leucine, found in fish and fruit.

Due to creatine and HMB's increasing popularity, many elite and amateur athletes may wonder if these substances will give them the competitive edge. Creatine and HMB research is still preliminary; therefore, the definitive benefits and long-term effects of supplementation remain uncertain. Nonetheless, studies suggest that creatine and HMB have the potential to enhance muscle strength, power and energy, so they're worth investigating. Before you take them, however, consult with your health care practitioner so you can make an informed decision about whether they're right for you.

Creatine boosts the body's ability to synthesize the proteins that form lean muscle tissue, thereby increasing muscle size, strength and power, according to Ray Sahelian, M.D., author of Creatine: Nature's Muscle Builder (Avery). He notes that creatine may also reduce body fat and rebuild muscle tissue atrophied by injury, muscle-wasting conditions and the aging process. However, the greatest benefits occur among athletes involved in sports requiring quick, explosive movements such as power lifting and sprinting. It's not clear whether people participating in endurance activities, such as marathon running, or less active people will benefit from creatine supplementation.

Creatine acts as an enzyme in the muscle cells and is used to form ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a high-energy molecule that fuels your muscles, explain exercise physiologists Frank Katch and William McArdle, authors of Introduction to Nutrition, Exercise and Health (Lea & Febiger). Your body's muscles store enough ATP to sustain intense effort for several seconds.

Once ATP begins to run out, another molecule composed of creatine and phosphate (sometimes called CP), provides energy to help resynthesize more ATP. Creatine phosphate donates a "high-energy" phosphate group to ADP (adenosine diphosphate), thereby forming ATP. "Cells store creatine phosphate in considerably larger quantities than ATP," write Katch and McArdle. "Its mobilization for energy is almost instantaneous and doesn't require oxygen. For this reason, creatine phosphate is considered the 'reservoir' of high-energy phosphate."

Energy in the Bank
Typical body stores of ATP and CP together can sustain short, intense bursts of exercise for approximately five to eight seconds. If such exercise continues beyond eight seconds, however, the body must begin resynthesizing the supply of ATP and creatine phosphate from other energy sources.

Creatine supplementation can boost creatine and CP storage in muscles, increasing backup energy supply. Paul Greenhaff, Ph.D., of the Queen's Medical Center in Nottingham, England, says the availability of creatine in muscle tissue is one of the most likely limitations to muscle performance during high-intensity, short-duration exercise (International Journal of Sports Nutrition, 1995, suppl. 5).

Another study conducted by Greenhaff with nine male subjects showed that creatine supplementation increased the body's ability to restore ATP levels, thereby enhancing exercise performance (American Journal of Physiology, July 1996). Other studies have shown an increase in the amount of work done during short-duration, high-intensity workouts. For example, a study of seven male subjects has found that after creatine supplementation, the subjects were better able to maintain power output on a cycle ergometer during a 10-second exercise period (Acta Physiologica Scandinavia, July 1995, vol. 154, no. 3).

Creatine supplementation is usually divided into two phases, the loading phase and the maintenance phase. The loading phase fills up the creatine storage capacity in muscle fibers. Edmund R. Burke, Ph.D., professor of biology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and coauthor of Training Nutrition (Cooper Publications), recommends taking 20 grams a day for five to seven days. During the maintenance phase, he recommends supplementing with 2 to 3 grams a day (Journal of Applied Physiology, July 1996, vol. 81, no. 1).

Take creatine with fruit juices or a glucose-based drink for efficient uptake into the muscle fibers, recommends Sahelian. He also suggests you divide the doses into two to four servings and take them before and after workouts. Also, be sure to avoid coffee and other caffeinated drinks, since they may counteract creatine's benefits.

Researchers have found no adverse effects with short-term creatine supplementation (Sports Medicine, October 1994, vol. 18, no. 4). However, daily servings of more than 5 grams of creatine may cause diarrhea and stress the elimination organs such as the liver and kidneys, Sahelian notes. When taking any supplement that contains creatine, always consult with your health care practitioner. This is particularly important because the side effects of long-term supplementation have not yet been established.

HMB and Muscle Power
"HMB is found in muscle cells and helps prevent the breakdown of muscle," writes Burke (Nutrition Science News, March 1997). Physiologists refer to the breakdown of muscle protein as a catabolic activity. HMB serves as an anti-catabolic substance because it decreases the degradation of muscle protein. HMB, a metabolite of the amino acid leucine, helps regulate muscle protein. Scientists theorize it may even help lean muscle tissue grow stronger, yet few human performance studies on HMB have been completed.

However, one recent study found that supplementation with either 1.5 or 3 grams of HMB daily partly prevented exercise-induced muscle damage and resulted in larger gains in muscle when the subjects participated in strength training (Journal of Applied Physiology, November 1996, vol. 81, no. 5).

Other tests, conducted on eight male cyclists, showed HMB supplementation improved their oxygen consumption and endurance, according to Michael Vukovich, Ph.D., a professor at Wichita State University (Nutrition Science News, September 1997).

Burke, who has researched and written about HMB, also cites a study showing HMB plays a role in muscle-building and fat-burning in women exercisers. A key point, however, is that the HMB did not burn fat in women who didn't exercise. Therefore, Burke extrapolates that HMB is effective only when used in conjunction with exercise (FASEB Journal, 1997, vol. 11, no. 3). Another interesting study, conducted by Richard Kreider, Ph.D., of the University of Memphis, investigates the effects of HMB taken in conjunction with creatine. Creatine didn't augment the benefits of HMB, although the subjects displayed significant improvements in strength and body composition, suggesting creatine and HMB are useful when taken together, though they're not necessarily synergistic.

Burke recommends HMB supplementation for both elite and amateur athletes who want to build and tone muscle, increase the strength of their lean body tissue, and decrease body fat. He suggests taking no more than 3 grams of HMB a day, since abdominal cramping has been reported with higher dosages. These dosages combined with intense weight training may increase lean muscle mass and decrease body fat. As with creatine, long-term effects of HMB haven't been studied, so be cautious about including it in your diet. Consult your health care practitioner first.

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