SHOULD YOU USE CREATINE WHILE CUTTING?
Creatine has built an amazing reputation over the past 20 years as a powerful natural supplement for increasing overall muscle size and strength.
There’s no question that any effective mass gaining phase should include 3-5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily…
But should you also use creatine while cutting?
Here are the 2 main reasons why you should definitely continue supplementing with creatine while cutting…
The first is that creatine will help you retain a greater percentage of your lean muscle mass while you lose fat.
Any time your goal is to burn fat, you must create a calorie deficit by burning more calories than you consume each day. This stimulates your body to tap into its excess fat stores for energy.
However, this calorie deficit will also cause a small degree of lean muscle tissue loss as well. This is a completely natural part of the process and can’t be avoided.
The goal during a cutting phase is to maximize the amount of body fat burned and minimize the amount of muscle tissue lost.
This is where creatine helps you out…
By improving the efficiency of the body’s energy usage during weight training, creatine helps to maximize your overall power output, which in turn allows you to maintain more of your strength and lean muscle during your cut.
Not only does this keep your hard-earned muscle intact, but it also optimizes your resting metabolic rate.
This is because muscle is metabolically active tissue and burns up calories all on its own. The more muscle you carry, the more fat you burn during exercise and at rest.
The second reason to take creatine while cutting is that it increases muscle cell volume and thickness.
By drawing more water into your muscle cells, creatine helps your muscles maintain their overall size and fullness during your cut.
When you restrict calories, your overall carbohydrate intake naturally decreases which can cause your muscles to take on a flatter appearance as glycogen levels deplete.
Not only does taking creatine while cutting maximize muscle thickness, but it also increases the anabolic state of the muscle tissue, since muscles are about 70% water.
Contrary to what some misguided individuals might say, creatine does not cause any sort of “bloating” or “puffiness”, since all of the increased water is intra-cellular and is not stored beneath the skin.
In reality, creatine actually increases muscle definition and hardness.
So, should you take creatine while cutting?
Absolutely. It will help you retain more lean muscle while you lose fat, optimize your resting metabolic rate and help you maintain overall muscle fullness.
– Sean
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