The best supplement you're not using.

     What if I were to tell you that there is a supplement out there that is cheap, effective, highly studied, and almost zero adverse effects? Sounds almost too good to be true right? It's true.

Drumroll please

.........

Those are drum rolls by the way

Suspense killing you?

Good.

This is not the supplement you're looking for....

Jedi Mind trick didn't work?

OK

Fine

I'll tell you.

In a second....

I'm really enjoying this.

It's CREATINE.

    Creatine is a naturally occurring substance within the body that is typically stored in the liver and is used for quick, powerful, high intensity movements such as jumps, sprints (100m or less) and strength training. Creatine makes up .creatine phosphate. As you can imagine it is predominantly stored (98%) in skeletal muscle It also prevalent in the foods we eat such as meat and fish (another reason to eat animal foods for protein). 

    For dosage of creatine, you would start with 20g-25g per day or .3 kilograms of creatine per kilogram of body weight for 5 straight days. After this initial "loading" maintenance is as little as 2g a day. Without the "loading" process it takes longer for muscle concentration to take effect (30 days to 85 days). Stopping the dosage takes four weeks for creatine levels to return to baseline. For full effects of the supplement take for at least 28 days. "full" effects include increases in power, strength, sprint speed and lean body mass. Without the 28 days of complete dosages jump and power effects will not be altered. Point being, if you wish to have the full effects of creatine take for at least a month. Taking more than the recommended dosage means nothing. The muscle is saturated with 2g a day (after initial loading). Going over the recommended dosages may cause some GI issues as your body adapts 

    The downside of creatine is the increased body weight due to the saturation of water within skeletal muscle. This may not be a downside after all since if your taking creatine and lifting weights then your goal is probably to get bigger. Outside of increased lean body mass there is no adverse effects of taking the supplement. Creatine is the most studied ergogenic aid on the planet. Throughout all of these studies no adverse effects were noticed. If you're looking to become bigger, stronger and faster than consider taking creatine to boost your performance.