The reason for creatine's status as one of the most popular sports supplements may be its ability to improve high-intensity athletic performance when taken. When our athletic performance is improved, we are in turn able to gain greater training adaptations and improve our functional status.

Phosphagen is ubiquitous in all species and plays an important role in maintaining energy availability. The primary metabolic role of creatine is the formation of phosphocreatine (PCr) through the enzymatic reaction of creatine kinase (CK) with phosphoinositide (Pi). The pleiotropy of creatine is primarily related to the function of CK and PCr (i.e., the CK/PCr system). Since the degradation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and Pi provides free energy for metabolic activities, the free energy released from the hydrolysis of PCr to Cr+Pi serves as a buffer for the resynthesis of ATP. This helps maintain ATP availability, especially during anaerobic sprint exercise. This is one of the reasons why we are able to improve our performance during high intensity exercise when we supplement with creatine.

 

Potential Enhancing Effects of Creatine Supplementation