Last Updated on April 5, 2021 by Eat Better Move More

When To Take Creatine and Glutamine?

In the competitive scenes of the sports world, many athletes have taken various measures to improve their overall performance. One of these measures is taking supplements, specifically creatine and glutamine. You probably heard both of these supplements before in the gym, where bodybuilders frequently tout the benefits of creatine and glutamine. They are, after all, known to increase a person’s overall performance by enhancing muscle mass.

Among the various supplements in the market, creatine and glutamine are some of the most accessible supplements. You can pretty much easily acquire these supplements at your local gym or via online stores.

But before you go ahead of yourself and take both of these supplements, let’s first know what both of these supplements do to your body and when is the best time to take them. Luckily for you, these supplements are well-studied by nutritionists, which means that when you use them, they are relatively effective and safe. However, when consumed in inappropriate amounts, it can cause some problems.

So let’s first discuss what both of these supplements are, what they do to your body, their side effects, and when is the ideal time to use them to maximize their benefits.

What is Creatine, and What Does it Do?

Creatine is an amino acid derivative primarily found within your body’s muscles, bones, and brain. It is a combination of three non-essential amino acids which are arginine, glycine, and methionine. You can acquire creatine by consuming red meats, seafood, and supplements. The body also naturally produces them in your kidney, pancreas, and liver.

Your body then transforms creatine to phosphocreatine, a chemical that aids in producing a substance called adenosine triphosphate. The adenosine triphosphate, or ATP for short, is a chemical bond where energy is stored for the use of cellular and other basic life functions.

While on high-intensity activities, such as workouts, ATP is continually being used to fuel your muscles. The rate of ATP you can resynthesize defines how much you continually sustain the high-intensity activity. After all, you use up more ATP to fuel your muscles more than the rate you can recover it, resulting in inevitable tiredness.

This is where utilizing creatine supplements can help. Creatine supplements will help your body create more phosphocreatine which aids in the production of ATP, which then gives more energy for your muscles to use. This will drastically increase your high-intensity workout performance.

Another popular use for creatine is for further development of one’s muscle mass. Creatine stimulates your body’s hormones that are responsible for the development of muscle mass. This gives you the ability to quickly develop and increase your muscle growth and size.

With all the benefits the creatine gives, you might think that there might be downsides to consuming one. You might have heard some forums on the internet that discuss the bad side effects of creatine. Fortunately, those are just rumors and are not based on any hard evidence. Creatine is one of the most-researched health supplements in the market, and so far, there aren’t scientific papers that would suggest otherwise.

Is consuming creatine for everyone? It depends on the person. All of our bodies are built differently, some respond to consuming creatine, while some don’t. You will notice if creatine does not work for you after one week. If the duration of the high-intensity workout increases, then it worked. If not, then consuming creatine is not for you.

What is Glutamine, and What Does it Do?

Now let’s take a look at what is glutamine and what it does to our body. Glutamine is one of the twenty amino acids that is found in the body. Glutamine is the most abundant nonessential amino acid that is naturally produced in the human body. Almost all glutamine is produced within the muscle tissue, and it takes up roughly 60% of the amino acid pool in your muscle tissue

When we mean nonessential amino acid, we don’t mean that this amino acid is useless. Nonessential amino acid refers to amino acids that are synthesized by the body, meaning you do not need to supplement more glutamine in your diet. However, if you choose to find glutamine, you can acquire glutamine by consuming meats, dairy products, tofu, supplements, etc.

Glutamine plays a role in transporting nitrogen atoms by disturbing them through the blood to the organs that need it. The nitrogen atoms are essential for rebuilding and repairing damaged muscle tissue.

Though glutamine is readily available within your body, it can get insufficient during high-intensity workout sessions. The effects of which are a significant decrease in stamina, strength, and lengthens the recovery period.

By adding glutamine supplements to your diet, you can ensure that your body has enough glutamine to reduce the recovery period, reduce muscle soreness, and avoid muscle breakdown from overworking out. All of these benefits, in the long run, will add up to increase muscle mass.

Glutamine is also necessary for sustaining a healthy immune system. Athletes and bodybuilders likewise are susceptible to infections, even more so that they are constantly engaging themselves in high-intensity training which depletes glutamine.

Glutamine is utilized by the body’s white blood cells to produce cytokines. By having ample amounts of glutamine, you ensure that you have enough cytokines within your body to protect against illness.

When To Take Creatine and Glutamine

Now, that you know the benefits of these supplements, let’s now tackle when is the best time to take these supplements. You need to perfectly time when you want to take these supplements to maximize their use. Note that there are no adverse effects on mixing both of these supplements, so they are safe.

Creatine

• 3-5 grams before a workout – Take 3-5 grams of creatine mixed in with a moderate amount of carbs mixed in it. This will give you a small boost of energy for your upcoming workout.
• 3-5 grams after a workout – Take another 3-5 grams of creatine after your workout mixed in with 80 grams of carbs. Your body will need the creatine to build up muscle mass.

Glutamine

• 7-10 grams in the morning – This small intake will allow the glutamine to fully absorb into your body.
• 7-10 grams before a workout – This will allow you to last longer in your workout session.
• 7-10 grams after a workout – Another intake would allow the recovery process to occur immediately after a workout.
• 7-10 grams 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime – This will keep your body from getting sore and speed up recovery when tomorrow comes.

So there you go, you are now on your way to becoming a better athlete or body-builder. However, take note that supplements are not a replacement for a healthy diet. You still need to eat the proper diet for you to achieve the performance and the body builds you desired.