Many athletes are currently supplementing their diets with creatine to increase their strength, muscle mass, and weight by providing their bodies with more available energy, thus reaching new heights in athletic performance. Improving Energy Production Creatine is a nutrient that is found naturally in the diet as well as the human body. The primary dietary sources of creatine are raw beef and fish, as heating tends to destroy creatine . However, moderate increases in meat consumption are unlikely to increase muscle creatine levels because one must consume approximately 12 pounds of meat per day to achieve the same creatine levels as supplementation. When dietary consumption is inadequate to meet the body's creati.ne needs, it is manufactured in the liver and kidneys from a combination of the amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine.
Creatine is present inside muscles, especially skeletal muscles.
ATP is created inside cells by metabolizing carbohydrate, fat , or, protein in the presence of oxygen. Usually relying on ATP production for energy is alright except for two problems. The first is that ATP is produced at a slow rate, too slow to supply the energy needed to run a 200-meter sprint, for example. The second problem is that ATP production takes a while to get started. As one goes from rest at the starting line of a race to running at race speed, for example, the traditional method of ATP production does not begin working at full capacity until a couple of minuets have passed.