Take a look at the currently popular pre-workouts and you'll find many of them hype up the idea of “creatine-free.” Some of these companies treat creatine like some terrible ingredient to be avoided at all costs. However, creatine is a foundational supplement. It’s one of the most studied and proven effective supplements available. Not only that, several creatine benefits make it ideal for use before your workout. In this article, we’ll look at why your pre-workout should contain creatine. We will also look at the 5% pre-workouts that feature creatine. 

History Of Creatine

First, let’s look at a little history. A French scientist named Chevreul discovered creatine way back in 1835. By 1847, creatine was linked to muscle tissue. There were creatine studies conducted using human test subjects as early as 1910. In several of these studies, test subjects loaded creatine by taking up to 20 grams daily for 6 days. (1)

The loading concept came up again when in 1926, a scientist named Chanutin (3) detailed case studies where human test subjects took creatine 4 times a day for 10 days. (2)

Somewhat miraculously, in 1993 creatine monohydrate was introduced to the supplement market. This was in the era of the massive bags and buckets of weight gainers. Some of these gainers provided 10,000 calories per shovel-size serving. Imagine trying to convince supplement companies of the benefits of a zero-calorie supplement such as creatine in the days of the calorie wars! Yet that's exactly what the men behind the original supplement attempted. Needless to say, they had little luck and ended up starting their own company. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Why Your Pre-Workout Should Contain Creatine - Creatine And Endurance

As part of the ATP-CP energy system, creatine is naturally stored in your muscles as creatine phosphate. Muscle cells contain up to 6 times as much creatine phosphate as they do ATP. Of course, ATP is the immediate energy source for your muscles. This is true for both high and low-intensity workouts. Yet it can take less than a second for your muscles to burn through your body's reserve of ATP. 

This is where creatine phosphate enters the picture. Your muscles have a reserve of creatine that can be quickly converted to ATP. This powers another 15 seconds of all-out effort. 

If creatine is in your pre-workout, then all the more that can be used for energy. This means you can train longer and harder. In turn, this means better workout endurance, improved training performance, more strength, and ultimately more muscle. 

That’s why you should take your creatine before you train. The best way to get it is right in your pre-workout. Of course, both Kill It and Kill It Reloaded contain a special combination of creatines. It’s all about absorption, a fact not lost on 5% Nutrition. 

5% Nutrition Pre-Workouts With Creatine

It should come as no surprise that 5% understands the importance of creatine while you are training. Since creatine does not need to be cycled, there is no reason not to have this incredible ingredient in your favorite 5% pre-workout. 

Both Kill It and Kill It Reloaded contain our exclusive combination of different forms of creatine. 

Kill It

This is the best pre-workout for lifters that have never used a pre before. It’s also great for those lifters that want a moderate caffeine, balanced formula. You’ll find the following types of creatine in Kill It.

Creatine MagnaPower™ (Magnesium Creatine Chelate) - This branded ingredient combines creatine and magnesium chelate for improved creatine absorption.

Creatine Monohydrate - This is the original version that’s now micronized for better absorption. 

Creatine Pyruvate - This form combines creatine monohydrate with pyruvic acid for enhanced absorption.

Kill It Reloaded

Besides creatine monohydrate and pyruvate, this popular 5% pre-workout contains another form of creatine. 

Creatine Anhydrous - This is creatine monohydrate with all moisture removed. This leaves a dry powder that’s more concentrated than regular creatine monohydrate.  

Recap

As we have seen, creatine is one of the most effective supplements on the market. You can take it any time you want, but using it in a pre-workout gives you the benefits when you need them most. Whether you use Kill It or Kill It Reloaded, like always, 5% is on the cutting edge of innovation. 

References:

1. Hunter A. The physiology of creatine and creatinine. Physiological Reviews 2:580-626, 1922
2. Chanutin A. The fate of creatine when administered to man. Journal of Biological Chemistry 67:29-41, 1926