If you are taking creatine
then you are only addressing half of the equation of muscle energy, recovery,
and growth.
Creatine works by enhancing
your muscle’s energy suppy and re-suppy capacity through the anaerobic
pathway. It does this by increasing concentrations of creatine phosphate, which
is the muscle’s immediate storage house for valuable phosphate ions. In
the form of creatine phosphate, these ions are readily available to restore
the activity of the primary muscle fuel ATP. Creatine phosphate works in conjunction
with glycogen to provide immediate energy to the muscle. These compounds do
not require the presence of oxygen to do their work, hence they are termed anaerobic
(without oxygen) substrates.
The down side of the story
is that creatine phosphate is quickly used up. In addition to this, anaerobic
breakdown of glycogen for energy (glycolysis) soon comes to a halt as lactic
acid builds up.
At this point it is time
for the aerobic re-supply of ATP to take over. The aerobic energy system is
complex and involves many metabolic pathways that use glucose, glycolytic byproducts,
as well as fats for substrates.
Citrulline Malate
“Aerobic Creatine???”
As I explained, creatine works by supporting and enhancing the anaerobic production
of energy in the muscle. Unfortunately, it does nothing to address the production
of aerobic energy in the muscle.
This is where citrulline
malate comes in. Citrulline malate has been shown to increase aerobic ATP production
in the muscle by 34%! The result is a marked decrease in fatigue and a substantial
increase in aerobic evercise performance. Citrulline malate does this in part
by stimulating the removal and utilization for energy of the lactic acid formed
during anaerobic glycolysis.
Citrulline malate works
synergistically with creatine in another way as well. After exercise your creatine
phosphate levels are depleted and it takes a while for the free creatine in
your muscles to be rephosphorylated. With citrulline malate, the rate of phosphocreatine
recovery after evercise is increased by 20%! This means that you recover more
quickly between weight training sessions giving yourself a better opportunity
to grow faster.
Citrulline Malate and Ammonia
Ammonia is a toxic metabolic by product produced by your muscles, especially
during intense exercise. Ammonia is removed from the body by the liver’s
urea cycle. Ammonia is very toxic to the body and muscles; the build up of ammonia
in the body results in a rapid onset of fatigue. If the levels are not reduced,
they can lead to muscle catabolism and interference with brain function. Severe
ammonia toxicity can lead to organ failure, and eventually death.
Citrulline malate stimulates
the urea cycle and therefore markedly increases the body’s ability to
remove ammonia. Ammonia is thus converted to the harmless by-product urea, and
excreted from the body.
