What is Creatine Alpha-Ketoglutarate also known as Creatine AKG?

This is part 5 of the series on Creatine.

Part 4 suggested Creatine and Glutamine as the perfect muscle building combination.

Part 3 discussed the different types of creatine and their mixtures, including the Creatine Glutamine combination.

Part 2 compared Liquid Creatine vs. Creatine Powders.

Part 1 focused on the loading phase of creatine.

Guest Blogger David Monyer submitted this article on Creatine Alpha-Ketoglutarate, otherwise known as Creatine AKG in the sports world.

Creatine is the biggest selling, most popular and most effective bodybuilding supplement on the market today. Creatine monohydrate was the first widely available form of creatine. Creatine monohydrate worked extremely well for most bodybuilders, although it was a chalky, hard to mix substance.

The main drawback for a lot of bodybuilders was that it often resulted in intestinal distress and diarrhea because it sat in the intestines, pulling in water. This problem would subside in some bodybuilders over time, but it was a problem nonetheless. Another drawback of the creatine monohydrate form of creatine is the amount of carbohydrates needed to induce the muscles to absorb it. This is due to the fact that insulin is required to stimulate the creatine transporter in muscle cells. It requires approximately 100 g of simple carbs for every 5 g of creatine. This amount of carbohydrates taken before and sometimes after a workout often leads to stomach bloat, not to mention unnecessary sugar calories.

Better forms of creatine have hit the market over the past few years in order to address some of these issues, as well as increase absorption and its overall muscle building effects. Some of these products are creatine malate, creatine ethyl ester, creatine methyl ester, and buffered creatine.

One of the newest forms of creatine is creatine alpha-ketoglutarate, also known as creatine AKG. This form is creatine bound to a molecule of AKG. This is the same AKG that is used in the nitric oxide formulas (arginine AKG).

Alpha-Ketoglutarate is a precursor of glutamine, which means that with this supplement you are getting both glutamine and creatine. The key benefit, however, is that the intestines more easily absorb AKG, which will prevent the diarrhea that most bodybuilders experience when they take creatine monohydrate.

Another huge benefit of the creatine AKG, is that AKG readily crosses into muscle tissue without creatine transporters, which means that you no longer need to take in 100 g of carbohydrates with your creatine!

Creatine AKG has one additional benefit in that it is used in the aerobic pathway for producing energy, known as the Krebs cycle. The Krebs cycle is used to replenish levels of quick energy within the muscle cells in between workout sets. Since creatine provides quick energy for completing more reps, and AKG helps restore energy levels between sets, the combination of the two is an extremely effective way to keep your energy and strength levels high during your workout.

Furthermore, since creatine AKG is absorbed more efficiently into the muscle tissue, you don’t need to take quite as much as you would with creatine monohydrate.

Use a product that provides two 2- 5 g of creatine per serving, and be sure to take it with your pre-workout and post-workout shakes.

David Monyer has been involved in bodybuilding for the last 20 years, making most of his muscle gains in his basement gym, as well as different clubs and gyms over the years. For more information on training and recommended creatine AKG supplements, visit http://www.RockSolidBodybuilding.com/creatine