I first started taking Creatine when I was in college. I wanted to gain some muscle mass, look more fit, and of course be stronger; so after researching a bit, creatine seemed to be the supplement I was looking for. It had numerous studies that proved it could increase strength and power, and it seemed like the perfect addition to help me reach my goals.
Every day after class, I would go to the gym, take out my shaker bottle and toss a scoop of creatine in it, in hopes that I would get bigger, stronger, and faster at a much quicker rate. After a couple weeks it seemed like everything was working great. I was getting stronger and I had more energy, but instead of getting the body I wanted, (despite being on a great diet) I was bloated and puffy. Not only that but during my CrossFit classes, I would start to cramp and couldn’t finish my workouts.
Because of the bloating and cramping, I stopped taking creatine monohydrate altogether. Did it work? Yes, it gave me more energy, and I felt explosive in my movements. But even though it was helping me get stronger and gain more size, it wasn’t the size and look that I wanted. Until I found out about Kre-Alkalyn.
What Is Kre-Alkalyn?
Kre-Alkalyn is a pH corrected form of creatine, also known as ‘buffered’ creatine. Kre-Alkalyn was created to address the negative side effects associated with ordinary creatine monohydrate, specifically the conversion of creatine to the toxic by-product creatinine. This is accomplished by adding an alkaline powder to micronized creatine monohydrate, specifically sodium bicarbonate, in order to adjust the pH to a stable level, increasing stability in the stomach's acidic environment.
By adding an alkaline powder such as (soda ash, magnesium glycerol phosphate, bicarbonate) to ordinary creatine monohydrate, it stabilizes the acidity level between 7-14, making it more bioavailable and inhibiting the process of creatinine conversion. This solves the normal side effects associated with creatine monohydrate, such as bloating, water retention and cramping.
Sodium bicarbonate, also happens to be one of your body's natural lactic acid buffers. With added sodium bicarbonate, you're not only neutralizing the ph, making the creatine more bioavailable, you also improve endurance capacity and delay muscle fatigue.
RELATED ARTICLE How Sodium Bicarbonate Increases Endurance Capacity
In a study published in the International Journal of Pharmacology, pH and stability testing was conducted to see how Kre-Alkalyn compared to creatine monohydrate, in regards to creatinine conversion. Both real-time and accelerated testing was conducted to determine shelf-life stability. Only after 150 days or the equivalent to 5 years of real-time during the accelerated testing was there a diminutive amount of creatine converted into creatinine and 0.1% after 180 days, which is equivalent to 6 years in real-time. Creatine monohydrate has a pH between 2-3 as soon as it is dissolved in water, resulting in a highly acidic environment. Since the environment is more acidic, it immediately converts to creatinine, which causes side effects such as bloating, water retention, and cramping. This also means your body needs more creatine monohydrate since it’s less bioavailable. [R]
What Are The Benefits Of Kre-Alkalyn?
Kre-Alkalyn is a combination of three different amino acids: glycine, arginine, and methionine. When creatine enters your body, it binds with a phosphate molecule, creating ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is your body's natural energy source.
Supplementing with Kre-Alkalyn will increase your body’s immediate energy supply, by creating more ATP which can be extremely beneficial for endurance athletes that use short, fast, and explosive movements. Therefore, having more Kre-Alkalyn in your muscle cells can produce more ATP during intense bouts of exercise, which can help strength, power, and speed, which translates to more muscle growth.
Benefits Of Kre-Alkalyn Include
- Increased Strength
- Increased Peak Performance
- Increased Power Output
- Increased Lean Muscle Mass
- Improved Endurance
- Improved VO2 Max
RELATED ARTICLE The Definitive Guide To Kre-Alkalyn
What Are The Differences Between Kre-Alkalyn Vs. Creatine Monohydrate?
There are several noteworthy differences between creatine and Kre-Alkalyn.
- Creatine Monohydrate can cause gastrointestinal issues such as bloating, stomach aches or cramping from converting creatine into creatinine (a toxic by-product of creatine conversion) Kre-Alklayn is not degraded to creatinine, which subsequently leads to greater bioavailability and no known toxicity [R].
- Creatine Monohydrate requires a loading phase, consisting of 4-5 doses (typically 5 grams per dose) per day for up to 5 days and once a day thereafter. Since Kre-Alkalyn is more bioavailable and does not require a loading phase. Your body only requires 1.5-3g of Kre-Alkalyn per day, as compared to 10-15g of ordinary Creatine Monohydrate. As a side note, loading creatine monohydrate for 5 days at 20g means you'll use an entire bottle of creatine monohydrate just in the loading phase until it actually starts working.
- Creatine Monohydrate requires you to cycle, specifically 1 week of loading, 4-5 weeks of maintenance, and 1-2 weeks off. Kre-Alkalyn does not require any cycling at all.
- Unlike Creatine Monohydrate clinical trials indicate, that Kre-Alkalyn also helps enhance muscle endurance and VO2 max [R].
In a clinical trial, conducted by Bioceuticals Research, 12 professional NFL football players, were split into three different weight categories and were administered 1.5g of Kre-Alkalyn each day, for six weeks. The results indicated that all groups significantly increased energy levels, reported more endurance, stamina, and lowered body fat percentages 1
In another clinical trial comparing Kre-Alkalyn to Creatine Monohydrate by a group of physicians at Greenberg Medical Center, 24 Male Olympic Level soccer players were divided into two test groups. Group one ingested 750 mg of Kre-Alkalyn per day while group two ingested 750 mg of Creatine Monohydrate for a test period of 16 weeks.
The results indicated that despite a negligible difference between the two groups in lean muscle mass and muscle strength, there was a significant increase in VO2 Max within the Kre-Alkalyn group.
Furthermore, in a head to head comparison of creatine monohydrate vs. Kre-Alkalyn® 24 Olympic weightlifters, supplemented with either Kre-Alklayn or creatine monohydrate for a period of 60 days.
The creatine monohydrate group showed an average increase over baseline of 8.39% of maximum weight lifted for the snatch, clean & jerk, high snatch, & back squat, while the Kre-Alkalyn group showed an increase of 10.76% [R].
The average increase in total lifts for the KreAlkalyn group in the snatch, clean & jerk, high snatch, & back squat was 28.25% over the Creatine Monohydrate group [R]. All without exhibiting any adverse effects such as bloating, cramping, or water retention.
Stacking up these type of gains in only a matter of 8 weeks is a big deal especially those competing in CrossFit, powerlifting, or Olympic lifting.
RELATED ARTICLE Kre-Alkalyn Vs. Creatine Monohydrate: Which One Is Better?
What Is The Clinically Effective Dose Of Kre-Alkalyn
Research suggests that the recommended dose of Kre-Alkalyn is between 1.5-3g twice per day, for optimized athletic performance.
Why Kre-Alkalyn Is My Creatine Superhero: Takeaway?
When I switched from Creatine monohydrate to Kre-Alkalyn, the negative side effects, such as water retention, bloating and cramping all disappeared. Even better, was that I was able to hit new PRs with all my lifts and increase muscle endurance. Overall, I feel better using Kre-Alkalyn. I have more endurance, I feel stronger, and I can finish my workouts without having to worry about the cramping, the bloat, and the hassle of loading and cycling. Overall, Kre-Alkalyn is just better and more effective than creatine monohydrate, when it comes to performance outcomes.
Thinking about supplementing your fitness with Kre-Alkalyn?
Swolverine's Kre-Alkalyn® is a patented pH correct form of creatine phosphate. With the addition of creatine phosphate (PCr) into the muscle cells, the body increases its immediate energy supply, by facilitating the production of ATP which increases power output and strength. High-intensity training programs require the body to go under strenuous aerobic and anaerobic conditions. By supplementing the body with creatine, you will induce a greater improvement in exercise endurance and athletic performance, resulting in improved times, more peak power, and stronger lifts.*
SWOLVERINE is an endurance athlete and active lifestyle brand. Made for the elite athlete, and the strong-willed our products were designed to fuel your athletic performance. We perform when you perform.
We believe that everyone can optimize not only their athletic performance but their human potential. The way we believe we can optimize performance is through transparency, clinically effective doses, and clinically proven ingredients with evidence-based outcomes. We provide the nutrients you need to power your active lifestyle.
References
BioCeuticals Research & Development Analytical Laboratory. Does Kre-Alkalyn (US Patent #6,399,661) increase endurance in human beings. 2003 Case Study
Affouras, K. Vodenicharova, D. Shishmanova, K. Goranov, K. Stroychev. Clinical Trial Comparing Kre-Alkalyn to Creatine Monohydrate. Greenberg Medical Center, 2006.