PerformancedrugCreatinecreating a nameforitself"

by Paul Moser sports editor

Countless television reports and numerous newspaper articles have been written about a substance produced naturally in the liver.

The reports, however, have not come from medical journals but rather from the sports sections of newspapers all over the country.

All of the hoopla about this naturally occurring substance has been stirred by one man, a big man for that matter, Mark McGwire, and his pursuit of the major league baseball home run record while taking a performance enhancing drug called Creatine.

McGwire, who looks more like a linebacker in the National Football League than a first baseman, is as dominating a physical specimen as there is in all of baseball.

Many consumers, in emulation and imitation, feel that they can be just as big and impressive if they take creatine.

Creatine Phosphate is a substance that allows people to create energy faster and has been on the market for about 10 years with Federal Drug Administration approval

Ever since McGwire admitted taking the weight supplement, nutrition stores have been selling the over-the- counter Creatine at an astonishing increasing rate.

People have become obsessed with the get big and muscular quick scheme. Many deem Creatine to be that magic elixir and the secret to the biggest and most beautiful body.

Creatine allows the muscles of an athlete to energize faster, which in turn helps the muscles to avoid fatigue, therefore enabling the athlete to have a more strenuous workout that increases their muscle mass.

The longer and harder you work out the bigger that you will become.

Creatine gives athletes who take it a little edge by boosting their energy.

Creatine will add about 5-10 pounds in muscle to an athlete if it is used properly.

According to Dr. Tony Verde, chairman of the sports science department, it is not totally beneficial for college students to take Creatine. "In the scheme of things, it doesn't really make a difference at the college level whether or not you gain that extra 10 pounds through creatine." Verde said.

Tracey Howard, fitness coordinator at the Dixon Center agreed, "At the college level it is not beneficial to spend the money."( its $50 for a three pound bottle that is used up in a month).

Howard also feels that Creatine is mostly beneficial to weight lifters and other sports that require quick strong bursts of energy such as wrestling or football. Howard also feels that Creatine is not beneficial at all to endurance sports such as basketball or cross country.

Taking Creatine for endurance sports has proven to be detrimental. Since the energy received from Creatine only comes in small bursts, an endurance runner cannot benefit from creatine. In fact, the extra pounds put on by a runner after taking Creatine in some cases has slowed them down. One of the misconceptions, according to Howard, is that taking Creatine alone will increase your muscle mass. Only hard work and training, along with the creatine, will allow the substance to make a difference.

As of this moment there are no known side effects to taking Creatine. However, Creatine has only been on the market for around 10 years and it is impossible to gauge at this time what it's long term effects might be.

Substances such as Creatine, as well as sophisticated weight training techniques have led to bigger and stronge~ athletes over the years. In 1937 at 6'2" and 185 pounds Babe Ruth was a man among boys in 1998 at 6'4" and 250 pounds, Mark McGwire is Goliath swinging a twig in a league of Davids.