Benefits of Creatine for Skateboarders - How To Gain More Pop

Can Creatine Supplements Help Me Skate Better?

Supplements and Skateboarding don’t tend to go hand in hand. We skateboarders generally keep it pretty simple. Skate skate skate, feeling pain? smash some ibupfofen and spray on some deep heat. Having recurring issues? Maybe delve into glucosamine tablets…and that’s about it. Historically.

But things are starting to change. We’re starting to find more benefits in physic, rehab, pilates, healthy diets, exercise and supplements.

For as long as I’ve known about it, Creatine has been ‘the body builders supplement’. Touted for it’s ability to pump up your muscles and help you make fast strength gains. Not something that particularly interested me as a skateboarder. As it turns out, Creatine has a range of benefits that very much piqued my interest as a skater.

Before getting into the benefits, what is Creatine?

It comes as a fine white powder, and Creatine is derived from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine. We naturally produce about 1-2grams per day in our kidneys, liver, and pancreas (depending on our diet and activity levels). As well as our own natural production, Creatine can also be enhanced by consuming red meats, salmon, and Creatine supplement (creatine monohydrate). It’s one of the most widely researched supplements on the market, and has no known side effects or impacts of higher/regular consumption.

How Can Creatine Improve my Skating?

First up, It Increases Power Output. That means it can help us to have more power. More power means more pop, better ability to hold balance in manuals and grinds, and a better ability to do tricks.

Secondly, It Reduces Fatigue. Creatine can help reduce fatigue and build our performance during exercise time. Harder pushes, faster flicks, less exhaustion. Feel like Busenitz crossed with Luan Oliveira, yes please.

Can Creatine Help Me Recover After Skating?

Yes! Creatine Reduces Muscle Damage. The less damaged your little legs are after a skate, the quicker they’ll feel fresh again. It can also help enhance your post skate recovery. There also seems to be some research to show it can help with muscle atrophy during injury rehab which is great news for times when you have to stay off your skateboard.

Is that all it does for me?

Not quite. It’s also been shown in smaller studies to help reduce high triglycerides(body fat), LDL and cholesterol; reduce blood sugar levels during training; reduce cognitive decline when combined with CoQ10 (read more about Coenzyme Q10 soon!); and improve cognitive function and reduce cognitive fatigue, so you can focus on that hard trick for longer.

How To Take Creatine

As it’s such a widely researched supplement, it’s know to be incredibly safe to consume. Supplementing with a few grams a day mixed into a sports drink, smoothie, protein/BCAA EAA mix drink is perfect. Personally I’ve been using ‘Prana On Creatine Monohydrate’ and that seems to be working well, but try to buy a high quality powder, follow the instructions and consult your GP if you have any issues.

Now get out there and go Skate

Getting pop back in my legs post injury thanks to physio, gym, and creatine.