Muscle mass increase and maintenance is important for both men and women.

Regardless of gender, muscle mass maintenance is a must.  For women, particularly during rapid weight loss, maintenance of muscle isn't easy.  For men, muscle mass increase is generally desirable even under weight loss conditions. 

Exercise stimulus is key to maintaining or increasing mass but those muscles need to be fueled and a lack of on-site fuel will result in low performance and lower size since the storage of muscular fuel is within the muscle tissue itself.  So what do we need to fuel muscles?  Creatine.

Creatine is a supplement and generally, we frown on the use of faddish supplements because most simply do not work as described.  Creatine, however, has been studied for 60 years and we know exactly how it works and, more importantly, that it does indeed work.

The 2 major anaerobic fueling mechanisms both rely on creatine (creatine phosphogen and glycolytic mechanisms).  In order to ensure that newly developed and existing muscle has a ready supply of creatine, it is useful to supplement with creatine monohydrate.  

Sounds expensive?  Nope.  Creatine is readily available and you don't need that much.  Here's the creatine that I use, available from Amazon.com.  It costs $15 for a 3 month supply and is available behind the counter in the gym.

Here's how you use it.

• For the first 4 days take 2 scoops (creatine must be "loaded" at the front end)
• Thereafter use 1 scoop per day

Timing is unimportant.  I put a scoop in my first coffee of the day.  Done.  It's flavorless so you can add it to any liquid and swig it down.

There's not much in the health and fitness arena that is this simple to get such a big effect.  Thank heavens for small mercies.

Here's to your well-defined biceps!

Jase.