Emerging from stacks of cutting-edge clinical research are two of the most powerful muscle- and strength-enhancing compounds to ever be released from a scientific laboratory.
Not since the discovery of creatine as a performance-enhancing supplement at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain have any two novel compounds created such attention in the industry and captivated the minds of bodybuilding extremists everywhere.
We've dissected piles of complex research to its simplest form and isolated the muscle-building and strength-enhancing benefits to create the ultimate, scientifically supported muscle-building stack.
Creatinol-O-Phosphate
Sometimes to locate an effective new muscle-building compound, researchers have to go to go to extreme lengths. Such is the case with Creatinol-O-Phosphate (COP).
An elite team of North American researchers traveled halfway across the world and painstakingly translated the results of several research studies to uncover this raw, muscle-building gem. Unfortunately, because of its chemical moniker, Creatinol-O-Phosphate is occasionally mistaken by new bodybuilders to be just another run-of-the-mill form of creatine. Nothing could be further from the truth.
COP is a revolutionary muscle- and strength-enhancing compound with a high rate of absorption in muscle tissue. Regular supplements, such as inferior forms of creatine, are subject to the destructive process of cyclization.
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Cyclization In organic chemistry, a cyclic compound is a compound in which a series of carbon atoms are connected to form a loop or ring. The term "polycyclic" is used when more than one ring is formed in a single molecule for instance in naphtalene, and the term macrocycle is used for a ring containing more than a dozen atoms. |
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During the process of cyclization, the muscle-building potency of creatine is lost when it is routinely converted to an ineffective by-product known as creatinine, which is completely useless for muscle-building.
COP is an advanced molecule that is highly resistant to this biological process and has been demonstrated in clinical research to be readily absorbed via oral delivery.1 Other research has shown that it is able to maintain its structural integrity and stability in muscle where it can exert its full physiological effects.2
Once saturated in the muscle cell, the primary action of COP is to prolong anaerobic glycolysis in the presence of excess lactic acid.
While you're pushing a set to the absolute limit, specific physiological mechanisms in your body are triggered in response to excess lactic acid accumulation and a drop in intracellular pH. This is your body's way of shutting down activity to prevent intramuscular damage induced by an overproduction of metabolic by-products.
COP overrides this mechanism by acting as an intracellular buffer, preventing a dramatic drop in pH and allowing muscle contractions to continue well beyond the point at which your body would normally shut down activity.3,4
With continued use, COP can also allow you to subject your muscles to an increased time under tension.4 This can elicit a much greater anabolic signal for muscle growth to occur.
In one study, it only took seven days to observe a dramatic increase in the time under tension threshold.4 In simple terms, COP allows you to punish your muscles with a significantly greater anabolic load, which stresses the muscle fibers with a shocking new stimulus, setting the stage for rapid new gains in muscle size and strength.
In this study, COP was shown to increase muscle contractility despite increased lactic acid levels.3 This rise in lactic acid levels is a key marker of anaerobic metabolism, which largely involves the type IIb muscle fibers. These muscle fibers are known to possess the greatest capacity for hypertrophy.
As an additional benefit, COP may allow you to target your muscle fibers that contain the highest potential for growth. Bodybuilders may even notice increased post-workout muscle soreness after supplementing with COP. With an increased production of lactic acid and increased ability to physically stress the muscles, some responses required for muscle growth are amplified.
Working through a synergistic mechanism that compliments the actions of COP is another powerful muscle-building compound - Beta-Alanine - that's being touted as the "next creatine" for the rapidly accumulating clinical research that supports its muscle and strength-enhancing properties.
Beta-Alanine
As the only naturally occurring beta amino acid, Beta-Alanine is definitely leading the pack for the future of muscle-building supplementation. To understand how Beta-Alanine can work to amplify strength and trigger new gains in muscle size, it's important to recognize the role of the di-peptide amino acid carnosine.
Stored in skeletal muscle tissue, the concentration of carnosine plays a role in determining how rapidly intracellular pH will drop off during high-intensity exercise. Studies have demonstrated that higher levels of muscle carnosine concentrations are an important factor in attenuating the drop in intramuscular pH during high-intensity activity.5
Supplementation with Beta-Alanine works to increase intracellular concentrations of carnosine in muscle, thereby delaying the onset of fatigue and extending the duration of muscle contractions in as little as 28 days.5
The ability of Beta-Alanine to disrupt the body's natural tendency to shut down prolonged muscle contractions in the presence of a decreased intracellular pH significantly boosts exercise performance and increases muscle power output in the gym. This offers a wealth of benefits to both bodybuilders training to increase muscle size and competitive athletes striving to break performance records.
Synergistic Interaction For Maximum Gains
The continuous ingestion of these two cutting-edge compounds will charge your body with powerful metabolic enhancers at the intracellular level.
Applying the time under tension principle of muscle growth, these compounds will help to amplify the anabolic signal for new muscle growth to occur. When you're in the gym, you'll be able to torch your muscle fibers with an increased rate of tension, signaling an uninterrupted hypertrophic reaction in muscle.
When stacked together in one formula, the potential for muscle and strength gains appears limitless. These two scientifically supported compounds work through complimentary pathways to achieve the same result - extreme gains in muscle size and strength!
References:
- Maggi GC, Triulzi M. Farmacocinetica Del Creatinolo O-Fosfato Nell'Uomo. Archivio di medicina interna. 1980; 31(11): 297-304.
- Marzo A, Ghiradi P. Pharmacological and Toxicological Properties of Creatinol-O-Phosphate. Plasma turnover, fate and excretion rate, subcellular distribution in isolated perfused heart and metabolic behaviour. Drug Res. 1979a;29(II): 1452-1456.
- Gaggino R, Delfino C, Menichetti G, Odaglia G, Metabolic aspects of anaerobic lactaid maximal sport performances. Effect of treatment wit Creatinol O-Phosphate. Medicina dello sport. 1984; 37: 85-92.
- De Gasperi R, Giusti V, Rapelli S, Matriadonna C. Influenza del creatinolo o-fosfato sulla contrazione muscolare aspettin biochimica. Archivio Medicina interna. 1981; 3: 351-358.
- Stout JR, Cramer JT, Mielke M, O'Kroy J, Torok DJ, Zoeller RF. Effects of twenty-eight days of beta-alanine and creatine monohydrate supplementation on the physical working capacity at neuromuscular fatigue threshold. Journal Strength Cond Res. 2006 Nov; 20(4):928-31.