What is Creatine & What Does It Do? Benefits & Complete Guide
Introduction
Creatine, as a sports supplement, has more scientific support behind it than any other supplement (over 700 human-based studies at time of writing, investigating its safety & efficacy). If there was a battle royale between every supplement available on the market, and only one could come out on top for the rest of time, creatine wins that battle every time.
This article will explain what creatine is, what creatine does, the benefits of creatine & how to take creatine as a sports supplement.
If you’re interested in building muscle, getting stronger, looking better naked and/ or making the most of your training on an everyday basis - creatine is about to become your best friend.
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a substance found naturally in muscle cells - it helps muscles produce energy during short bursts of higher intensity exercise - like lifting weights.
Supplementing with creatine helps increase your stores of phosphocreatine in the body. The more of this you have, the more capacity your body has to recreate ATP energy molecules, which in turn are broken down in the process of creating energy.
Our body can store more creatine than it can produce. Taking a creatine supplement is similar to putting more petrol in your car’s petrol tank. If your petrol tank is always full, your capacity to drive faster is far greater than if it wasn’t full. If your creatine stores are always full, your power & strength capacity will always be at its greatest.
How Does Creatine Work?
When it comes to lifting weights & higher intensity exercise, our main energy system is the ATP (Adenosine Tri-Phosphate) System or Phosphagen System.
In this energy system, energy is produced when an ATP molecule splits off one of its three phosphates & becomes ADP (Adenisine Di-Phosphate). ADP is unable to produce energy, which is where supplementing with creatine comes into play.
Taking a creatine supplement helps increase your stores of phosphocreatine, which in turn can bond with ADP molecules to produce more ATP. More ATP = more intense energy & strength potential.
Put simply?
Taking a creatine supplement gives your body more charging stations to recharge your energy stores, so you can push harder & recover faster.
What Does Creatine Do?
In higher intensity exercise, creatine’s primary role is to increase the phosphocreatine stores in your muscles. Your body can then use these additional stores to produce more ATP, which helps in the following ways
● Boosts energy for higher intensity workouts like lifting weights.
● Helps increase strength & power, along with continuous resistance training.
● Improves recovery between sets and between workouts through improved satellite cell signaling.
● Supports lean muscle growth over time, by enabling more total work/ volume in a single training session, whilst also reducing muscle breakdown.
● Increases cell hydration which tends to cause a ‘pump effect’ that may play a further role in muscle growth.
● Increases glycogen, stored carbohydrate, in the muscle, providing more energy for exercise at higher intensities.
Why Micronized Creatine Is the Best
Creatine supplements will come in the form of ‘creatine monohydrate’ or ‘micronized creatine monohydrate’.
Steer clear of Creatine HCL & Creatine Ethyl Ester - these variants don’t have nearly the same scientific backing as creatine monohydrate.
There are four key reasons that micronized creatine is better than regular creatine:
1. Smaller particle size: micronized creatine is broken down into smaller particles, which makes it dissolve more easily in water.
2. Improved absorption: because micronized creatine particles are smaller & dissolve more easily in water, it’s easier for your body to absorb
3. Higher purity: smaller particles means higher purity & better solubility
4. No gritty texture: smaller particles means you aren’t drinking something that tastes like it’s filled with sand.
Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine is a stand out choice for all of these reasons. It’s easy to mix, , absorbs rapidly & delivers consistent results.
Benefits of Creatine for Fitness
Whether you’re looking to build strength & endurance, cycle further, run faster or improve power development, creatine is a game-changer.
Studies have found that creatine supplementation can assist with:
● Building strength & endurance in young adults engaging in weight training.
● Improve cycling time trial performance by increasing power output.
● Improve jumping & sprinting output for soccer players.
● Improve power development in swimmers.
● A 5-15% increase in maximal strength & power.
Considering the strong link between training volume & hypertrophy, being able to perform more total work over time, should translate to more muscle.
In addition, a 2019 review also concluded that creatine supplementation helped with improving muscle mass & strength in older adults.
How To Take Creatine
Taking creatine is a lot like topping up your petrol tank every day, so that you always have the greatest amount of fuel for high intensity training (strength & energy potential).
The recommended daily dosage is 3-5g of creatine per day.
That’s it.
Note - to get roughly 5g of creatine from food, you’d need to eat roughly 1kg of raw beef. The price difference & practicality of this makes creatine supplementation a no-brainer, considering cooking denatures the creatine anyway.
Whilst the best time to take creatine may be after a workout (ideally with a high carb meal to maximise absorption), it is far more important to ensure you take it consistently. If taking your 3-5g per day is easier to do at a different time of day so you don’t forget, then do that.
Now, do you need to load creatine?
No you don’t. But the fastest way to fill up your petrol tank a little faster, and reach saturation is through creatine loading, followed by a maintenance phase.
In that case, taking up to 25 grams per day for 5-7 days should do the trick. If you’re going to do it this way, take up to 25 grams in multiple 5 gram servings over the course of each day to reach saturation levels within a week. Continue with maintenance levels (5 grams) per day thereafter.
Note - it may take up to a month to reach saturation without a loading phase, so if you’re interested in reaping the benefits quickly, running a loading phase seems to make most sense..
Recommended Dosage: 3-5 grams per day
Optional Loading Phase: 3-5 x 5 grams per day for 5-7 days
Best Time To Take It: Post workout, or whenever you won’t forget
Is Creatine Safe?
Creatine Monohydrate is one of the most widely researched supplements in the world & has been proven safe for long-term use.
There is no evidence that creatine harms the kidneys or liver in healthy individuals who take creatine as recommended, however anybody with a pre-existing kidney or liver concern should consult their doctor before supplementing with creatine.
There was a single 2009 study that linked creatine supplementation with a hormone that could contribute to hair loss, however most available research doesn’t support the link.
Additional Studies Regarding Creatine Safety & Efficacy:
● https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28615996/
● https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21424716/
● https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14636102/
Additional Studies Regarding Creatine & Hair Loss:
● https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14757277/
● https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18202581/
Side Effects of Creatine
It is possible you’ll experience some weight gain as a consequence of supplementing with creatine, however this is to be expected, as creatine also drives water into the muscle cell, and is a good indication that it’s doing what it should be.
In line with the above, you may experience some short term bloating, however this is unlikely if you’re supplementing within the guidelines. Micronized creatine, such as Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine can also reduce these issues as it’s more easily absorbed.
Common Myths About Creatine
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‘Creatine causes weight gain’ - while this might be true, it is only as a result of creatine driving more water into the muscle cells during the early stages of consumption. Any weight gain experienced as a result of taking creatine is likely only due to an increase in water weight specifically. From an appearance perspective, this is more likely to make your muscles look bigger and fuller, than it is to make you look like you’ve gained any body fat. In fact alongside appropriate resistance training, 5-6 weeks of creatine supplementation has been shown to have no effect on body fat levels.
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‘Creatine is a steroid’ - this is simply not true. It’s a naturally occurring substance that is also found in some foods, and is widely available over the counter.
‘Women shouldn’t take creatine’ - this is false. Women may experience slightly reduced performance benefits from creatine supplementation compared to men due to their naturally higher pre-supplementation creatine levels in muscle. As a result, men often have greater potential for improvement when they begin supplementation. However,research shows that 3-4 weeks of creatine supplementation effectively increases muscle creatine levels, promotes muscle mass gains, and enhances strength in women. In conclusion, when combined with a resistance training program, creatine supplementation can support muscle growth and strength improvements in women.
- ‘You need to cycle creatine consumption’ - because creatine is found naturally in the body, you don’t need to worry about cycling on and off with taking a creatine supplement. All you’re doing by supplementing with creatine is ensuring your creatine stores are always full - your body won’t develop a tolerance to the effects of creatine.
Creatine FAQ
Q: What is micronized creatine & why is it better?
A: Micronized creatine, such as Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine is processed into smaller particles, which makes it dissolve more easily & absorb faster. This reduces side effects & ensures better results.
Q: How long does it take for creatine to work?
A: Most people start noticing benefits within a week if they follow the loading phase outlined above. Without a loading phase, it may take up to 4 weeks to observe the benefits.
Q: Can beginners use creatine?
A: Absolutely. Creatine is safe & effective for people of all fitness & experience levels.
Q: Is combining creatine & caffeine together a problem?
A: No - while there was one study suggesting caffeine created an inhibitory effect on creatine supplementation, it was statistically underpowered (only 9 subjects in the study). Since then, this study, this study & this study have shown the exact opposite.
Conclusion
Creatine monohydrate is one of the cheapest, safest & most effective supplements you can take. It helps with increasing strength & power, boosting high intensity energy during workouts, supports lean muscle growth,
If you’re interested in any of those things, then you’re likely doing yourself a disservice by not taking a creatine supplement.
Micronized creatine is the best choice for better absorption, fewer side effects & easier use.
If you’re ready to unlock your full fitness potential, try Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine - trusted by athletes around the world.