Creatine: The Supplement that Powers Muscle and Strength Gains

Dec 2, 2024

Discover how creatine helps enhance strength, improve recovery, and support athletic performance.

By Trevor Kouritzin, PhD, MSc, B. Eng.

Few nutritional supplements rival the muscle-building and power-enhancing properties of creatine. With decades of research proving its efficacy and safety, scientists have discovered how creatine, a specific trio of amino acids, increases the energy currency within working cells, generally leading to 5-15 percent greater gains in strength and performance.

Notably, creatine is a molecular compound that’s produced naturally within the body and serves a variety of functions, including energy production during exercise. Not only does creatine provide a boost in strength and endurance in the gym, it also increases the availability of phosphocreatine, which may help speed up recovery between sets. And its benefits extend beyond the gym; it has potential benefits for lowering blood sugar, combatting disease, and boosting brain function.

What Is Creatine?

Creatine, which consists of the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine, is a natural substance that’s chemically synthesized within muscle tissue (as well as other bodily tissues, but our focus here is on building muscle). It’s found in some high-protein foods, including red meat and fish. Consuming creatine as a dietary supplement can also increase the body’s stores.

In the body, creatine binds with a phosphate molecule to form creatine phosphate. The biochemical processes are rather technical, but in its simplest form, your body uses ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) for energy (which drives almost all bodily processes, including muscle contractions). Once used up, ATP is then downgraded to adenosine di-phosphate. ADP is less useful in your body unless it’s converted back into ATP, and that’s where stored creatine can be especially beneficial. Whether you consume it in your diet or take a supplement, creatine works by donating its phosphate group to the ADP to re-form ATP. With creatine driving increased ATP stores, you’re now able to train harder and longer. This process is especially advantageous during short, fast, explosive movements.

Creatine has been consistently shown to enhance high-intensity, short-duration activities such as weightlifting and sprinting.

Summary of Research on Creatine Supplementation

To date, more than 650 published studies have reported the efficacy and safety of creatine supplements. Some of the main benefits of creatine supplementation specifically include:

Improved muscle strength and power: A systematic review of 22 studies published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reported that the average increase in muscle strength (1-, 3-, or 10-repetition maximum [RM]) following creatine supplementation plus resistance training was 8 percent greater than the increase in muscle strength following resistance training without supplementation (20 percent vs. 12 percent). Similarly, the average increase in weightlifting performance (maximal repetitions at a given percent of maximal strength) was 14 percent greater with creatine supplementation than resistance training alone (26 percent vs. 12 percent).

Improved exercise performance: Creatine supplementation has been associated with enhanced performance in activities that require short-term bursts of intense effort, such as jumping, cycling, and swimming.

Increased muscle mass: Some studies suggest that creatine supplementation may promote an increase in lean body mass, particularly in combination with resistance training.

Enhanced recovery: Creatine has been shown to aid in muscle recovery, reducing muscle damage and inflammation after intense exercise.

Cognitive benefits: Some research suggests that creatine may have neuroprotective properties and could potentially improve cognitive performance, particularly in tasks that require short-term memory and rapid processing.

Types of Creatine

Supplemental creatine is available in several chemical formulations, each being somewhat different. Here’s a look at the two main varieties.

Creatine Monohydrate: This is the most common supplemental form of creatine and the most studied, with excellent results. Creatine is combined with a water molecule, resulting in a compound that’s about 90 percent creatine by weight. Extensive research indicates significant benefits when combined with resistance training in terms of exercise performance, strength, and cellular swelling, all factors linked to muscle growth.

Notably, creatine works differently from traditional energy boosters such as caffeine because it allows the body to build energy reserves, store more nutrients, and better direct the necessary compounds during exercise.

Creatine Hydrochloride (HCL): This formulation is a creatine molecule bound to hydrochloric acid, which is far more soluble in water, potentially offering better absorption compared with other forms of creatine.4 This is advantageous as it may allow you to use less creatine and thus negate some of the side effects that can occur, like water retention or upset stomach.

Is Creatine Safe?

Many studies have established creatine to be safe.5 While some people experience side effects like stomachache, this is usually due to taking too much creatine at once or taking it on an empty stomach. Splitting your daily intake into multiple doses can rectify this issue.

Who Benefits Most from Creatine Supplementation?

Studies suggest that creatine supplements might be better for athletes who require short bursts of energy, speed, or strength including team sport athletes, weightlifters, and sprinters. It can also benefit swimmers, cyclists, and other power athletes.

A number of special populations may benefit from supplemental creatine use, including vegetarians and vegans (since creatine is predominantly found in meat products, these groups may have lower creatine levels); older adults (by supporting muscle mass, strength, and bone health and possibly mitigating age-related muscle loss and improving functional capacity); females (a 2021 review found that creatine supplementation among females appears to be more effective for improving strength and exercise performance than in men, and its favorable effects on bone mineral density in post-menopausal women); and among the general populations (for its cognitive-enhancing effects).

Creatine Loading and Dosing

An oral supplementation phase aims to saturate your muscle cells with creatine for peak effectiveness, though it’s not essential. Though specific recommendations vary, a one-time, week-long loading phase for the maximum effect suggests up to 20 grams daily of creatine for 5-7 days to quickly saturate your muscles, with a maintenance dosage of 3-8 grams daily thereafter.

If your bodyweight is under 120 pounds: 3 grams daily
If you’re bodyweight is 120-200 pounds: 5 grams
More than 200 pounds: 8 grams

Consider up to a 16-week creatine supplementation cycle, whereafter you back off to bring your creatine levels back to normal and your body back to an equilibrium state. Doing so enables you to return to a state whereby creatine supplementation will be beneficial again.

Always read the label on the dietary supplement you choose and seek professional advice if you are taking any medication that may interact with it.

What’s the Best Time to Take Creatine?

Post-workout is generally considered the optimal time for creatine ingestion for several reasons.

A supplement will help refuel your body’s low creatine phosphate stores.
Most athletes ingest fast-absorbing carbs during this time, which helps spike the body’s production of insulin. Insulin helps drive nutrients, including creatine, into muscle cells, as well as glucose (carbs) to replace spent glycogen and amino acids to rebuild and grow muscle tissue. Hence this is an optimal time to spike creatine levels in muscle cells.
The body absorbs many nutrients better after a workout.

Will Creatine Boost Your Energy if Taken Before a Workout?

For creatine to work most effectively, your muscle cells must be saturated with it. This takes at least a week to do, so doing it once before a workout won’t make a difference.

Even if your muscle cells are already saturated with creatine, it will still not make a difference if you take creatine before your training session. That’s because your body must process it first, which takes time. The creatine your body uses in an upcoming workout comes from the creatine phosphate stores already in the cells, not from the creatine you just ingested.