Creatine is one of the most popular and effective supplements available today. It has been extensively studied and shown to be quite safe while providing significant performance and muscle building benefits. However, there are still many questions surrounding the proper use of creatine supplementation. In this article, we will provide an overview of creatine, discuss the benefits it provides, and outline strategies for its effective use.
What is Creatine and How Does it Work?
Creatine is a molecule produced naturally in the body that stores high-energy phosphate groups. It is found predominantly in muscle tissue in the form of phosphocreatine. When your muscles contract, the initial energy comes from ATP. As ATP loses its phosphate group, it becomes ADP (adenosine diphosphate). Creatine can donate a phosphate group to ADP to recreate ATP, providing an ongoing energy supply.
Supplemental creatine allows more creatine to be stored in your muscles. This extra creatine phosphate acts as a readily available energy reserve, providing more power for high-intensity exercise. The additional creatine intake also helps pull more water into your muscle cells, making them fuller and more resistant to fatigue.
Benefits of Creatine Supplementation
Many research studies have confirmed that creatine supplementation can:
- Increase muscle size and lean body mass
- Improve strength and power output
- Enhance high-intensity anaerobic capacity
- Boost workout performance for repetitive bouts of high-intensity exercise
- Improve cognitive function and reduce mental fatigue
In terms of muscle building, creatine not only helps you lift more weight and perform more reps, it can directly increase muscle fiber size. The extra water pulled into muscle cells by creatine creates an anabolic environment that encourages muscle growth.
Creatine has even been found to enhance cognitive abilities and provide mild nootropic benefits. The reasons for this are still unclear, but it may be related to increased phosphocreatine and ATP in brain tissues.
Recommended Dosage
Many research studies have found the ideal daily dosage for creatine supplementation is around 5 grams per day. Higher doses up to 20 grams per day have been tested without adverse effects, but the additional benefits are minimal. Cycling on and off creatine also does not appear necessary given it does not seem to lose effectiveness over time.
When starting creatine supplementation, some people use a “loading protocol” of around 20-30 grams per day for 5-7 days (split into 4-5 doses throughout the day) to help saturate muscle creatine stores faster. However, this loading phase often causes significant GI distress. A smarter approach is to begin with 3-5 grams per day and ramp up slowly to 5 grams per day within 2 weeks.
Once saturated, a maintenance dosage of 3-5 grams per day is recommended. This dosage can be taken at any time of day. However, some research shows slightly greater benefits if consumed after exercise. Creatine pulls water into muscle cells, so ensuring you are well hydrated when supplementing is important.
Timing and Cycling Creatine
In the early days of creatine supplementation, bodybuilders would often follow a protocol of loading for 5-7 days, maintaining for 8-12 weeks, and then cycling off for 4 weeks before repeating. However, current research has debunked the need for cycling.
Studies show muscle creatine levels remain elevated even after 12 weeks of continual supplementation. Cycling off creatine for a month means losing all the performance and muscle building benefits it provides.
While a higher creatine uptake receptor expression has been noted after coming off of creatine, intramuscular phosphocreatine levels do not decrease during extended supplementation. Therefore, there is no benefit to cycling on and off.
Creatine Use in Endurance Athletes
While creatine is most known for boosting high-intensity strength and power exercise, endurance athletes can also benefit from supplementation. Creatine improves interval training capacity, allowing athletes like runners, cyclists, and triathletes to complete more total interval training volume.
Enhanced oxidative ATP production, better calcium handling, improved heat tolerance, and lower lactate levels during submaximal exercise have also been noted. One study found that creatine improved VO2 max and endurance performance during a 30-minute time trial in elite rowers.
The ergogenic effects of creatine appear most pronounced for endurance activities lasting over 150 seconds that depend on both anaerobic and aerobic energy systems. This includes sports like soccer, rugby, lacrosse, and hockey. For pure aerobic ultra-endurance exercise, creatine benefits are less consistent but still meaningful for some athletes.
Is Creatine Safe?
Hundreds of studies have confirmed creatine’s safety in athletes of all ages and backgrounds when taken at recommended dosages. No significant adverse events have been reported in any study. However, some people report mild GI distress, especially when loading higher dosages acutely. Rare cases of muscle cramping have also been noted.
Creatine does increase creatinine levels, which is sometimes viewed as a marker of kidney dysfunction. However, creatinine levels can be misleading in athletes with greater muscle mass. Better kidney function biomarkers like cystatin C are preferred over creatinine in athletic populations. No compelling evidence suggests creatine harms kidney or liver function in healthy individuals.
One study in rugby players linked creatine use to increased DHT levels, a hormone tied to male pattern baldness. However, many other studies have found no impact on androgen or DHT levels. Overall, a clear link between creatine and accelerated hair loss has not been established. Those concerned with hair loss can monitor closely and discontinue use if any accelerated thinning is noted.
Creatine Provides Strength, Power, Muscle Building, and Cognitive Benefits
Thanks to decades of extensive research, creatine stands out as one of the most effective and safest sports supplements available. It provides strength, power, muscle building, and cognitive benefits for both men and women. An intake of 3-5 grams per day is sufficient for most people, with no need to cycle on and off. Creatine should be considered a foundational supplement for any athlete looking to maximize their exercise performance and training results.
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