Creatine: What It Does and Doesn't Do
By CoachAk · · 4 min read
Not medical advice. This article is general information to help you ask better questions. Talk to your doctor before starting, stopping or changing any medicine, drug or supplement, and about any symptoms. Anything it says about the law is a summary, not legal advice, and may be out of date.
If you only take one supplement for training, it should probably be creatine. It is the most researched sports supplement there is, it is cheap, and it reliably helps you train harder and build more muscle over time. It also attracts more myths than almost anything else in the gym.
Here is what creatine actually does, how to take it, and what to make of the worries about water, hair and kidneys.
The short answer
- Creatine helps you squeeze out an extra rep or two in hard sets, which adds up to more strength and muscle over weeks and months.
- Take 3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate a day, every day. Timing does not matter much.
- A loading phase is optional. It just gets you to full benefit faster.
- Expect 1 to 2 kg of weight gain at first. That is water stored inside your muscles, not fat.
- In healthy people, research does not support the fears about kidney damage, dehydration or cramps. The hair-loss worry comes from a single small study that did not measure hair loss.
What creatine does
Your muscles use a molecule called ATP for energy during short, hard efforts like a heavy set. Creatine is stored in your muscles as phosphocreatine and helps rebuild ATP quickly. More stored creatine means you can keep producing high effort for a little longer.
In practice, that means a rep or two more on a hard set, or slightly more weight for the same reps. Over a training block, those extra reps lead to more strength and more muscle.
The International Society of Sports Nutrition's position stand (Kreider and colleagues, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017) calls creatine monohydrate the most effective nutritional supplement available for increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass, and concludes that it is safe for healthy people when used as recommended.
What it doesn't do
- It does not replace training. Creatine helps you get more from hard sets. If your training does not progress, it has nothing to amplify. See progressive overload explained.
- It does not build muscle by itself. You still need enough protein and, for growth, enough food.
- It does not burn fat.
- It is not a steroid or a hormone. It is a compound your body makes and that you also get from meat and fish.
How to take it
- Form: creatine monohydrate. It is the form used in almost all the research and the cheapest. Pricier "advanced" forms have not been shown to work better.
- Daily amount: 3 to 5 g a day. Larger people sometimes use the top of that range.
- Loading (optional): about 20 g a day, split into four doses, for 5 to 7 days, then 3 to 5 g a day. Loading fills your muscles in about a week; skipping it gets you to the same place in about three to four weeks.
- Timing: whenever suits you. Taking it with a meal is easy to remember and may be gentler on your stomach.
- Every day, including rest days. It works by keeping your muscles topped up, not by a single dose.
Side effects and myths
Water weight
Most people gain 1 to 2 kg in the first weeks. That water is stored inside the muscle, not under the skin, so it does not make you look "soft". It is worth knowing about if you are dieting, so the jump on the scale does not alarm you. How to read the scale explains why the weekly trend matters more.
Kidneys
In healthy people, research has not found that creatine at normal doses damages the kidneys. One thing to know: creatine can slightly raise creatinine on a blood test, which doctors use to estimate kidney function. That can look like a problem when it is not. Tell your doctor you take creatine before blood tests. If you have kidney disease, talk to your doctor before taking it.
Hair loss
The worry comes from one small 2009 study (van der Merwe and colleagues, Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine) in which rugby players taking creatine had higher levels of DHT, a hormone linked to male-pattern hair loss. The study did not measure hair loss, and the finding has not been confirmed since. If you are already losing hair and worried, it is reasonable to discuss it with your doctor, but the evidence that creatine causes hair loss is very weak.
Cramps and dehydration
These were common concerns in the past. Studies have not shown that creatine causes cramps or dehydration in healthy people.
Stomach upset
Large single doses, mostly during loading, can upset some people's stomachs. Splitting the dose or skipping the loading phase usually fixes it.
Who benefits most?
Almost anyone who lifts. People who eat little or no meat or fish tend to have lower creatine stores to begin with, so they often notice a bigger effect. Research is also looking at benefits for older adults and for brain function, which is promising but less settled.
Where coaching helps
Creatine is a small, reliable boost on top of the things that matter most: a program that progresses, enough protein and food, and good sleep. With one-to-one coaching from CoachAk, those are planned for you and reviewed every week through your check-in, so you get the full benefit from every rep, creatine or not.
If you want a plan that gets the big things right, apply for coaching. For other supplements and trends, see biohacking for lifters.
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