Creatine is a powerful supplement that if used correctly can benefit your muscle progress. The question is, what are its actual side affects and what does it do to your body?
In this article we are going to go over the ins and outs of creatine to help you find a better understanding. We will cover topics such as what creatine is, how to use it correctly, how it affects you, and the right creatine you should buy.
So What exactly Is Creatine?
Creatine in a exact definition is “an organic compound with the nominal formula CNCH₂CO₂H.” the science behind it can be a little confusing, but my job is to tell you in terms that you can actually understand.
Creatine is a substance that your body naturally generates (in small amounts). It is also consumed in some of the foods you eat such as steak, milk and some fish that are rich in it such as herring that can give you up 4.5 grams per pound.
Unfortunately, not everyone can afford *or wants to* eat a pound of herring every night. So people take the supplement form to get their recommended 5g per day.
There is different ways you can take creatine as a supplement such as in tablets or in powder form. I will talk about which strategies are more efficient in a second, but for now we will just focus on the basics.
Creatine is proven to improve strength, increase lean muscle mass, and help the muscles recover more quickly during exercise. For athletics it is best for activating your fast twitch muscles, meaning it is most effective for sports like wrestling, football, short sprints, and swimming. But you are most likely here for the support it brings for weightlifting.
Creatine helps you lift more during the time on the supplement due to its ability to create ATP cells. ATP is your bodies most basic source of energy. This increases energy production during high intensity exercises which is what helps with muscle gain, improved production, increased strength, etc.
How Does Creatine Affect Your Body?
Well as we just went over, it helps produce your main source of energy, ATP cells. Contrary to what some people may believe, creatine does not stimulate testosterone levels. If you want to read about how to boost testosterone levels and what they are, you can click here.
When creatine enters your body, it is asmotically active substance. This means it draws water when its concentration increases, putting this water into your muscles. As a result of this, the more creatine in your body theoretically can cause water retention.
It is very common to experience weight fluctuation and bloating during the loading phase of creatine. Some other mild side effects are possible to occur but unlikely as long as you take it correctly. There is other myths when taking creatine like it causing hair loss, which a majority of studies have proven false.
Creatine is the most studied fitness supplement right next to protein powder. You can trust that it is safe for you. If you have any other questions or concerns before taking it I recommend consulting your healthcare provider for more details.
Loading Creatine and when you should take it
Loading creatine is when you first start taking it, you take more to get your bodies level up. Then you take the normal amount after this period to maintain those levels. There is many opposing opinions on whether loading is really necessary but if you are looking to see results faster, I recommend loading.
If you decide to load, take 20-25g per day for 7 days. Do this by spreading out your dosages into 5 gram intervals throughout the day. Then after this 7 days, take it everyday for 3-5g.
There is some studies that say that taking creatine right after you workout to support your muscles to recover. But in the overall sense, consistency is the most important aspect. As long as you take it everyday, then it doesn’t really matter what time of day you take it.
How to use creatine correctly
The best creatine you can take is the powder form rather than the capsule. Not only is the powder less expensive, but it also absorbs into your body easier.
The one complication with taking creatine in powder form is it doesn’t mix very well with liquids. Instead of using cold water when trying, use warm water or juice, which will mix much easier
I personally just take a teaspoon straight out of the container and down it with some water instead of dealing with trying to mix it. Quick and easy but definitely some non enjoyable seconds.
Debunking Common Myths
Everyone seems to deem themselves experts regarding creatine. So let me shed some truth on any concerns you might have.
- It doesn’t cause hair loss.
- That is can cause liver damage or effect your liver negatively whatsoever, there is no evidence at all that supports this.
- That you have to load in the beginning phase for it to work.
- Once you stop taking creatine, you will lose the muscle you have gained. It is true that your muscle size appearance might increase because the water is leaving them. But you will not lose any strength progress. As long as you continue your training regime, you will lose little to no muscle size.
- You have to cycle creatine. It used to be belived you have to cycle to protect your kidney and if you dont cycle the effectiveness decreases. These have both been proven not true.
- It is comparable to steroids or tren. For some reason people categorize them similarity which is why many people falsely believe you have to cycle. Yet they have 0 correlation.
Where to find creatine and the best products
You can find creatine at any basic supplement stores like GNC near you. The pandemic has caused a increased shortage at the time that I’m making this article, but it is important not to sacrifice the quality of your creatine. Because of the shortage, prices have gone up. When making your decision on which one to buy, factor in quality, ease of use and price into your decision.
Here are some of my suggestions for different creatine products down below. I have used each of these products and can give you my personal opinion on them. These are all suggestions on unflavored creatine.
Never buy a Creatine with flavor because it’s more expensive and has only 87% of Creatine instead of 100% like with the unflavored. Also it doesn’t much of any better and saying as how you take it takes seconds to take, there’s really no point. Also all of these only active ingredients are creatine monohydrate.
Also there will be websites that will try to convince you some creatine is better to take after or before a workout, get more per serving, etc. At the end of the day, creatine is creatine. There is no difference in products besides price and quality of the creatine.
Thorne Creatine
Price: $
Creatine per scoop (serving size): 5g
Description: From my research, Thorne creatine is one of the best options available. It is affordable for everyone and is made with high quality creatine monohydrate. Not to mention it is free of gluten, soy, dairy, yest, and other allergens.
You can find this here:
Optimum Nutrition Creatine powder
Price: $$
Creatine per scoop (serving size): 5g
Description: This is the product I personally use. Research shows this is one of the best quality creatines and probably the most trustworthy option on the market, if your willing to cough up some extra money.
You can find this here:
BodyTech 100% Pure Creatine Monohydrate
Price: $$
Creatine per scoop (serving size): 5g
Description: Little pricey but solid overall product, good quality ingredients.
You can buy this here:
Beyond Raw® Chemistry Labs™ Creatine HCl
Price: $$$
Creatine per scoop (serving size): 2g
Description: This is the first creatine HCL on the list, main difference between this and the monohydrate is since HCL has greater solubility, you can take a smaller dose and get the same affect as monohydrate. It also means that it is a lot easier to mix and doesn’t cause any GI issues, bloating, or water retention. Great option to look into and arguably worth the price.
You can buy this at:
Bucked Up® Creatine Monohydrate
Price: $$
Creatine per scoop (serving size): 5g
Description: Price is little marked up, most likely because of being associated with the bucked up brand, but not bad. Quality creatine and mixes well.
You can buy this at:
BulkSupplements Creatine Monohydrate Powder
Price: $$
Creatine per scoop (serving size): 5g
Description: Good product. Dissolves really well in shakes and drinks. Easier than most of the products of the list.
You can buy this here:
GNC Pro Performance® Creatine Monohydrate
Price: $$$
Creatine per scoop (serving size): 3g
Description: Little high priced for its amounts of servings (83). Nonetheless good product with good quality.
You can buy this at:
Some Examples Of Bad Creatine
Tries to combine different creatines like monohydrate, magnesium chelate, and AstraGin. Saying that mixing these will make a better product. Not only is this completely false, but they also boost the price for this claim.
Mixed with a bunch of other mysterious ingredients. Companies will add other ingredients other than pure creatine monohydrate to save money. Cutting corners when coming to supplements like this can really affect your body.
Creatine ethyl ester claims to support your workout significantly better than monohydrate and is a “breakthrough in the fitness industry”. Of course, there is no evidence of this, and actually it is believed It’s unlikely that creatine ethyl ester ever makes it out of the digestive tract (you pee it out immediately without any benefits)
Never buy these or any other products that may contain any substance other than pure creatine monohydrate or HCL.
Overall summary
Creatine is the most studied fitness supplement in the world. It is proven to be safe and a very effective product. However, you must understand how it works and what is important to look for when choosing a product. Make sure your buying what will work best for you. Creatine will be almost like a cheat code to your fitness journey or for whatever reason you are taking it to excel at. If you have never had it, I highly recommend choosing a high quality product and giving it a shot.