Should You Take Creatine?

I’ve been asked by clients quite a few times if they should take creatine and also been in the position where I’ve wondered the same thing myself! So here’s a nice summary of all the information you need so you can decide for yourself.

Sooo what is it?

Creatine is a molecule that is produced in the body from amino acids, primarily in the liver, kidney and pancreas. It is produced at a rate of about 1-2 grams per day and around 90% of creatine found in the body is stored in the muscles.

What does it do?

Put simply, it helps in the creation of ATP which is the bodies energy source in an energy system called the phosphagen system.

This energy system meets the needs of brief, rapid and powerful movements lasting fewer than 10 seconds, such as a short sprint or explosive weightlifting or resistance training.

Creatine can accelerate the rate of this process. For those of you into the science, it’s by helping recycle ADP into ATP which we can then use as energy. The important part to note is that this means it can increase the energy we have available for high intensity activity.

Why supplement it?

Well firstly, because creatine can accelerate the production of ATP and therefore available energy, it can improve performance. This is because the more creatine we have stored in our muscles, the more energy we have available for working muscle. Our strength and power output in high-intensity exercise will therefore improve because we have more energy available to fuel it

When power and strength levels are enhanced, general muscular adaptation and an increase in lean mass can and may occur indirectly as a result.

The benefits of creatine supplementation may also go beyond athletic performance. It may have neuro-protective effects on neurological diseases however more human trials are needed to confirm this.

There is also some research to suggest it can help decrease mental fatigue in some scenarios, particularly in those that may have lower levels such as vegans or vegetarians. This is because outside of supplementation, we get a lot of our creatine from the consumption of red meat. We get around 2 grams of creatine from eating 500g of red meat.

What type and dose should I take?

There are many different forms of creatine available, but the cheapest and most effective is the monohydrate form.

Taking 3-5 grams of creatine monohydrate per day is sufficient for most people.

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What are the potential draw backs?

There basically aren’t any!

Creatine has been studied for decades and is one of the cheapest and safest supplements out there.

However I think it’s worth considering that 1/5 people are thought to be non-responders and so won’t actually feel any benefit in performance and energy levels during training.

A final thing to consider if you are on a weight loss plan…

If you are on a weight loss plan it’s also worth considering that creatine can increase water retention as it drives water in to the muscle cells. Whilst there is nothing harmful about this, if you are mentally and emotionally sensitive and thrown by weight fluctuations, this could work against you and your goal if you see a disruption or increase in your weight. If this is going to throw you off your game then I would suggest potentially not using it and staying focused on weight loss over performance or until you are more comfortable with fluctuations.