Creatine Supplements: Everything You Need to Know About Creatine Monohydrate
If there is one supplement that has truly stood the test of time, it’s Creatine Monohydrate. It has been the subject of hundreds of scientific studies, and the evidence is clear. Creatine Monohydrate:
– Helps you gain muscle and strength faster.
– Improves anaerobic endurance.
– Enhances muscle recovery.
– Furthermore, it does all this naturally and safely.
When it comes to fat loss, muscle building, and overall fitness, Creatine Monohydrate is essentially all benefits and no downsides.
You probably already know a lot of this, which is why this article will delve deeper. You will learn exactly how Creatine Monohydrate can help you achieve your fitness goals faster, how to utilize it for maximum benefits, what the most common side effects are, how it compares to other forms of creatine (like Creatine HCL), and more.
What is Creatine Monohydrate?
Creatine is a natural compound made up of the amino acids L-arginine, glycine, and methionine. Creatine Monohydrate is creatine with one molecule of water attached to it (“mono” means one and “hydrate” means a molecule with water attached).
Our bodies can produce creatine naturally, but they can also absorb and store creatine found in various foods like meat, eggs, and fish.
Benefits of Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine Monohydrate is hugely popular among athletes and weightlifters because its biggest benefits relate to physical activities involving short, intense bursts of effort. One unique property of this molecule is that it can greatly benefit high-repetition training by increasing the number of repetitions you can complete before reaching failure (the point at which you can no longer perform another rep well). There is also some evidence that it may improve endurance performance as well.
Let’s take a look at the science.
Creatine Monohydrate and Muscle Growth
There are two ways creatine boosts muscle growth:
1. It allows you to lift heavier weights for more reps, giving your muscles a stronger stimulus to grow.
2. It increases water content in muscle cells, which promotes muscle growth in several ways.
Evidence for the first point comes from a study conducted by scientists at Pennsylvania State University. They found that resistance-trained men who took 5 grams of creatine daily and followed a strength training program increased their muscle fiber sizes by 35% on average, while men taking a placebo only saw a 10% increase. The creatine group also increased their squat 1RM by 32% over 12 weeks, compared to a 24% increase in the placebo group.
Another study by scientists at Skidmore College found that untrained men who took creatine and lifted weights gained four pounds of lean mass in one month, while those on a placebo did not gain any significant lean mass.
Most of this “lean mass” was not muscle but increased water retention. While this may seem disappointing, it’s actually a good thing. The primary way creatine increases muscle growth is by increasing water content in muscle cells. This makes muscles look bigger and positively affects nitrogen balance and the expression of certain genes associated with muscle growth. Therefore, while most weight gained during creatine supplementation is “just water,” the water weight can slightly enhance muscle growth over time. Other research indicates that creatine also has anti-catabolic effects (reduces muscle breakdown) and may increase satellite cell activity, potentially leading to greater muscle hypertrophy over the long term.
The bottom line is that even accounting for increased water retention, people taking creatine generally gain muscle faster than those not taking it.
Creatine Monohydrate and Strength Gains
One of the primary benefits of Creatine Monohydrate is its ability to increase strength.
A good example is a review study by scientists at Bloomsburg University, which analyzed 22 of the highest quality studies on creatine and strength gains. They found that, on average, people who took Creatine Monohydrate could lift 20% more weight for 1, 3, or 10 reps, while those on a placebo improved their strength by only 12%. Interestingly, Creatine Monohydrate was especially effective at increasing 1RM in the bench press, with increases ranging from 3% to 45%.
The researchers concluded that “there is strong evidence that creatine supplementation during resistance training is more effective in increasing muscle strength and weightlifting performance than resistance training alone, although the response is highly variable.”
Other studies have found that creatine can increase squat 1RM by about 11% to 12% compared to placebo and leg press strength by 15%. Therefore, if you want to get stronger as quickly as possible, you should take Creatine Monohydrate.
Creatine Monohydrate and Power
“Power” refers to how quickly you can move a given amount of weight, while “strength” is the absolute amount of weight you can move (regardless of how fast you move it).
Power is not as meaningful if you only want to get big and strong, but it’s important in many sports. Thanks to its ability to fuel rapid muscle contractions, studies show that creatine increases power in sprinters, swimmers, cyclists, wrestlers, and weightlifters.
Some research suggests that creatine may also improve neuromuscular signaling – allowing your brain to “fire” your muscles faster and more efficiently. For example, a study conducted at the University of Rome Foro Italico found that a single large dose of creatine improved neuromuscular function and increased power output within 24 hours – so quickly that it couldn’t accumulate in muscle tissue.
Notably, if you’re a vegetarian, you’re likely to notice the biggest benefits in power output. Vegetarian diets tend to be very low in creatine because the best dietary sources are meat, poultry, and fish. Therefore, people who eat plant-based foods can greatly benefit from creatine supplements, as they get very little from their diet.
Creatine Monohydrate and Muscle Recovery
There isn’t much research on how creatine affects recovery, but it does seem to enhance it.
One study on long-distance runners found that creatine supplements reduced markers of muscle damage and inflammation after an 18-mile race. Other research shows that creatine can reduce muscle glycogen and protein breakdown during strenuous training periods.
Creatine Monohydrate and Muscular Endurance
Many people think of creatine as just a power and strength supplement, but it has also been shown to increase muscular endurance.
For example, one review study found that people who took creatine were able to bench press 26% more reps after taking creatine compared to only 12% more reps for those taking a placebo.
Creatine supplementation also seems to reduce fatigue during endurance exercises. Scientists from the University of Nicosia and the University of Oklahoma found that creatine supplements significantly reduced perceived exertion (how hard the exercise feels) during intense cycling exercise. However, in one of these studies, only people with relatively low muscle creatine levels before supplementation experienced these benefits. It’s possible that those of us starting with normal levels may not notice any benefits.
Side Effects of Creatine Monohydrate
Most people don’t experience any side effects from taking normal doses (3 to 5 grams) of creatine.
When people take much more than that (over 20 grams) at once, they may sometimes experience diarrhea. If you’re loading creatine, it’s often best to split your intake into smaller doses throughout the day, like 10 grams in the morning and 10 grams in the evening.
You may have heard that creatine causes muscle cramps, but the evidence for this idea is weak. Support for this notion is mostly theoretical, with some scientists speculating that since creatine “traps” water in muscle cells, it wouldn’t be available for sweating or balancing electrolytes in the blood, potentially leading to cramps. While one study found that participants believed creatine contributed to cramps, most studies have shown it does not. Moreover, most research indicates that dehydration does not lead to cramps, which is why most scientists no longer take the “creatine causes cramps” argument seriously.
Creatine supplements are not recommended in cases of kidney disease treated with diuretics. But in healthy individuals, there are no adverse side effects from short-term and long-term use of creatine.
How to Take Creatine Monohydrate
Research shows that taking 3 to 5 grams of Creatine Monohydrate daily is optimal for improving strength, power, muscle growth, and recovery. Some studies show that when you first start taking creatine, you can see benefits sooner by “loading” it – taking about 20 grams daily for the first 5 to 7 days. Other research suggests this might be unnecessary and that you can achieve similar results by taking a smaller regular dose. Since Creatine Monohydrate is relatively cheap, there’s no downside to loading it when you first start taking it.
For years, many people believed that you needed to take creatine after workouts (especially with a post-workout meal) to maximize its effects, but recent research has found this is not the case. You can take creatine at any time during the day and get the full benefits.
Creatine Monohydrate vs. Other Forms of Creatine
Creatine Monohydrate is the most studied and least expensive form of creatine on the market, but it has many competitors for its throne. Over the years, manufacturers have modified creatine in various ways in hopes of making it more effective. Their main goal was to chemically modify creatine or combine it with other substances in hopes of improving its absorption.
Here are some of the most common variations.
– Creatine Hydrochloride: Creat
ine combined with hydrochloric acid to create a salt form. The theory is that this improves water solubility and absorption. There is no evidence that it does.
– Creatine Ethyl Ester: Creatine combined with alcohol to improve water solubility and absorption. Some research shows it actually has worse absorption than Monohydrate.
– Creatine Malate: Creatine combined with malic acid to improve water solubility and absorption. There is no evidence that it’s more effective than Monohydrate.
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– Buffered Creatine:Creatine combined with other substances to change its pH, reduce degradation in the stomach, and increase absorption. There is no evidence that it does.
Creatine Monohydrate is still the top choice for most people. It’s effective, safe, and inexpensive.
Conclusion
Creatine Monohydrate is the best supplement for gaining muscle and strength faster. It has been studied for decades and consistently proven effective and safe. If you’re new to taking creatine, load it for the first 5 to 7 days by taking 20 grams daily and then transition to a 3 to 5-gram daily maintenance dose. If you want to gain muscle and strength as quickly as possible, adding Creatine Monohydrate to your diet is one of the best choices you can make.
