Creatine is an immensely popular supplement backed by a surprising amount of science. Maybe you already take creatine for its muscle-building and immune-supporting properties, or maybe you’re looking to start. But now you need to know, what’s the best time to take creatine?
In this article, we’ll discuss what creatine is, its benefits, and how to use it, including the best time to take creatine supplements. You’ll leave with everything you need to know about creatine and be ready to start taking it. Let’s get started!
What is creatine?
Creatine is a muscle compound commonly found in humans and animals. Your body can generate it from amino acids, and it can also be found in food, mostly in various kinds of meat and fish. Creatine supplements are a common source as well.
Creatine is part of the process that creates adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which stores energy and releases it in your cells. Taking creatine supplements can provide your muscles with extra energy for more strength, power, and growth.
What are the benefits of taking creatine?
Strength and muscle growth
Most people who take creatine do so for improved muscle power. Creatine has been shown to increase your strength, plus it helps you build more muscle faster. Because of this, it’s popular with athletes and bodybuilders. Creatine is the most studied supplement, and the science on its contribution to muscle strength and growth is very well established, like in this review of almost a decade of studies.
Mental acuity
Science is still developing, but taking creatine does seem to improve memory and reasoning skills, according to one recent review. The review only covered six studies, and the results don’t seem to be extremely strong, but further investigation is definitely needed. The review suggests that creatine might be more effective for people who are aging or under a lot of stress.
Improved recovery
There are quite a lot of studies supporting the assertion that creatine improves your recovery after a workout — a few of them are listed in this review. Creatine can help your body retain glycogen, an important compound for recovery, and it reduces the amount of CK, a marker of damage, found in your bloodstream.
(CK stands for creatine kinase. It’s an enzyme that helps creatine produce ATP, but when your muscles are damaged, it can leak into the bloodstream. CK on its own isn’t bad; it’s just an easy test to tell how much your muscles have been damaged by a workout.)
How much creatine should you take?
Usually, studies research amounts between two and five grams of creatine per day, so that’s the amount supported by the science. If you’re trying “creatine loading,” the process of taking elevated amounts of creatine for a short time to quickly reach high levels of creatine, you’ll want to take 20 to 25 grams per day, split into multiple servings of five grams or so, for five to seven days.
The exact amount of creatine you should take, within that recommended range, depends on your body weight and your diet. Since dietary creatine is mostly found in meat, vegans or vegetarians should usually take more creatine than meat eaters.
Is there an ideal time to take creatine?
Creatine isn’t particularly time-dependent. Caffeine can decrease the absorption of creatine, so you probably shouldn’t take it with your morning coffee or mix it into pre-workout, but that seems to be the only variable that makes a difference.
However, on training days, people often recommended that you should take a creatine supplement close to your workout — within 30 minutes before or after. On rest days, you shouldn’t skip it (since the levels build up over time), but you should try to take it with food.
Some people like to eat a meal, a snack, or at least a protein bar right after a workout. That’s a great time to take creatine since it’s with food. If you don’t eat very close to workouts, you should still take creatine soon before or after it.
What is the best liquid to mix creatine into?
Mixing creatine into water is usually recommended. However, you could choose to mix it into juice or smoothies instead, as you’ll definitely get a better flavor doing that. The only real downside of juice is that it makes you drink your calories, meaning you end up with more calories than you feel like because drinking a beverage doesn’t equate to food. If juice or smoothies are already part of your habit, go ahead and mix your creatine into them for a quick boost.
How long do you need to take creatine to see results?
Even if you’re not loading, you should see some results within a week. However, reaching the same heightened creatine levels as a loading phase creates usually takes a month of normal doses. During the first month taking creatine, you’ll notice the effects slowly increasing until you reach that saturation point.
Frequently asked questions
Who should take creatine?
Creatine is great for bodybuilders and anyone else looking to reach their peak strength. Vegans and vegetarians, who eat less creatine, might also want to try a creatine supplement. People with kidney or liver problems should not take creatine; it mildly affects the kidneys and livers of healthy people, but it can be dangerous if you have a pre-existing condition. People with diabetes should also not take creatine, since it can shift the water balance in the body.
Will creatine make you stronger?
Yes, a number of studies have been published showing that creatine increases muscle strength and growth. Creatine can improve your strength in your current workouts and help you build muscle faster for even more strength improvement.
