Using creatine: what you need to know
Creatine is one of the most popular supplements among athletes — and its popularity goes beyond fashion. Creatine is an organic acid your body produces naturally, but taking it as a supplement helps replenish your muscles’ energy stores when you need them most: during short, explosive efforts.
What is creatine and where does it come from?
Creatine is found in the liver, kidneys and pancreas. Your body synthesizes it from the amino acids glycine, methionine and arginine — phosphocreatine itself is not synthesized in skeletal muscle. Your body contains around 120 g in total, with 95% stored in skeletal muscles, particularly in fast-twitch muscle fibers.
Your daily creatine requirement is approximately 2 g. A mixed diet supplies 1 g — mainly from red meat and fish — while your body synthesizes 1 g itself. Physical and mental exertion increases this requirement to around 3–6 g. If you are a vegetarian, your creatine levels are often lower because your diet contains virtually none.
Its history goes back surprisingly far. Eastern Bloc athletes were already using phosphocreatine in the 1960s; it reached the West in the late 1980s. Creatine officially entered the sports supplement market in 1994.
Creatine’s role in energy production
Creatine is a component of the energy-rich compound phosphocreatine. The enzyme creatine kinase converts creatine into phosphocreatine, which is the main rate-limiting factor in energy production during short bursts of effort.
So what actually happens? Once ATP stores are depleted — which takes 1–2 seconds — ATP is synthesized from phosphocreatine. This reserve lasts another 30–45 seconds. Taken as a supplement, creatine increases muscle creatine levels by 20–30% and phosphocreatine levels by nearly 10%.
Phosphocreatine resynthesis during training can increase by up to 30% after a two-minute rest. This makes creatine particularly useful for interval-based and stop-start sports: basketball, football, volleyball, ice hockey and strength training. Positive effects on anaerobic threshold and mental performance have also been observed. Evidence on aerobic performance is currently conflicting.
Which sports use creatine most often? Mainly sprinting, strength and power sports, sprint swimming and ball sports. In athletics, phosphocreatine is used primarily for sprinting — generally not for distances of 800 m or more, because it would increase body weight.
Taking creatine with a loading phase
The most common approach is to start with a loading phase. The dose is calculated according to body weight: 0.3 g a day for every one kilogram of body weight. For someone weighing 70 kg, this looks like:
- Loading phase — 5 days, 20 g per day (4 × 5 g)
- Maintenance phase — 2–5 g per day thereafter
This ensures a 20–30% increase in muscle creatine levels (up to 40% in some cases). An interesting detail: researchers have achieved the same result without loading, using 3 g per day for 30 days. Loading speeds up the effect, but it is not essential.
During the loading phase, the recommended daily schedule is to take creatine before breakfast, after your workout, at lunchtime and late in the evening. During the maintenance phase, 2–5 g immediately after your workout is enough; on rest days, take it with breakfast.
Using creatine in practice: what to keep in mind
Carbohydrates promote creatine absorption. For every 5 g dose of creatine, take an additional 30–40 g of dextrose (grape sugar) or mix it with 200–400 ml of grape juice. During the loading phase, add another 100 g of sugar to each dose and drink plenty of fluids — your muscles need water to bind creatine.
Important: do not combine creatine with coffee or drinks containing caffeine. Limit coffee to 1–2 cups per day. 5 g of L-glutamine and multivitamins are also used to support absorption.
Side effects are rare. The most commonly noticed change is an increase in body weight — this is normal and happens because creatine binds water in your muscles. If you work out regularly, this will come as no surprise.
Frequently asked questions about taking creatine
Do you have to start taking creatine with a loading phase?
No. A loading phase fills your muscles’ creatine stores faster, but taking 3 g per day for 30 days achieves the same result — just more slowly.
Can you get enough creatine from your diet as a vegetarian?
No. Creatine is found mainly in red meat and fish. If you are a vegetarian, you have lower levels of creatine in your body, which is why you will often respond better to supplementation than meat eaters.
Is creatine suitable for endurance athletes too?
Evidence on aerobic performance is conflicting. Creatine is used primarily for short, intense efforts. Over longer distances — from 800 m onwards — an increase in body weight may be more of a hindrance.
Author: M.M.
Source: Health Board – food supplements.
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