Nutrition for Performance: Creatine Guide 101

Whenever discussions around supplements take place, it’s critical to really understand the product you are using. We all know that social media and websites are littered with thousands of products, all claiming a variety of benefits, the vast majority of which are complete BS. It might not be the “sexy sell” but the scientific evidence behind a supplement is the thing matters! Unlike many supplements, creatine has an excellent evidence base for its positive effects on a variety of sports performance and overall health… KEEP READING!

Creatine: What is it and why do we need it?

When combined with resistance training, creatine supplementation has been repeatedly shown to support increased muscle mass and strength, potentially due to an increased capacity during training due to energy availability. Whilst the specific mechanism behind these benefits is unclear, the rationale that increased creatine stores support increased energy availability, and therefore increased training output, is widely accepted. In JWPT terms, creatine helps you push for that “one more rep”. Creatine also improves sporting performance in short duration activities such as sprints and powerlifting, and intermittent sports such as Football and basketball, whereby repeated high intensity movements are key to success. (1, 2, 3). Creatine has been shown to enhance recovery in athletic populations, with the International Society of Sports Nutrition stating, “there is strong evidence that creatine supplementation can help athletes enhance glycogen loading; experience less inflammation and/or muscle enzyme efflux following intense exercise; and tolerate high volumes of training and/or overreaching to a greater degree thereby promoting recovery” (2).

In addition to training and performance enhancements, there is a growing body of evidence to support benefits of creatine supplementations for general health and wellbeing. Creatine supplementation has been demonstrated to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels (4, 5), enhance glycaemic control (6, 7, 8), minimise bone loss (9) and improve cognitive function (10, 11, 12, 13). It is of course worth mentioning that creatine shouldn’t be considered a “silver bullet”, as always when we talk about supplements, they should do exactly that, supplement the positive dietary behaviours, not replacement them. That said the overwhelming benefits of creatine make this supplement a popular choice for many, including myself, and I’d certainly encourage you to consider adding it to your daily routine.

Stores of Creatine within the body exist in small amounts, with our normal diets containing around 1-2g per day, meaning muscle creatine store are about 60-80% full (2) therefore supplementation is important. A large variety of supplementation protocols have been examined, with the most effective and widely accepted protocol being to consume 5g of creatine, four times per day for 5-7 days (loading phase), followed by 3-5g once per day (maintenance phase). Taking creatine with carbohydrate and/or protein has been reported to promote greater retention (14), so it’s worth considering taking with food (personally I add my creatine to my post-workout protein shake). Time of day is not considered too important for creatine supplementation, although some evidence does demonstrate a potential reduce absorption rate when consumed with caffeine, so I’d avoid consuming with your first coffee of the day (evidence around caffeine remains unclear).

NOTE: YOUR SUPPLEMENT SHOULD BE CREATINE MONOHYDRATE. CHECK THE LABEL BEFORE YOU PURCHASE.