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Creatine dosage explained. Learn how much creatine you should take each day, whether a loading phase is necessary, and the best daily dose for building muscle, increasing strength, and improving exercise performance.
In this video, expert nutritionist Dr Richie Kirwan breaks down the science behind creatine supplementation, helping you understand exactly how much creatine you need to get the best results.
Key Facts:
The standard maintenance dose for most people is 3-5g of creatine monohydrate per day.
A loading phase is optional and can saturate muscle stores more quickly, but it isn't required.
Taking creatine consistently is more important than the exact time of day you take it.
Creatine is one of the most researched and effective supplements for improving strength and muscle growth.
Daily supplementation is the key to maintaining elevated muscle creatine stores.
FAQ:
Q: How much creatine should I take per day?
A: Most people can maximise the benefits with 3-5g of creatine monohydrate daily.
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0:00
How much creatine should you take? Do
0:02
you need to load it? What time of day
0:03
should you take it? And is it actually
0:05
safe to use long-term? If you have any
0:08
of these questions, fear not. Because in
0:10
this video, we're going to tell you
0:11
[music] everything you need to know
0:13
about taking creatine.
0:17
>> [music]
0:18
>> How's it going, guys? My name's Richie
0:20
Kirwan. I'm a registered nutritionist,
0:22
nutrition researcher, and a university
0:24
lecturer in nutrition. So, by now, most
0:26
people know that creatine works, or at
0:28
least they've heard that it works.
0:30
If you haven't seen my other videos on
0:31
creatine, here's a quick summary. It's
0:32
magic. And if you want to get the most
0:34
out of your training, you probably
0:35
should give it a try. But there's still
0:37
a lot of confusion about how much you
0:39
should take, whether you need to do a
0:40
loading phase, whether timing matters,
0:43
and whether taking creatine for a long
0:44
time is safe. So, let's start with the
0:46
dose, because this is where most of the
0:48
confusion comes from. For most people,
0:50
the standard recommended dose of
0:52
creatine monohydrate is about 3 to 5 g
0:54
per day. That amount has been shown in a
0:56
huge amount of studies to be enough to
0:59
fully saturate your muscles with
1:01
creatine [music] over time.
1:02
And once your muscles are saturated,
1:04
taking more than that doesn't seem to
1:06
give any extra benefit. Now, some people
1:08
will tell you that you need to do a
1:09
loading phase, where you take about 20 g
1:11
per day for 5 to 7 days before dropping
1:14
down to a lower maintenance dose. This
1:15
method does work, and it can increase
1:18
muscle creatine levels more quickly, but
1:20
it's not necessary, and it doesn't offer
1:22
any other benefits apart from getting
1:23
you to saturation faster. If you take
1:25
about 3 to 5 g per day without loading,
1:28
your muscles will still become
1:29
saturated. It just takes a little bit
1:31
longer, usually around 3 to 4 [music]
1:33
weeks.
1:34
In the end, both methods lead to the
1:36
same result. The only difference is how
1:39
quickly you get there. Because of that,
1:40
most people can just take the small
1:42
daily dose and skip the loading phase
1:44
completely, especially if you're not in
1:46
a rush. Recently, you may have heard of
1:47
people recommending very high doses of
1:49
creatine, like 10 or even 20 g per day.
1:52
But most of the research shows that once
1:54
your muscles are saturated, taking more
1:57
than about 3 to 5 g per day doesn't seem
1:59
to offer any extra benefits. That's it.
2:03
Very large athletes with a lot of muscle
2:05
mass might benefit from taking a little
2:07
more than the standard 3 to 5 g per day.
2:10
Just be honest with yourself when you're
2:11
thinking about how big you actually are.
2:13
Timing is another thing people worry
2:14
about, but in reality it probably
2:16
doesn't matter very much what time of
2:18
day you take the creatine.
2:20
Some studies have compared taking
2:21
creatine before training, after
2:22
training, or at other times of the day.
2:24
But the differences are usually very
2:27
minimal if they exist at all. But what
2:29
definitely matters most is taking
2:31
[music] creatine consistently every day
2:34
rather than worrying about the exact
2:35
timing. Now, I've just said to take it
2:37
every day, but that doesn't mean if you
2:39
miss a day or two you'll suddenly lose
2:42
all the benefits. You definitely won't,
2:44
especially once you've saturated your
2:46
muscles.
2:47
In fact, muscle creatine can take about
2:48
4 to 6 weeks to return to baseline
2:50
levels after someone stops taking it.
2:52
One thing that can make a difference is
2:54
how much you take at once.
2:56
Taking a very large dose of creatine in
2:58
one go can sometimes cause stomach
3:00
discomfort in some people, especially
3:02
during a loading phase. This is one of
3:04
the reasons why splitting the dose
3:05
across the day or just using a smaller
3:07
daily dose can be more comfortable. So,
3:09
if someone does want to do a loading
3:10
phase, it's often recommended that they
3:12
split the dose into two doses of 10 g or
3:14
four doses of 5 g to help avoid any
3:16
possible stomach upsets.
3:18
Another question people often have is
3:20
whether creatine makes you gain weight.
3:22
The short answer is yes, it can, but not
3:25
in the way people sometimes think.
3:27
So, pay attention to what I'm about to
3:29
say. When you start taking creatine, it
3:31
increases the amount of water stored
3:33
inside your muscles because creatine
3:35
pulls water into the muscle cell.
3:38
This can lead to a small increase in
3:40
body weight, sometimes around half a
3:42
kilo to maybe 2 kilos depending on the
3:44
person, [music]
3:45
but especially in the first few weeks of
3:47
taking it. But here's the important
3:48
part. This isn't body fat and it's not
3:51
harmful.
3:52
In fact, the increase in intracellular
3:54
water, or the water that we have inside
3:56
our muscle cells, may be part of the
3:57
reason that creatine helps support
3:59
training performance and muscle growth.
4:01
Some people even report that they look
4:02
better when they take creatine because
4:04
their muscles look fuller. The only time
4:06
that weight gain could be a real problem
4:08
is if you're an athlete in a very weight
4:10
sensitive sport that requires weigh-ins
4:12
like boxing, or if you do a sport that
4:14
requires you to be lighter to perform
4:15
better like rock climbing. In that case,
4:17
you have to think about whether the
4:19
performance benefits are worth the extra
4:21
weight. Now, let's talk about safety
4:22
because this is probably one of the
4:24
biggest concerns people have. Creatine
4:26
is one of the most studied supplements
4:28
ever used in sport, and research has
4:30
looked at both short-term and long-term
4:32
use.
4:33
Studies have followed people taking
4:34
creatine for months and even [music]
4:36
years, and in healthy individuals, there
4:38
is no good evidence for any harmful
4:41
effects whatsoever, not even to kidneys
4:44
or other organs. Large reviews of the
4:46
research consistently conclude that
4:48
creatine monohydrate is safe when used
4:51
at recommended doses,
4:52
>> [music]
4:52
>> and that it remains the form of creatine
4:54
with the strongest evidence for
4:56
effectiveness and safety despite the
4:58
number of newer forms that are
5:00
available. That's it. If you already
5:01
have kidney disease or another medical
5:03
condition affecting kidney function, you
5:05
should speak with your doctor before
5:06
taking creatine because most safety
5:08
studies are done in healthy individuals.
5:10
But if you are healthy, you can stay on
5:12
creatine long-term and don't need to
5:14
cycle on and off like some people
5:16
mistakenly say because they get creatine
5:18
confused with steroids, which it most
5:20
definitely is not. Another thing to
5:23
remember is that your body already makes
5:24
creatine, and you also get it from your
5:26
food.
5:27
Red meat and fish are the main dietary
5:29
sources of creatine, but the amount you
5:31
get from food alone is relatively small.
5:34
To get the same amount of creatine that
5:35
you would get from a typical supplement
5:36
dose, you would need to eat over a kilo
5:39
of beef every day, which is not very
5:41
practical for most people.
5:43
Definitely not for most vegetarians.
5:44
This This be especially relevant to
5:46
vegetarians because research shows that
5:48
people who don't eat meat tend to have
5:50
lower muscle creatine stores to begin
5:52
with. And in controlled training
5:54
studies, they often show a larger
5:57
increase in muscle creatine and lean
5:59
mass and strength after supplementation
6:02
compared to omnivores. It's also worth
6:04
knowing that not everyone responds to
6:06
creatine in exactly the same way.
6:08
In one intervention study where
6:09
researchers measured muscle creatine
6:11
levels directly, some people showed a
6:13
large increase after supplementation
6:14
while others showed only a small change
6:16
and a few showed absolutely no increase
6:19
in muscle creatine levels at all. People
6:21
who already had high muscle creatine
6:22
levels to begin with tended to respond
6:24
less, which is why some people feel a
6:26
big difference when they take creatine
6:28
and others don't notice much at all. So,
6:31
what's the bottom line?
6:32
For most people, taking around 3 to 5 g
6:34
of creatine monohydrate per day is
6:36
enough.
6:37
You don't need to load, you don't need
6:39
to worry about timing, and taking more
6:41
than the recommended dose is unlikely to
6:44
give any extra benefits.
6:46
Find a time of day or a meal to take it
6:48
that helps you stick to taking it every
6:50
day and you'll be sorted. As for the
6:52
best type of creatine to take, creatine
6:54
monohydrate remains the form with the
6:57
strongest scientific support. And
6:59
finally, in healthy people, it's been
7:01
shown to be safe even with long-term
7:03
use. If your goal is to improve
7:05
strength, power, or performance in
7:07
high-intensity exercises, creatine is
7:09
one of the few supplements where the
7:11
research is really damn consistent. And
7:14
when used properly, it can be a
7:15
fantastic addition to your training. If
7:18
you have any creatine questions, drop
7:20
them in the comments and remember to
7:21
like and subscribe to the Myprotein
7:23
YouTube channel for more great
7:24
evidence-based nutrition information.
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