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