{"id":8873,"date":"2025-06-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scienceinsport.com\/sports-nutrition\/the-benefits-of-creatine\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T00:00:00","slug":"the-benefits-of-creatine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scienceinsport.com\/sports-nutrition\/the-benefits-of-creatine\/","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits of Creatine"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re training at a high intensity for consistent, short bursts of exercise, taking a creatine supplement will work to increase the body\u2019s stores of phosphocreatine and help you to work harder, for longer, and perform at your peak. In this article, we\u2019ll explain why creatine use in athletes is so popular and effective, and the many creatine performance benefits.<\/em><\/p>\n

What is creatine?<\/h2>\n

Creatine is naturally produced by the liver and kidneys from amino acids and is stored in muscle, but it can also be found in natural whole foods such as meat and fish. As a safe and effective ergogenic aid, many athletes use creatine to improve their level of high-intensity exercise performance and increase training adaptations across a variety of sports<\/span>(1)<\/sup><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking\u00a0 Creatine<\/a><\/span>\u00a0may also be of particular benefit for vegetarian or <\/span>vegan<\/span><\/a> individuals, as their reported muscle creatine concentration is typically much lower than those who consume meat<\/span>(2)<\/sup><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

When and why should you take creatine?<\/h2>\n

While creatine can be obtained naturally as part of a balanced diet, it is more effective to consume creatine as a supplement, particularly when trying to intake large quantities of creatine, known as creatine loading. This is because the quantity of red meat or fish necessary to consume in order to do this would be unrealistic for most individuals.<\/span><\/p>\n

To produce any of the reported creatine performance benefits, the body\u2019s muscle creatine content must first be increased. This is called a \u2018creatine loading strategy\u2019<\/span>(3)<\/sup><\/span>. There are two commonly used strategies found to effectively maximise the content of muscle creatine<\/span>(4)<\/sup><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first strategy is to consume a \u2018loading\u2019 dose of 20 grams per day for 5 days (four 5 gram doses throughout the day), followed by a \u2018maintenance\u2019 dose of 2-3 grams per day thereafter for 30 days.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second strategy is to consume only the \u2018maintenance\u2019 dose of 2-3 grams per day for 30 days. It can take 5-8 weeks for muscle creatine stores to return to basal levels<\/span>(5)<\/sup><\/span>. Therefore, it is common for athletes to \u2018cycle\u2019 the supplementation of creatine after this 30-day period and begin the supplementing again.<\/span><\/p>\n

How does creatine benefit performance?<\/h2>\n

Increasing muscle creatine content is shown to increase performance of repeated high intensity efforts, such as interval training. For this reason, accelerating creatine<\/a> consumption is a common focus of many <\/span>fitness nutrition <\/span><\/a>plans. Creatine is commonly featured in <\/span>triathlon nutrition<\/span><\/a> guides or by professional footballers and athletes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Creatine improves fatigue resistance in exercise lasting 30 seconds or less, meaning activity can continue at a higher intensity for longer<\/span>(6)<\/sup><\/span>. Increased muscle creatine content also enhances strength and muscle mass gains when combined with resistance exercise, more so than resistance exercise alone<\/span>(6)<\/sup><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

With increased muscle creatine content, athletes may experience the following benefits:<\/p>\n