How Creatine Works: A Guide for Beginners

Creatine is one of the most well-researched and effective sports nutrition supplements in the market, known for improving strength development and athletic performance. This guide covers how it works, its benefits and common questions. We also discuss recommended dosages and how to incorporate creatine into your workout routine, helping you decide if it fits your fitness goals.

If you're starting to explore workout supplements, chances are you’ve heard of creatine. It's popular among gymgoers and fitness influencers, often recommended for those looking to boost their muscular strength and performance.

But what exactly is it? And how can it help you reach your fitness goals? In this guide, we'll break down the basics so that you can decide if it's the right fit for your workout plan.

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound made from three amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine. Creatine can be produced by the body and obtained from foods. Your body stores most of the creatine in the muscles, where it plays a key role in generating energy for high-intensity, short-duration exercises like weightlifting, sprinting and jumping.

While creatine can be found in small amounts in foods like red meat, cow’s milk and fish, many people use creatine supplements to achieve levels that can significantly boost their performance. 

During intense exercise, your muscles use a molecule called ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for quick bursts of energy. However, ATP gets depleted rapidly, which limits how long you can sustain maximal effort. 

Creatine helps regenerate ATP, the primary energy carrier in your cells, allowing you to maintain high-intensity performance for longer periods. 

When it comes to enhancing athletic performance and building muscle, creatine is one of the most researched and popular supplements in the world of sports nutrition. 

Here are a few advantages of taking creatine:

1. Supports Powerful and Explosive Movements

Creatine supplementation has consistently been shown to improve maximal strength and power output. It’s especially beneficial for activities like weightlifting, cycling, swimming and sprinting.

2. Increases Muscle Mass When Combined With Strength Exercise

When combined with resistance training and proper nutrition, creatine can lead to greater increases in lean body mass compared to training alone.

3. Improves High-Intensity Exercise Performance

Creatine is particularly effective for short-duration, high-intensity activities, boosting workload capacity during demanding workouts.

4. Promotes Faster Recovery 

Some studies suggest that creatine may reduce recovery time between intense workouts, leading to less muscle soreness and potentially speeding up recovery between training sessions.

Both men and women, from recreational gymgoers to competitive athletes, can easily incorporate this supplement into their workout routines.

The first step is to start by looking for a good source of creatine. The most studied, common and effective form of creatine supplement is creatine monohydrate. To ensure safety and quality, look for products that are third-party tested, such as those with NSF Certified for Sport® certification.

How Much Creatine to Take?

For beginners, the recommended dosage typically involves two phases: a loading phase and a maintenance phase.
 

• Loading Phase: For the first five to seven days, take about 20 grams of creatine per day, divided into four doses of 5 grams each. This helps saturate your creatine storage in muscles quickly.
• Maintenance Phase: After the loading phase, transition to a maintenance dose of 3 to 5 grams per day to keep creatine levels elevated in your muscles.

If you prefer not to do a loading phase, you can start with the maintenance dose of 3 to 5 grams daily. While this method takes longer to achieve saturation (around three to four weeks), it is still effective.

What Is Creatine Loading?

The loading phase is a strategy often recommended to quickly saturate your muscles with creatine, allowing you to experience its benefits sooner. This approach increases creatine levels in your muscles more rapidly than simply taking a maintenance dose.

By saturating your muscles early on, you may experience the full benefits of creatine, such as increased energy for high-intensity workouts and improved recovery times, within the first week of use.

When Is the Best Time to Take Creatine?

Creatine can be taken at any time of the day, but some prefer to take it post-workout with a protein shake or meal.

What to Take With Creatine?

Ensure that you are well hydrated when taking creatine. Combining it with milk or a protein shake is a convenient way to increase your protein intake at the same time.

Can You Take Creatine and Caffeine Together?

Yes, you can take creatine and caffeine together. 

How Fast Does Creatine Work?

Creatine usually starts showing effects within a week or two of regular use. It helps improve strength and muscle performance, but the full benefits might take a few weeks to notice.

What Happens if You Stop Taking Creatine?

If you stop taking creatine, muscle levels will gradually return to baseline over four to six weeks. During this time, you may notice a decrease in performance benefits, especially in high-intensity activities. However, there are no long-term negative effects from discontinuing creatine, as your body will continue to produce it naturally and obtain some of it from foods.

Many questions and misconceptions surround creatine. Let’s clear up some of these common concerns:

Is Creatine a Steroid?

No, creatine is not a steroid. Unlike anabolic steroids, which are synthetic drugs that mimic hormones in the body, creatine is a natural compound that can be produced by the body and obtained through food and supplements. They are considered safe for use and are widely accepted by athletes.

Will Creatine Make Me Gain Weight or Make Me Fat?

While individual responses to creatine can vary, scientific evidence on whether it causes weight gain from water retention is mixed and inconclusive, and such effects are more likely during high-dose loading phases. Creatine does not cause fat gain.

Does Creatine Cause Bloating?

There is no conclusive scientific evidence that taking creatine can cause bloating and would be more likely in cases of loading with high doses. This effect is usually small and temporary. 

Can Creatine Cause Hair Loss?

No, creatine does not cause hair loss. There is no strong evidence to support this claim.

Can Creatine Cause Acne?

No, creatine does not cause acne. Skin reactions are rare and usually related to other factors.

Creatine vs. Creatinine: What’s the Difference?

Creatine and creatinine are related but serve different roles. Creatinine is a waste product that forms when your body breaks down creatine. It’s filtered out of your blood by the kidneys and passed out in urine.

Is Creatine Good for Weight Loss?

Creatine isn’t a weight-loss supplement, but it can be added as part of a weight-loss plan with healthy eating and exercise. It helps preserve muscle mass, especially when combined with resistance training during periods of calorie restriction, which is important for keeping your metabolism active.

Who Should Not Take Creatine?

While creatine is generally safe, we recommend you first speak to your doctor if you:
 

• Are pregnant or breastfeeding
• Have high blood pressure
• Have preexisting kidney conditions
• Have any other medical concerns

Talking to your health care provider will help you make sure your supplements do not affect your condition or medications.

Beyond recreational fitness, we wanted to know how professional athletes use creatine supplements to enhance their training and performance. 

“When combined with resistance training or high-intensity exercise, creatine monohydrate provides several benefits to our athletes, including a more consistent performance, a reliable energy source, muscle recovery and increased muscle mass when taken with proper supplementation and nutrition programs,” says Ryan Capretta, founder and head strength & conditioning coach at Proactive Sports Performance.

Proactive Sports Performance is a sports training facility that provides customized training for athletes of all levels.

“We always take into consideration that creatine is a well-researched and safe supplement, especially when used as part of a balanced diet and exercise regimen. That’s why we were so excited to hear about the launch of Herbalife24 Creatine! Athletes can rely on Herbalife’s creatine sports supplement to optimize their performance and achieve their fitness goals. So, whether you’re a professional athlete or someone who elevates their heart rate during everyday activities, Herbalife24 Creatine can be a valuable addition to your fitness routine!"

Incorporating creatine monohydrate into your daily workout routine can significantly enhance your muscular strength, performance and recovery. Just remember to drink plenty of fluids and stay consistent with your routine so that you can perform at your best.

Dr. Luigi Gratton is the vice president of the office of Health and Wellness at Herbalife. In this role, Dr. Gratton is responsible for ensuring that our Herbalife Independent Distributors have a thorough understanding of Herbalife^® products, ingredients and benefits. Dr. Gratton is also the chair of the Herbalife Nutrition Advisory Board, a global team of experts who help educate Independent Distributors on health and nutrition.