Should You Be Taking Creatine?
Probably.
Especially if you want to get bigger and stronger.
But it’s not some miracle supplement like influencers on social media claim it to be.
How Creatine Works
It’s simple…
Creatine is an energy source that helps your muscles flex/contract.
It gets stored in your muscles as phosphocreatine, and then acts as a quick energy reserve for ATP, which is your body’s MAIN energy source for heavy strength training.
Saturate your muscles with it, and you’re able to do more quality reps at a higher intensity.
You also recover better between training sessions, and over time, this leads to better results.
What Kind of Results?
For strength and power, you’re probably looking at a 10-20% increase in performance.
With your physique, you may experience an extra 1-4 pounds of muscle growth.
Now 1-4 pounds may not sound like a lot, but imagine a 1 pound package of chicken — now imagine that tacked on to your body.
Magical?
No.
Meaningful?
Absolutely.
Why Supplement?
You make 1-2g of creatine naturally in your body.
Another 1-2g should (hopefully) come from meat and fish, but most people don’t consume enough.
That’s not surprising—most people’s diets are super carb heavy and processed, so they don’t come close to that extra 1-2 grams that would lead to a meaningful increase in performance.
That’s where supplementation comes in.
And it’s CHEAP.
Average cost of steak from the store?
$10-15 per pound.
Average cost of creatine monohydrate?
$0.03-$0.05 per gram.
Kind of a no brainer.
The Overhyped Claims
Will creatine turn you in to a super genius?
No.
Will it take you from balding to a full head of hair?
No.
Will it cure anxiety and depression?
Not that I’ve seen.
It’s a sport supplement designed to help you perform better in the gym (or during other high intensity sports).
It’s not a ‘miracle drug.’
Or at least, that hasn’t been proven yet.
My Recommendation
I go through periods of taking creatine and not taking creatine.
Not because it needs to be cycled, or you build up a tolerance, but because I get lazy and sometimes forget to stock up when I run out.
But if you decide to take it, here’s what I recommend:
Creatine monohydrate.
5 grams daily.
Taken with your post-workout meal, or another big meal during the day.
And make sure you’re training hard, because creatine won’t do sh*t if you’re not putting in effort in the gym.
P.S. Would You Like Some Help?
I’m taking on a few new clients this month for my 1-on-1 coaching.
If you’d like to see if it’s a good fit for your schedule and goals, please do one of the following:
Respond to this email, and let me know the what transformation you’d like, and the time frame you’d like it in.
Book a call at the link below…
great article, Nick!