As someone who started taking creatine over 20 years ago, I have experienced the benefits and fully understand how to take the supplement. In fact, creatine is one of the few supplements in the fitness industry that actually does what it says on the tin — no hype, just solid results.
The problem? Most guys still feel confused about how to take creatine properly because the internet is full of conflicting advice.
So I’m here to give you the straight answer that you deserve — so here it is.
How To Take Creatine
To take creatine simply scoop the powder into a drink then shake or mix with food and consume. That’s it. Also, Drinking enough water and pairing creatine supplementation with regular resistance training supports increases in muscle mass, strength, and exercise performance.
But that’s just the basic information.
If you want to understand what creatine supplementation actually does, the rest of this article goes deeper into loading phases, optimal timing, common concerns, and whether you even need this stuff.
But if you stopped reading right now and just followed the information above, you’d be doing better than 90% of blokes overthinking this
What Does Creatine Actually Do in Your Body?
Creatine isn’t magic. It’s simple biology — and it works because it helps your body make more energy during hard training.
Inside your muscles, you have something called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is your body’s “quick energy.” You use it for anything explosive — lifting heavy, sprinting, pushing through high intensity exercise.
The problem is, your ATP runs out fast. After a few seconds of effort, your muscles are drained. That’s why your last reps feel like death.
This is where creatine steps in.
How Creatine Helps Your Muscle Cells
Creatine turns into creatine phosphate inside your muscle cells. Think of creatine phosphate as a backup battery.
When your ATP starts dropping, creatine phosphate jumps in and helps you make more ATP, faster.
More ATP leads to …
- More strength
- Greater power
- Better quality reps
- Increased athletic performance during intense exercise
This is why creatine helps with muscle strength, muscle growth, and muscle recovery. When you can lift more weight for more reps, you create more tension in your human skeletal muscle. More tension means more muscle growth over time — the natural way your body improves.
What This Means in Real Training
When your body has higher muscle creatine levels, you can:
- Push harder in heavy resistance training
- Squeeze out extra reps that build muscle mass
- Recover quicker between sets
- Improve performance in high intensity exercise
- Support better long-term muscle performance
All this because creatine helps your body’s creatine stores stay full, which supports consistent training.
So, this isn’t about “cheating” or shortcuts. It’s about giving your body enough creatine to do the work.
The rest of this article goes deeper into loading phases, optimal timing, common concerns, and whether you even need this stuff. But if you stopped reading right now and just followed the paragraph above, you’d be doing better than 90% of blokes overthinking this.
Should Beginners Take Creatine?
For the sake of the blog post I’m going to imagine you’ve just signed up for a gym membership, you’ve never touched a supplement in your life, and you’re wondering if creatine is “too advanced” for you …
Well, it’s not. But you still want to avoid Beginner Fitness Mistakes.
Beginners can take creatine but if you’re unsure about what supplements to trust, or worried about doing things “wrong,” creatine is the simplest, safest boost you can add to your training.
In fact, creatine is one of the most researched dietary supplements in sports nutrition history — we’re talking over 500 studies since the 1990s and the society of sports nutrition position confirms it’s safe for healthy adults at normal doses.
That said, here’s my honest advice for total beginners:
Get your basics sorted first. Spend 2-4 weeks nailing these:
- A consistent resistance training plan (2-3 days per week)
- Adequate protein intake (roughly 1.6-2.2g per kg bodyweight)
- 7-9 hours of sleep
Once those are in place, then spend a bit of money and add creatine supplementation.
Beginner protocol:
- 3 – 5 grams per day
- Same time each day (to build the habit)
- Mixed in water, tea or your protein shake
Should You Do a Loading Phase?
A creatine loading phase is when you take a large amount of creatine for a short time. Most loading plans recommend about 20g per day for 5–7 days, then dropping to a normal 3–5g per day.
The idea is to fill your muscle creatine stores faster so you feel the effects of creatine supplementation sooner.
And yes — it works. Loading does raise muscle creatine levels quickly and can benefit those who have certain goals.
So, I guess you’re asking yourself if you need to do a loading phase?
Well, here’s my take on the matter …
Who Might Want to Load?
- competitive athletes
- men preparing for an event
- lifters who need fast improvements in high intensity exercise
These guys might benefit from creatine loading or a loading phase because time is tight. But that’s not the average guy in the gym.
Why You Can Skip the Loading Phase
Here’s the straight-up, no B.S reason:
- Loading uses more creatine than you actually need
- It costs more without giving long-term extra benefits
It may cause mild stomach discomfort for some guys - Daily creatine monohydrate supplementation works the same in the long run
If you’re simply training for long-term health, strength, and to build some muscle — consistency matters far more than loading.
Is It Good to Take Creatine Every Day?
Simple answer — yes. Daily intake is how creatine actually works.
Your body’s creatine stores deplete by about 1-2% each day through normal metabolism. If you skip doses regularly, your muscle creatine levels slowly drop back toward baseline, and you lose the performance benefits you built up.
Remember, creatine isn’t a stimulant or a drug that needs cycling. You don’t build tolerance for it.
Plus, long-term research reviewed by the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) shows creatine is safe for healthy adults, even when used daily for years at typical doses.
When Should You Take Creatine for Best Results?
The simple answer to this question is, timing matters far less than just taking your creatine dose every day.
If you obsess over the “perfect” 17-minute post-workout window while skipping creatine three days a week, you’re missing the point entirely.
Consistency beats optimisation every time — even Optimum Nutrition says daily use matters more than perfect timing.
This is because creatine doesn’t work like caffeine or a pre-workout booster that hits your system instantly. It works by saturating your muscles over time, which means consistency beats timing every time.
So if you want to take it around your workout for convenience — go for it. But don’t stress about missing a narrow window. A 3–5g dose at any consistent time each day will get the job done just fine.
What Should You Take With Creatine for Best Results?
Creatine works on its own — you don’t need to mix it with a special shake or some magic supplement to see results. But if you want to make creatine supplementation as smooth as possible, without having to consume white powder on its own.
1. Take Creatine With Water
The most basic way to take creatine is to mix it with water. Simply tip the powder into the water and stir.
Creatine actually pulls water into your muscle cells. That’s part of how it supports muscle growth and muscle recovery. So drinking enough water helps your muscle creatine levels stay high and keeps you feeling good during intense exercise.
In case you’re wondering, I usually mix creatine with my green tea at the beginning or end of the day.
2. Pair Creatine With a Meal
I personally don’t do this but you can take creatine with food.
This is because eating increases insulin, and insulin helps nutrients (including creatine) move into your muscle cells more easily.
3. Creatine + Your Post-Workout Shake (Optional)
If you already drink a protein shake after training, adding your creatine right into it is an easy win.
This isn’t about special timing (as that doesn’t exist) — it’s about building a habit that supports consistency. And consistency is what actually boosts muscle mass, muscle strength, and overall exercise performance.
What Should You Not Mix Creatine With?
Creatine is one of the safest and most proven dietary supplements out there — but there are a few things you should avoid mixing it with if you want the best results.
Don’t worry, nothing here is dramatic or dangerous. It’s just about keeping things simple and not shooting yourself in the foot.
1. Don’t Mix Creatine With Alcohol
Alcohol dehydrates you; creatine pulls water into your muscle cells.
Put those together and you get the perfect recipe for feeling flat, tired, or bloated — none of which help your muscle mass or sports performance.
You don’t need to quit drinking. Just avoid taking creatine right before you start sinking pints, and keep your hydration up.
2. Don’t Mix Creatine With Not Enough Water
This one’s not a drink — it’s a habit.
If you take creatine but barely drink water, you’ll feel off. Your muscles need water to use creatine properly. Without it, you won’t get the effects of creatine supplementation you’re after — strength, muscle growth, exercise performance, all of it.
So keep it simple: creatine + hydration = better results.
3. Don’t Stress About Caffeine
Let’s bust the biggest myth that you shouldn’t mic creatine with caffeine. In fact caffeine and creatine are fine together.
Early studies from the 1990s suggested caffeine might blunt creatine’s effects. But later research shows no meaningful issue when both are taken consistently.
So, if you enjoy coffee, keep drinking it. Just don’t overdo caffeine to the point where you’re jittery, dehydrated, or wrecking your sleep — that kills your gains more than anything creatine-related.
4. Don’t Mix Creatine With Stupid Supplements
In general, other supplements are fine with creatine. But the reason I have included supplements is because many others are just a waste of money.
Avoid mixing creatine with nonsense like:
- “muscle detox” powders
- fat-burner stimulants
- anything claiming “instant muscle growth”
- random blends with no real scientific evidence
Creatine works because it supports your body’s natural systems — ATP, muscle cells, resistance training, and real recovery. Adding junk to it won’t make it work faster. It’ll just drain your wallet.
5. Avoid Mega-Dosing or DIY “Boosters”
There is no issue with creatine loading at the beginning, if that’s what you want to do. However, mega-dosing way above that is pointless.
Your body can only store so much muscle creatine. Dumping huge amounts in your shaker won’t force more into your muscles — it’ll just give you stomach cramps and zero extra gains.
How Long Does Creatine Take to Work?
The effects of creatine on exercise performance become apparent once muscle creatine levels are elevated.
If you decide to do the loading phase, then many lifters notice they can push a few extra reps on heavy sets within the second week.
But again, this is more useful for elite athletes under time pressure, not the average man looking to build muscle mass and improve body composition.
If you don’t do the loading phase, you should feel the effects of creatine supplementation in 3-4 weeks with a daily dose of 3–5g of creatine monohydrate.
Your muscle creatine stores will rise steadily each day until they’re topped up.
This is the best method for long-term results, better habits, and saving money. And for regular blokes training for health, muscle growth, and strength, the difference is tiny.
How Do You Know If Creatine Is Working?
Forget trying to feel creatine. It’s not a pre-workout. There’s no buzz, no tingles, no fake “energy surge.”
Creatine works by improving what your body can do during real training — strength, muscle performance, and muscle recovery. So instead of waiting for a feeling, you need to look for objective signs.
Here’s how to know creatine supplementation is actually doing its job.
Performance Signs Creatine Is Working
You’ll notice these changes in your training before you see them in the mirror:
- More reps with the same weight over a few weeks
- Stronger lifts—your numbers go up on big movements
- Shorter rest times between intense exercise sets
- More work in each session (10–15% more training volume is common once muscle creatine levels rise)
Physical Signs Creatine Is Working
These aren’t drastic overnight changes, but they’re noticeable:
- Muscles look and feel “fuller” as water enters your muscle cells
- A small increase in muscle size (about 2–5% at first from water + glycogen)
- Less soreness between sessions, thanks to better muscle recovery
These changes tell you creatine stores are rising and your skeletal muscle is responding.
How to Track Your Progress Properly
Don’t guess — measure.
- Before taking creatine, track your lifts for 2 weeks.
- Write down reps, weights, and how hard each set feels.
- After 4–8 weeks of taking creatine supplements daily, compare your numbers.
If you’re lifting more, recovering faster, and doing more total work, creatine is working.
This method also helps you stay honest and focused — no fitness industry hype, just real data from your own training.
If you’re interested to know more about how to track your training, check out this blog post “Unstoppable Strength: How To Use Progressive Overload”.
.
Does Creatine Work For Everyone?
A study did find that about 20–30% of people don’t see big increases in muscle creatine after supplementation, often because their muscles start with higher creatine levels and less room to store more. These are known as non-responders.
This could be for a number of reasons:
- they already eat a lot of red meat and fish (which contain dietary creatine)
- their natural muscle creatine levels are already high
- their muscle cells don’t have as much room to store more
Nothing is wrong. It just means your body naturally makes or stores enough creatine already.
Why Did I Gain Weight on Creatine?
Let’s address this head-on because it freaks people out …
Most fast weight gain from creatine is water, not fat.
When you saturate your muscle cells with creatine, water follows. This is called intracellular water retention — the water goes inside the muscle, not under your skin where it would make you look bloated.
Typical weight changes:
- 1-2% of body mass
- Larger athletes may see slightly more
- Loading phases cause faster, more noticeable jumps
DEXA studies confirm that about 70-80% of initial creatine weight gain is water, with 20-30% being actual lean mass over time.
This water weight is actually good:
- Makes muscles look fuller
- Supports muscle performance
- Creates a more anabolic environment for muscle growth
If you feel uncomfortably bloated:
- Drop to 3g per day instead of 5g
- Skip the loading phase
- Increase water intake (counterintuitive, but it helps)
And here’s the reassurance you need: if you stop creatine, this water weight drops back over 2-4 weeks as your muscle creatine stores return to baseline. It’s not permanent and it’s definitely not fat.
What Are the Benefits of Taking Creatine?
The ISSN position from the international society of sports nutrition calls creatine the most effective supplement for boosting muscle strength and high intensity exercise performance.
That’s not hype — that’s decades of scientific evidence and real-world results.
Creatine works because it raises your muscle creatine levels, improves ATP production, and supports better training output. When you train harder, you build more muscle mass, improve body composition, and get stronger over time.
So, here’s how creatine actually benefits you …
Core Training Benefits
Creatine helps you produce more energy during intense exercise, which means you can perform better when it counts.
- 8–14% greater strength gains when combined with resistance training
- 10–20% more work capacity (more reps with the same weight)
- Faster progress on big compound lifts
- Better performance in sprints, jumps, and other high intensity exercise
- Stronger muscle performance from better ATP regeneration
Muscle Growth and Body Composition
Creatine supports muscle growth because it helps you lift more, train harder, and recover faster. All the stuff that actually builds muscle.
- Studies show increase muscle mass by 1–1.5 kg more lean muscle mass over 8–12 weeks with proper training (compared to training without the use of creatine)
- Increase muscle growth potential by raising total training volume
- Build muscle more efficiently over time
- Improve lean tissue mass while maintaining or reducing fat
- Support long-term muscle growth across years of training
Creatine doesn’t directly make you bigger — it gives your skeletal muscle the energy to grow through hard training.
Recovery and Injury Support
Creatine isn’t just about strength. It also supports recovery and resilience.
- Lowers muscle damage markers after heavy resistance training
- Less muscle tightness and fewer reported muscle cramps when hydrated
- Supports muscle recovery between sessions
- May help protect aging muscle and reduce injury risk by improving training tolerance
- Can help maintain muscle mass during breaks or deloads
Better recovery = more consistent training = better results.
Emerging Health Benefits
Creatine isn’t only for your muscles. Research is growing in other areas too.
- Supports brain health and cognitive function, especially under stress
- Helps improve cognitive performance in vegetarians and people low in dietary creatine
- Supports aging muscle and may help slow age-related muscle loss
- May benefit people with rare creatine deficiency syndromes
- Early evidence suggests creatine helps the brain during sleep loss and high-stress situations
Will Creatine Burn Belly Fat?
No. Let’s not dance around this one.
Creatine does not directly burn fat. It’s not a fat-loss drug. It won’t spot-reduce your belly.
The indirect fat-loss benefit is real but modest. You may see slightly better body composition changes over time — like a small drop in body fat percentage — compared with training alone.
The scale problem: In the short term, creatine might increase your weight by 1-3kg from water — even while body fat is actually decreasing. Don’t freak out at the scale.
What actually burns belly fat:
- Consistent calorie deficit (non-negotiable)
- High protein intake (to help reduce muscle loss)
- Regular resistance training to preserve muscle
- Adequate sleep and stress management
Visible midsection definition depends far more on your total body fat percentage than whether you’re taking creatine supplements.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Creatine?
Let me give you the honest rundown. No supplement is perfect.
The Pros:
| Benefit | Details |
| Proven performance gains | Creatine improves high-intensity strength and power performance by ~5–15% in repeated efforts |
| Strong safety record | Up to 5 years of daily use studied with no issues in healthy adults |
| Extremely cheap | One of the most cost-effective supplements |
| Simple dosing | 3-5g once daily, no complicated protocols needed |
| Broad benefits | Supports strength and performance, recovery, and may aid brain/cognitive function |
The Cons:
| Concern | Reality |
| Initial weight gain | Typically 1–2 kg in the first weeks (mostly water within muscle). Up to 3kg is possible, especially during loading |
| Possible GI upset | GI discomfort occurs mainly at high doses (loading phase). Standard 3–5 g/day dosing has far lower risk |
| Daily commitment | Need to take it every day for sustained effects |
| Non-responders | 20-30% see smaller benefits (usually those with already high intake) |
Important considerations:
- People with kidney disease should only use creatine under medical supervision
- The hair loss myth has no strong evidence but debate continues
- Some people genuinely don’t like adding any supplement to their routine
Weigh these against your personal goals. If you’re training seriously and want that extra edge, creatine is probably worth it. If you’re stressed about supplements in general, focus on training and nutrition first.
Final Thoughts: How to Use Creatine for the Best Long-Term Results
Creatine isn’t complicated — the fitness industry just makes it sound that way. When you strip out the fluff, the rules for long-term success are simple and easy to follow.
- Take 3–5g of Creatine Every Day
- Skip the Loading Phase (Unless You’re an Athlete on a Deadline)
- Mix It With Something You’ll Actually Drink
- Keep Training Hard and Consistently
- Don’t Overthink What You Shouldn’t Mix It With
- Understand What Creatine Actually Does
Creatine is a simple, cheap, proven tool that gives you a real edge — not a magic trick. Use it daily, train hard, stay hydrated, and keep things consistent.
If you do that, then creatine will support stronger lifts, better performance, and long-term muscle growth for years to come.
