Creatine in bodybuilding is one of the few sports supplements whose benefits for muscle mass gain are scientifically proven and confirmed by the experience of athletes. In this material, you will learn what creatine is, why it is needed, and what its mechanism of action is.
Main thoughts:
Large amounts of creatine are found in animal meat and fish; it is destroyed during heat treatment
What is creatine?
Creatine is a natural substance that is present in the body in its natural form and plays a important role in energy production. It consists of the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine.
Most of the creatine in our body is found in the muscles (about 95%). It is also present in the heart, smooth muscles (intestines), brain, kidneys, and testes.
Creatine is a source of quick energy. It is used for instant “production” of energy, which contributes to faster recovery between sets, as well as greater power during short-term intense exercises (as in bodybuilding).
Every day, the creatine content in the body decreases by an average of 2 grams for a person weighing 70 kg.
There are two ways to replenish it:
- internal: our body can synthesize creatine in the kidneys and liver from other amino acids;
- external: sources of creatine are natural products of animal origin.
On average, a person (non-vegetarian) receives about 1 gram of creatine from food, and another 1 gram is synthesized (in the liver and kidneys).
Strict vegetarians (vegans) get very little creatine from food, as their diet completely lacks animal products 26. Internal synthesis cannot provide the necessary amount. This is one of the limitations of plant-based diets in bodybuilding for muscle mass gain.
Creatine is a natural substance that is predominantly found in meat products; strict vegetarians often do not get enough of it from food
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Where is creatine found?
Along with specialized sports supplements, creatine is found in large quantities in natural animal products – in fish and meat.
The table shows some natural products that have particularly high creatine content.
Understanding the figures provided will be facilitated by the following information:
- The average person needs to obtain about ~1 g of creatine from food to compensate for daily losses;
- During the loading phase, athletes take 20-25 g of creatine
- During the maintenance phase, athletes take 2-5 g of creatine
| Creatine content in food products26 (meat, raw) | |
|---|---|
| Beef | 4.5 g/kg |
| Cod | 3.0 g/kg |
| Herring | 6.5 g/kg |
| Pork | 5.0 g/kg |
| Salmon | 4.5 g/kg |
| Tuna | 4.0 g/kg |
Significantly less creatine is found in other animal organs that humans consume:
- Liver: 0.2 g/kg;
- Kidneys: 0.23 g/kg
- Tongue: 0.19 g/kg.
Dairy products contain significantly less creatine (0.88% of the mass of dry milk) than meat, but they are the best dietary natural source of creatine.
The creatine found in sports supplements and in natural products is absolutely identical, but supplements have several practical advantages:
- A large volume of meat products is needed to provide the recommended daily intake;
- Meat products often contain a lot of fat;
- Creatine in natural products is destroyed during heat treatment: thermal processing destroys about 65% of natural creatine;
- Creatine from natural products is absorbed more slowly, but its bioavailability is the same as that of creatine from supplements.
When cooking, about 30% of creatine is destroyed and even turns into toxic substances 8,9. The degree of destruction depends on the cooking method (duration of heat exposure and temperature). The raw food traditions in meat consumption, characteristic of our ancestors, were definitely more beneficial in terms of supplying the body with creatine from natural products.
Creatine is found in large quantities in animal meat and fish; it is destroyed during heat treatment.
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What is creatine used for?
Creatine is naturally present in the human body and is an important component of our energy system.
To explain what creatine provides when consumed and how it works, it is necessary to delve slightly into physiology.
The basic element of the human body’s energy system is the ATP molecule (adenosine triphosphate). Energy for any movement (bicep contraction, blinking, intestinal efforts to move food) comes from it.
It is the ATP molecule that is the ultimate goal of breaking down nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats) when they are used for energy production.
Our energy system is designed to provide a huge amount of ATP at any moment, but to maintain their level – only for a very limited time. Short bursts of high-intensity activity are fueled by this source (for example: sprinting, weightlifting).
And this is why creatine is needed and what it provides during workouts:
Let’s remember that 95% of all creatine is stored in the muscles.
When the short-term energy reserve in the form of ATP runs out and symptoms of fatigue begin to appear, creatine helps synthesize new energy molecules of ATP: muscles receive more energy, allowing for more intense training, lifting heavier weights, and delaying fatigue 26.
In bodybuilding, heavier weights stimulate muscle mass and strength growth, while in running or cycling, an additional energy boost allows for faster distance coverage at peak power.
Creatine is needed to fuel working muscles: it delays the feeling of fatigue, allows for lifting heavier weights, which stimulates muscle growth.
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What is creatine used for in bodybuilding?
Supplementing with creatine in bodybuilding provides the following advantages:
1 The duration of high-intensity short-term exercise performance increases
The more creatine is accumulated in the muscles, the more ATP 3 energy molecules can be produced from it.
Taking creatine as a supplement in sports nutrition can help increase its concentration in the muscles of most athletes, but not all (see the explanation in the article How to take creatine).
2 The body recovers faster between sets
The speed at which new ATP energy molecules are created between sets increases.
Many sports consist of phases of high-intensity exercise and varying durations of recovery time. The concentration of creatine in the muscles determines the speed of new ATP molecule production and, consequently, the readiness to perform the next intense phase.
3 The onset of fatigue is delayed
The ability of cells to store energy improves.
Creatine increases the cell’s ability to retain ions of certain substances involved in energy synthesis 7. This leads to a delay in the onset of fatigue, and the duration of the active phase increases.
All these effects combined – increased time for performing sets, delayed fatigue, and accelerated recovery – enhance training efficiency, allowing for heavier weights, which creates a stimulus for muscle growth.
Important: According to research, creatine supplementation is beneficial ONLY for performing intense short-term exercises, such as weightlifting in bodybuilding or sprinting: it indeed leads to increased muscle strength and endurance.
Creatine supplementation contributes to increased muscle strength, mass, and endurance, but only during short-term and intense exercises
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Types of creatine, which is better
There are many varieties of creatine (creatine monohydrate, micronized creatine, creatine hydrochloride, buffered creatine, creatine nitrate, and creatine citrate) and forms (powder, liquid).
All of them are attempts by manufacturers to create the best creatine with the highest absorption rate and pleasant taste.
Detailed information about the various types of creatine can be found in the article Types of creatine.
Here we will only highlight two important points.
The best type of creatine is considered to be creatine monohydrate, in terms of price/quality ratio.
The worst form of creatine is liquid, as laboratory tests show that a very large portion of the active substance in liquid creatine is destroyed, resulting in very low quality.
Creatine monohydrate is considered the best type of creatine (in terms of price/quality ratio), while the liquid form is the worst due to the very high percentage of destroyed creatine in it.
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How to take creatine?
Supplementing with creatine allows you to increase its stores in the muscles and achieve the benefits described above.
However, there are limitations, and for about 30% of people, taking creatine will not yield any effect.
For more details on how to take creatine, the best intake scheme that can save you a significant amount of money, and which creatine is considered the best from a scientific perspective, read our article How to properly take creatine in bodybuilding.
Scientific research on the benefits of creatine
Creatine is one of the most thoroughly studied sports supplements by scientists. Most experiments show the benefits of creatine supplementation and the absence of harm.
In numerous experiments, scientists demonstrate that creatine supplementation increases recovery speed between sets by approximately 35% (!) 4,5, enhances muscle performance during rhythmic exercises, increases peak power in cycling 1, and in sprint races 2,6, as well as the duration for which athletes can maintain it 2.
In one experiment, the effect of creatine supplementation was studied on a group of runners who were required to run to complete exhaustion. One group took 20 g/day for 4 days, followed by 10 g/day for 6 days. The other group received a placebo. During the trial, they had to run to complete exhaustion twice, with an 8-minute break between runs 2.
It was found that there was a significant increase in total running time for those who took creatine. Considering the information from the section on the purpose of creatine, a likely explanation for this is the improved recovery speed of energy due to creatine.
In another experiment involving 27 healthy men who trained three times a week, it was shown that creatine supplementation promotes muscle mass and power growth, while the concentration of certain substances that block muscle growth (myostatin) significantly decreased. The dosage of creatine during the experiment was 0.3 g/kg of body weight during the first week, then 0.05 g/kg for 8 weeks 17.
Several large-scale studies on the effects of creatine on muscle strength and power confirm that creatine supplementation by both men and women (with a loading phase of 5-7 days followed by a maintenance dose) leads to an increase in weight lifted by 7-10 kg in the bench press and squats 18-23, with peak effectiveness occurring in the 8th week of supplementation.
Research indicates that training contributes to more effective creatine accumulation in the muscles 24.
And here is the answer to the question of what explains muscle growth with creatine supplementation:
Scientific studies show that with creatine consumption, the diameter of muscle fibers of all types (fast and slow) increases by 4-9%, as they accumulate more water 25.
Additionally, the rate of muscle protein breakdown (catabolism) decreases, which is also a factor that indirectly influences muscle mass.
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Harm of Creatine and Side Effects
Creatine is generally considered a harmless sports supplement.
Some side effects may occur with excessive dosage. This issue is discussed in detail in the article Creatine: Harm and Side Effects.
