Creatine, Explained Without the Hype

Creatine monohydrate has more good evidence behind it than everything else in a supplement shop put together, which makes it strange that it is still surrounded by folklore. It is not a steroid, it does not damage kidneys in healthy people, and it will not make you fail a drug test.

What it does is simple. Your muscles use phosphocreatine to regenerate energy during short, hard efforts, and supplementing raises how much of it you keep in store. In practice that is one or two extra repetitions on a heavy set. Over months, those repetitions add up to real strength.

Loading is optional. Five grams a day gets you to the same place as a loading phase, just three weeks later instead of one, and without the stomach upset that a twenty-gram day can bring. Take it whenever you will remember to take it; timing barely matters.

The weight gain people mention in the first fortnight is water drawn into muscle, not fat. It is also the reason creatine is popular with anyone chasing size. If a scale reading is going to bother you, weigh yourself before you start and again a month in.