How Often Should you Take Creatine? Why Consistency Every Day Brings Benefits

How often should you take creatine for the greatest muscle and fitness benefits? Today, we’re going on a nutritional investigation to find out.

We’re going to look at what creatine is, what it’s for, how it works, and ultimately solve the case on the best way to take creatine: Dosage, frequency and more.

Creatine is widely used to improve sports performance across a range of activities. Let’s get to it!

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Effects of Creatine Supplementation

If you’re looking to build muscle mass, increase your energy during workouts, and see tangible fitness gains, creatine supplementation could be right for you.

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound found predominantly in skeletal muscles, where it plays a vital role in supporting muscle contractions and overall muscle metabolism.

This naturally occurring substance helps energize muscular performance, particularly during intense and short-burst physical activities. Creatine is a well-known ergogenic aid that enhances athletic performance.

However, the benefits you get from creatine supplementation depend a lot on how often you take it.

Supportive benefits associated with creatine supplementation (in conjunction with exercise) may include:

1. Enhanced Muscle Mass: Creatine causes muscle cells to inflate, which improves athletic performance and increases insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a key hormone for muscle growth. [1] Note: This effect can also cause a little body weight gain.
2. Increased Strength and Power: Numerous studies show that creatine supplementation powers muscular strength and power output during resistance training. [2]
3. Muscle Recovery:According to a randomized controlled trial review, creatine supplements may help reduce muscle cell damage after exhaustive exercise performance, helping muscle growth and repair. Creatine kinase levels can be an indicator of muscle damage and recovery. [3]
4. Overall Athletic Enhancement: Creatine can help many aspects of athletic performance, including muscle strength, power, sprinting and endurance – great for a variety of sports. [4]
5. Sports Nutrition for All Ages: Creatine supplement use is allowed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and is popular among younger populations: One survey found 28% of college athletes take creatine supplements. [5] Creatine use also holds promise for mature populations, as research suggests it may help with age-related muscle disorders (wasting) and bone health challenges. [6]

Understanding the correct way to take a creatine supplement can bring you the best of these advantages while maintaining your wellness, safety and digestive comfort.

Let’s get into the how-to, including how often you should take creatine monohydrate, how much creatine powder is best, “loading” and “maintenance” strategies, advantages of strategic creatine supplementation timing and more.

Taking Creatine Daily: Why It Works Best When Taken Every Day.

Creatine is made from amino acids and is primarily found in your muscles and brain. About 95% of your body’s creatine is stored in muscles in the form of phosphocreatine, also known as creatine phosphate. Research is ongoing into creatine's potential benefits for brain function, especially in older adults.

When you supplement with creatine, you load up your muscles with phosphocreatine.

Phosphocreatine then fuels athletic performance by quickly replenishing ATP, the primary energy source used during high-intensity, short-duration exercise such as sprinting or lifting weights, thereby supporting skeletal muscle metabolism. The ergogenic effects of creatine are maximized with daily intake

The more phosphocreatine you have pre-loaded in your muscles, the more quickly you can produce fresh ATP energy during your workout. Learn more about stim-free energy nutrients.

Creatine monohydrate’s effectiveness and safety as a sport nutrient is backed by extensive research. [9, 10, 11, 12]

For creatine supplements to enhance exercise performance in the gym, however, creatine must saturate the muscle tissues. But intense exercise burns through muscle creatine stores pretty quickly. The creatine transporter plays a crucial role in the uptake of creatine into muscle cells.

That’s why in order to maintain optimal levels of creatine in their muscles, serious athletes supplement with creatine consistently, every day. They may split doses to make it easier on the stomach and to keep “topping off” creatine stores throughout the day; or take one dose after a training session for potential post-workout advantages.

But most importantly, athletes who want real results will make creatine part of their routine – and hit the right dosage, every day without fail. To understand why consistent creatine supplementation is so important, let’s cover how creatine functions within the muscles.

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How Creatine Works in Muscle Cells

Creatine’s main role is to boost the muscle levels of phosphocreatine (creatine phosphate), which quickly regenerates the ATP (adenosine triphosphate) energy that powers your cells during exercise. Muscle contraction during exercise increases blood flow and activates the Na+-K+ pump, which enhances creatine transport into muscle cells and further improves its effectiveness.

Muscles must be fully saturated with phosphocreatine to get performance-enhancing benefits.

Achieving this level of saturation in your muscles depends on taking the right amount of creatine every day, consistently and over time.

However, if someone adopts a haphazard approach to creatine supplementation — taking a little bit here and there, without following a structured dosing schedule — they won’t achieve the levels of muscle creatine saturation that is needed to unlock any exercise training benefits.

In other words, if you’re supplementing with creatine but not sticking to the recommended dosing schedule, you are likely wasting your time, effort and money.

For those seeking to gain the full range of ergogenic payoffs from creatine, it’s crucial to follow a disciplined supplementation plan. Without sticking to a plan, achieving and maintaining enough creatine saturation—and getting the maximum muscle gains of creatine—will not be possible.

Let’s look at some creatine dosages and supplementation schedules now.

Optimal Creatine Use: How Often Can You Take Creatine?

Creatine monohydrate is taken at different dosages in two distinct phases: loading and maintenance. The process of loading creatine involves consuming higher doses initially to rapidly saturate the muscles, followed by a maintenance phase to keep those levels up.

You can skip the loading phase and just do maintenance, but loading creatine saturates muscles with phosphocreatine more quickly. Let’s get into these methods.

How Much Creatine Should I Take?

Creatine loading phase: This short-term muscle creatine loading strategy is aimed at quickly maximizing creatine stores in muscles. During the “loading phase,” you consume a higher dose of creatine monohydrate—20 grams daily —over a period of 5 to 7 days. During the loading phase, the daily amount is often divided into smaller servings (ie, divided into four 5-gram servings) throughout the day to improve absorption and reduce digestive discomfort.

Maintenance Phase: Long-term creatine supplementation. After loading, you reduce your intake to the maintenance dose: about 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily. You then continue with this daily maintenance dose as long as you are supplementing with creatine. You can skip loading and start with maintenance; it just takes longer to work.

Creatine and Body Composition

Increases in fat free mass are commonly observed with creatine supplementation, especially in resistance training studies, as it supports muscle hypertrophy and improvements in body composition.

Be aware that your size may change how much creatine you need, too. Some research suggests that larger athletes may need higher intake, up to 10 g per day, to maintain their muscle creatine stores. [7] Research on physically active young adults also suggests that individual responses to oral creatine supplementation may vary.

Loading Creatine vs. Maintenance Phase: Which is Better?

Many athletes prefer taking creatine supplements via the “load then maintain” method because it can speed up the time it takes to load up skeletal muscles and experience creatine’s sports performance benefits.

Creatine ingestion at high doses, however, can lead to side effects like stomach upset and weight gain due to water retention. Creatine supplementation can cause temporary water retention in the body, but this effect typically subsides with continued use. [15, 16]

Opting for just the maintenance dose from the start, especially using lower doses such as 3 grams daily, can help to reduce side effects associated with those big “loading doses” of creatine.

Lower doses are still effective for long-term supplementation and can increase muscle creatine stores with fewer potential side effects. Your skeletal muscles will saturate with phosphocreatine more slowly, but ultimately you get the same athletic performance benefits as creatine loading minus the discomfort. Learn more about creatine digestive side effects

Note: It really doesn’t matter much how many doses you split your daily creatine intake into, or what time you take creatine supplements, as long as you reach the total daily dose. What’s most important is consistent daily intake to maintain saturated muscle creatine levels.

Choosing the Right Creatine Supplement

When it comes to selecting a creatine supplement, quality and type matter. Creatine monohydrate is the most popular and extensively studied form, recognized for its safety, effectiveness, and affordability.

Scientific evidence consistently shows that supplementing with creatine monohydrate can significantly improve muscle creatine saturation, leading to better performance during resistance training, increased muscle strength, and greater gains in lean mass.

While other forms like creatine citrate, creatine malate, and creatine nitrate are available, research consistently supports creatine monohydrate as the gold standard for muscle creatine loading and supporting muscle growth.

Equally important is choosing a supplement from a reputable manufacturer to ensure purity and potency. Look for products that are third-party tested and free from unnecessary additives.

By selecting high-quality creatine monohydrate and following the recommended dosing protocol, you can safely and effectively support your muscle metabolism, muscle gains, and overall sports performance.

Easy 28-Day Creatine Plan with Timing Tips

This 28-day plan is designed to help you maximize the benefits of creatine supplementation. The schedule is structured to align with regular resistance training sessions, ensuring optimal results in muscle growth and strength.

By following the recommended timing and dosage, you can support your fitness goals and enhance your performance.

Taking creatine with meals, especially when combined with adequate protein intake, may further support muscle growth and recovery.

Consistent creatine supplementation, particularly when paired with resistance training, often leads to increases in lean tissue mass.

Days 1-7: Creatine Loading Phase - 20 Grams Daily in Split Doses

20 grams is a lot. But you don't have to take it in one serving. If you're wondering, "how often can I take creatine," you should know that taking several smaller servings of creatine powder can actually help to promote better absorption and digestive comfort.

A common approach is to divide the 20-gram dosage into four 5-gram doses taken periodically throughout the day.

This method is often recommended during the creatine feeding or loading phase to rapidly saturate the muscles with creatine while minimizing potential digestive issues like bloating or discomfort.

Here’s how you might structure these doses throughout the day:

• Morning (with breakfast): 5 grams

• Midday (with lunch): 5 grams

• Pre-workout: 5 grams (learn about taking creatine and a pre-workout supplement together)

• Post-workout or with dinner: 5 grams

This schedule ensures that creatine is taken with meals and around exercise, both of which can help with its absorption and effectiveness.

Additionally, spreading the doses throughout the day rather than taking a large amount at once can reduce the risk of digestive side effects and maintain more consistent levels of creatine in your system.

Days 8-28: Creatine Maintenance Phase - 5 g Daily

For the long-term creatine supplementation maintenance phase, the daily intake is typically reduced to around 3 to 5 grams per day. You have a few options for splitting the dose.

Given the smaller amount compared to the loading phase, you might choose to simplify your routine by taking the entire dose at once or still split it to align with key times of day for potential benefits:

Single Dose Strategy for Maintenance

Post-Workout: Take creatine in a 5 gram dose right after your high intensity exercise workout or endurance training for peak effectiveness, especially if it's mixed with a carbohydrate-rich protein shake (plant-based or whey protein supplementation both work), which boosts creatine uptake.

With a Meal: If you're not working out on a particular day or prefer a different timing, taking your creatine with a meal that includes carbohydrates can also enhance its absorption due to the similar reasons mentioned above.

Split Dose Strategy for Maintenance

Although less common with a lower or fine dose, if you experience any stomach discomfort or simply prefer to spread out your intake, you could divide the 5 grams into two doses of 2.5 grams each.

Morning and Evening Creatine Maintenance: You could take 2.5 grams with breakfast and another 2.5 grams with dinner. This method helps maintain a more consistent level of creatine in the blood throughout the day.

Pre- and Post-Workout: Another option might be taking 2.5 grams of creatine monohydrate before training, and another 2.5 grams after your workout.

Both single-dose and split-dose strategies are valid. The choice can depend on your personal preference, how your body reacts to creatine, and your daily routine.

For many, taking the full maintenance dose at one time is convenient, especially when timed with a workout or meal.

Did you know? The International Society of Sports Nutrition on Creatine (ISSN) position statement on optimal creatine levels asserts the most effective plan is to take 5 g of creatine monohydrate four times daily for 5–7 days. Then, 3-5 g/day to maintain stores of creatine. [8]

What about Dietary Creatine?

Creatine is one of the most popular used dietary supplements for supporting muscle energy and performance. Considering how often to take creatine supplements is half the battle.

You can also pay more attention to consuming creatine-rich foods. Dietary creatine intake from foods and taking creatine dietary supplements can help the consistent muscle loading that yields the best exercise performance, muscle mass and body composition results.

Incorporating these protein-rich foods into your meals regularly can significantly boost your creatine levels, supporting muscle energy and overall athletic performance.

Since creatine is mostly found in animal products, vegans and vegetarians may consider creatine phosphate supplementation via various proteins and powders. Taking creatine supplement products typically means you get lab-produced nutrients that are vegan friendly.

More Creatine Usage Tips

• Exercise: Do intense exercise like strength and heavy resistance training that works all major muscle groups. Aim for at least four workout days per week for increased muscle mass.

• Protein supplementation: Taking creatine supplements and protein at the same time, after your workout, has been suggested to provide some synergistic benefits for supporting lean muscle mass.

• Carbohydrate supplementation: Taking creatine powder with carbohydrate (or carbohydrate and protein) may promote more creatine retention in muscle. [14] Learn more about carbohydrates for athletic performance

• Hydration: Drink plenty of water. Research doesn’t support the concern that creatine leads to dehydration, muscle tightness or cramps. Studies show it’s generally safe when hydration is on point. [13]

• Rest: Taking creatine supplements can enhance athletic performance, but you cannot train non-stop. Take at least three days off each week. Rest days help your muscles grow and recover. Learn about sleep’s role in athletic recovery

• Extra Dietary Supplements: Think about a quality pre-workout supplement in addition to taking creatine to get even more from your resistance training and workouts. We recommend Pre Lab Pro (more on this below)

By sticking to this straightforward creatine supplementation plan, you can enhance athletic performance in the gym, support muscle growth and achieve body composition benefits over time. Measuring muscle volume using imaging techniques can help assess the effectiveness of creatine supplementation and training.

Does Frequent Creatine Intake Impair Kidney Function?

Now that we've answered the "how often do I take creatine" question, it may raise another question: Are there any risks to taking creatine supplements every day?

While it is produced by the body naturally and generally regarded as safe, creatine supplementation has also been linked to kidney function concerns, particularly in individuals with pre-existing renal conditions.

Studies have not consistently shown that taking creatine can impair kidney function. [17] However, creatine can lead to an increase in creatinine levels—a waste product measured to evaluate kidney function—which may sometimes be misinterpreted as kidney damage in routine tests. This effect can muddy the waters in terms of kidney health monitoring, particularly in those who take creatine in large amounts.

For individuals with existing kidney issues, there is concern that the extra workload of processing high levels of creatine might be risky. Anyone with renal problems, established kidney disease or other kidney concerns should consult with their doctor before starting creatine supplementation.

Best Pre-Workout to Complement Creatine: Pre Lab Pro®

Creatine is loaded up every day to unlock athletic benefits over time. But what if you want an immediate performance boost? That's where a pre-workout supplement comes in, and we've got one for you right here that pairs especially well with creatine: Pre Lab Pro®.

Pre Lab Pro® is a nootropic-driven pre-workout formula with moderate caffeine plus amino acid sports nutrition that balances energy with calm control. It's the ideal pre-workout for any sport nutrition regimen that includes creatine supplementation.

Ingredients: Red Beetroot Powder; L-citrulline + Glutathione; Natural Caffeine; L-Theanine; L-Tyrosine; Vitamin D3, Potassium and Iron (all as NutriGenesis®), Himalayan Pink Salt. Delicious natural berry flavor.

Taking creatine supplements and Pre Lab Pro together create a synergistic effect that maximizes workout performance and muscle mass results. Here's how the benefits of Pre Lab Pro dovetail with the benefits of creatine supplementation:

1. Energy Support: Pre Lab Pro contains natural caffeine and L-theanine, which enhance mental alertness and focus, while creatine provides a direct energy fuel for muscle cells by increasing ATP (adenosine triphosphate) availability. This combination aids both mental sharpness and muscle power for lifting weights, and works especially well when your stores of creatine are maxed out.

2. Enhanced Blood Flow: The inclusion of beetroot extract and L-citrulline in Pre Lab Pro assists with nitric oxide production in the body, which promotes blood flow and oxygen delivery to the muscles. Better blood flow complements creatine's role in increasing phosphocreatine levels, allowing for optimal exercise-induced cardiovascular function, better strength training and heightened recovery during and after exercise.

3. Muscle Performance: Supplementing with creatine is well-known to help muscle strength and power, ultimately raising anaerobic working capacity (resistance training potential). When paired with the endurance-boosting effects of Pre Lab Pro, it may help you to perform harder for longer, supporting muscle growth, lean mass and performance gains.

4. Enhanced Recovery: Both supplements support recovery in different ways. Creatine helps replenish ATP stores more efficiently, which is crucial for recovery and lean muscle mass development after resistance training. Meanwhile, the adaptogens and other supportive nutrients in Pre Lab Pro help reduce cortisol levels and oxidative stress, aiding in faster muscle repair and less fatigue.

Together, Pre Lab Pro and creatine supplementation not only enhance each other's performance-supportive properties but also ensure a well-rounded approach to sports nutrition, making resistance training and endurance exercise more effective for achieving strength and fitness goals.

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Conclusion

If you want to take creatine supplements for optimal results, how often you take it matters.

It is critical to focus on taking creatine daily and consistently, at appropriate dosages. Initially, a loading phase of 20 grams per day, split into four 5-gram doses, can quickly saturate the muscles with creatine over 5-7 days. Following this, a maintenance dose of 3-5 grams daily helps sustain creatine levels (more if you are a larger athlete).

In the big picture, frequency of taking creatine monohydrate is less important than meeting your daily dosage goals.

Over time, maintaining the correct daily dose—whether through a loading phase or during regular maintenance—is what truly contributes to achieving and sustaining high creatine levels in your muscles, thereby optimizing the popular supplement’s effectiveness for primarily anaerobic performance (resistance training), but for aerobic exercise (cardiovascular exercise) too.

Creatine supplementation is well-known for its role in increasing muscle mass and supporting gains in body mass when combined with resistance training.

Ultimately, routine is the name of the game – making creatine supplementation easier to stick to and benefit from over the long term. With these guidelines, you can optimize creatine supplementation support for muscle growth, muscle strength, muscle size, physical performance and more.