Creatine (Creatine Monohydrate)
- Supplements
- Performance
- Muscle growth
By Mag. Christian Schönbauer, founder of Hardgainer Performance Nutrition®. Training since 1999, started under 50 kg.
Creatine is a compound your body makes itself; your muscles use it to resupply energy fast during short, hard efforts. As a supplement it raises muscle creatine and improves your performance in training. For a hardgainer (hard gainer), that means more work per set and more predictable progression. Creatine does not replace your surplus.
Note
This page gives you context and practice, not medical advice and not a product recommendation. If you have a medical condition, especially of the kidneys, take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, please get it checked by a doctor first.
What is creatine? The definition in 20 seconds
Your body makes creatine itself, and you take in some through food. In muscle it is also stored as phosphocreatine. Phosphocreatine hands over its phosphate group and rebuilds ATP within seconds. That is the fastest way to resupply energy, and it carries your heavy sets.
- More fuel for hard sets: Taking creatine as a supplement raises the creatine content of your muscles. That improves performance in short, high-intensity efforts. In training it often means one more rep or a little more load.
- A performance lever, not a replacement: Muscle grows from training, protein and a surplus. Creatine helps you do more work in training. It does not replace the building itself.
- For hardgainers this means: Calories, protein, sleep and a plan with progression come first. Then creatine can make the difference in the gym.
The anchors in the system: SRA, progressive overload and the Training Volume and Fatigue System.
How to take creatine: dose and loading phase
With creatine, consistency counts, not perfect timing.
- Dose: A review on nutrition for bodybuilders gives 3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate per day. Every day, rest days included.
- Timing: Time of day is secondary. Tie it to a fixed meal so you do not forget it.
- Loading phase: Not a must. What matters is taking your dose every day for weeks. If your stomach is sensitive, start without one.
- Form: The dose above refers to creatine monohydrate. Stick with the form the recommendation is based on.
Practice: the 14-day check
- Day 0, set your base: Set your dose and tie it to a fixed meal. Lock in your main lifts, set effort and rest times, set your calorie corridor.
- Document daily: Dose taken yes or no, load and reps of your top sets with RIR, morning bodyweight and steps as your measure for NEAT. Build weekly averages. How much your steps burn is shown by the NEAT Calculator.
- Day 14, check the trend: Are load or reps going up at the same effort? Then use that output for your progression, with volume between MEV and MRV. If your weight climbs a bit faster than planned, judge the trend over several weeks with your rate of gain, not over single days.
Progression stays the compass. Small, steady increases beat occasional performance spikes.
Common misconceptions
- “Creatine is a steroid.” False. Creatine is a compound your body makes itself and that you also get from food. It is not a hormone.
- “You have to cycle creatine.” For healthy people there is no reason to. The position stand of the International Society of Sports Nutrition rates long-term use as safe as well.
- “Creatine only works if I take it before training.” What matters is a full store in the muscle, not when you take it. Consistency beats timing.
- “With creatine I can grow without a surplus.” Creatine improves your performance in training. Without calories and protein your body still lacks the material to build. More on that under hypertrophy.
Whatever comes in a tub is pure marketing. If you take supplements, you pay for a placebo.
As a blanket statement, that is wrong. For creatine, studies consistently show that it raises muscle creatine and improves performance in short, hard efforts. It is still a performance lever, not a replacement for surplus, protein and sleep.
Common questions
Is creatine worthwhile for hardgainers?
Yes, once the basics are in place. Creatine raises muscle creatine and improves performance in short, hard efforts. For hardgainers that means more work per set and more predictable progression. It does not replace calories, protein and sleep.
How should I take creatine correctly?
3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate per day, every day, ideally tied to a fixed meal. That range comes from a review on nutrition for bodybuilders. Consistency beats timing.
When should I take creatine?
Timing is secondary. What matters is that you take it daily. Before or after training, both work.
2 more questionsShow less
Do I need a loading phase?
No, a loading phase is not a must. What matters more is taking your dose every day for weeks. If your stomach is sensitive, start without one.
Does creatine damage the kidneys?
The position stand of the International Society of Sports Nutrition rates creatine as safe and well tolerated in healthy people, short and long term. If you have kidney disease, another medical condition or take medication, get it checked by a doctor first.
From term to practice: your tools
Creatine lifts your output. These three tools make sure it turns into progress.
See all Hardgainer Tools. If you want more out of your numbers, go with Hardgainer Pro.
What the research says
Three papers behind the claims on this page
Creatine works on the fastest energy store in your muscle. These three papers are behind the claims above.
- Creatine supplementation raises muscle creatine and improves high-intensity exercise performance, which can lead to greater training adaptations. Position stand of the ISSN. Short and long-term use is rated safe and well tolerated in healthy people, studied up to 30 g per day for 5 years. Kreider et al., Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017
- For bodybuilders in the off-season the review gives 3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate per day as a dose that may improve performance. Narrative review on nutrition in the off-season, the building phase between contests. Iraki et al., Sports, 2019
- After exhausting exercise, phosphocreatine was only rebuilt with intact blood flow. With oxygen it rose from 4 to 68 percent of the resting value within 15 minutes. Muscle biopsies from the thigh, some samples incubated in the lab. It shows how the fast store works that creatine acts on. Sahlin et al., Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation, 1979
What the studies do not cover
The position stand is a review and gives no effect sizes for muscle growth in its abstract, and it does not list the kidneys separately. Iraki 2019 is a narrative review, not a meta-analysis. Sahlin 1979 did not give creatine, it only studied the phosphocreatine store.
Your takeaway: creatine is a well-supported performance lever. Take it daily, turn the extra output into progression, and never treat it as a replacement for surplus, protein and sleep.
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Reading & Resources
The terms around creatine and the pillars next to it.
Content here is general practice guidance and does not replace individual medical or nutritional advice.
